Jaret Treber joined the Department of Economics in 2005 after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. Prior to graduate school, he worked for three years as a financial analyst and as a manager of the premium rates department in the Medicare supplemental insurance industry at Olympic Health Management Systems in Bellingham, WA.
Treber's research focuses on the economics of regulation and sports, and on historical issues in American healthcare. He has taught a wide range of courses including Principles of Microeconomics, Industrial Organization, Economics of Health and Sports Economics.
Areas of Expertise
Sports economics, healthcare economics, economic history.
Education
2005 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of Arizona
2001 — Master of Arts from University of Arizona
1997 — Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University
Courses Recently Taught
ECON 101
Principles of Microeconomics
ECON 101
This course studies issues of economic choice, economic efficiency and social welfare. The course presents theories of consumer and producer behavior and shows how these theories can be used to predict the consequences of individual, business and government actions. Topics covered include opportunity cost; the gains from trade; supply and demand analysis; taxes; externalities; price controls; consumer choice; production and cost; product pricing and market structure. This course is required for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every fall semester.
ECON 205
Introduction to Econometrics
ECON 205
Econometrics is the application of statistical techniques to test economic models. This course offers an introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of econometrics. Emphasis will be given to linear regression techniques, special problems associated with linear regression, and the interpretation of results. In short, economic explanations of behavior are quantified and hypotheses are tested with data using statistical techniques. Students will make extensive use of Stata; a statistical software package that is popular among economists; to create and modify data sets and obtain experience learning to apply appropriate econometric methods. This course is required for the major. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and a college course in statistics or a score of 4 or 5 on the Statistics AP exam. This course cannot be taken as pass/D/fail. Generally offered every semester.
ECON 342
Economics of Regulation
ECON 342
This course will examine government regulation of the behavior of individuals, firms, industries and markets. The first half of the course will focus on the economic regulation (and deregulation) of industries and occupations. Examples of government-imposed restrictions on prices, quantities and the freedom to enter and exit industries and occupations will be drawn from medical services, funeral services and entertainment industries. The second half of the course will focus on various types of social regulations, focusing on health and safety regulations. Throughout the course, we will explore the economic rationales for the regulations and evaluate their effects upon economic efficiency. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and 102. Generally offered every fourth year.
ECON 346
Industrial Organization
ECON 346
This course provides an introduction to industrial organization, a field that focuses on how firms, interacting through markets, attempt to exploit opportunities for profit. We examine the standard models of perfect and imperfect competition, emphasizing the strategic behavior of the interacting firms. Topics include pricing models, strategic aspects of business practice, vertical integration and technological change. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and 201. Generally offered every other year.
ECON 385
Sports Economics
ECON 385
This seminar will explore professional and amateur sports from an economic perspective. Aside from recreational and entertainment appeal, the sporting world provides a wealth of applications to several fields in economics such as industrial organization (antitrust and franchising), public finance (stadium financing) and labor economics (labor market discrimination) among others. This course will give students an opportunity to apply theory covered in the core courses of the economics major to explain developments in the world of sports. The course will consist of lectures, readings, class discussions and assessments including individual research papers and class presentations. This counts toward the seminar requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ECON 201 and 205. Generally offered every year.
ECON 493
Individual Study
ECON 493
This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study subjects not included in course offerings. Credit for this course will count towards the Economics major. The credit to be awarded and the exact structure of the course will be determined by the instructor and approved by the department chair. Typical activities include regularly assigned readings of scholarly material, weekly meetings to discuss the readings, and a research paper project. Prerequisite: ECON 101, 102 and permission of instructor and department chair. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval before the registrar's deadline.