William R. Melick joined Kenyon's Department of Economics in 1998, after spending eleven years as a research economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. While at the Fed, Melick spent one year on assignment at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland.
He took a leave from Kenyon for the 2001-2002 academic year to serve for one year as a senior international economist at the President's Council of Economic Advisers in Washington. From 2002-2012 he was affiliated with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as a research associate.
Melick's primary research interest is the recovery of market expectations and measures of risk aversion from options markets, with applications to crude oil, foreign exchange, eurodollars and federal funds. He also conducts research in international macroeconomics.
Areas of Expertise
Financial economics, monetary economics, econometrics.
Education
1987 — Doctor of Philosophy from The Ohio State University
1984 — Master of Arts from The Ohio State University
1982 — Bachelor of Science from Indiana Univ Bloomington
Courses Recently Taught
ECON 102
Principles of Macroeconomics
ECON 102
This course studies national economic performance. Building upon the microeconomic theories of consumer and producer behavior developed in ECON 101, the course introduces models that focus on the questions of unemployment, inflation and growth. Topics covered include measurement of national income and inflation, macroeconomic models, saving and investment, money and banking, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade and finance. This course is required for economics majors. Prerequisite: ECON 101. Offered every spring semester.
ECON 202
Macroeconomic Theory
ECON 202
This course is a theoretical and applied study of the level of national income and employment. Prices, interest rates, unemployment rates, international trade relations, business cycles and the long-run growth of income significantly affect our standards of living. Diverse schools of macroeconomic thought are distinguished by theoretical concepts, priorities in performance goals, and empirical evidence. The course considers a variety of approaches and emphasizes the microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic theory. Government actively manages both domestic and international aspects of the macroeconomy, and the course considers current public policy issues. This course is required for the major. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and ECON 102, and a college level calculus course or a score of 4 or 5 on the Calculus AP exam. This course cannot be taken as pass/D/fail. Offered every spring 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 339
International Finance and Open-Economy Macroeconomics
ECON 339
This course examines the determination of national incomes, price levels, interest rates and exchange rates using open-economy macroeconomic models. The course begins with an intensive study of balance of payments accounting and the foreign exchange market, followed by a consideration of the law of one price, purchasing power parity and uncovered and covered interest parity. The second half of the course will be spent deriving several open-economy macroeconomic models and using these models to discuss important international financial policy issues. These discussions will highlight the interaction of domestic policymakers with important international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and 102. Generally offered every other year.
ECON 343
Money and Financial Markets
ECON 343
This course examines U.S. money and financial markets and their interaction with and influence on prices, real output, employment and international trade. After an extensive discussion of fixed income pricing and the term structure, the class will consider the operations of financial institutions and the Federal Reserve System. The implementation of monetary policy and its effect on domestic and foreign financial markets, real output, and foreign trade also will be examined. In addition, alternative domestic and international monetary arrangements will be considered. While completing assignments, students will make fairly heavy use of a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and 102. Generally offered every year.
ECON 374
Economics of Oil and Gas
ECON 374
This seminar will consider the markets for petroleum products from a variety of perspectives. Analyses of these markets have ranged from microeconomic investigations of the pricing of key products such as crude oil to macroeconomic considerations of the role of energy prices in generating economic booms and busts. The seminar will use models from microeconomics, macroeconomics, and finance to study the pricing of energy products and the role played by these products in economic development. Throughout the seminar, attention will also be paid to historical and political developments related to the economics of oil and gas. As part of the seminar, each student will prepare and present to the class an independent research paper. This counts toward the seminar requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ECON 101 and 102. Generally offered every three years.
ECON 391
ST: Sovereign Debt
ECON 391