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Theories can be taught from textbooks and lectures, but facts about the role the U.S. government actually plays in economics – a subject never fully evaluated before – can only be discovered through hands-on research using real-world situations such as the work undertaken by David Fishman ’07 (Pittsford, N.Y.).
After spending a summer at the Foundation for Economic Education in Westchester County, New York, the mathematics-economics major became interested in the economic cost of state regulations.
Under the guidance of Mark Crain, Simon Professor of Political Economy and chair of Policy Studies, Fishman gets to satisfy his curiosity by conducting in-depth research through an independent study.
Fishman is managing a team of student researchers to determine the cost of state regulation for each state. Students are required to read the state code and come up with costs for each type of regulation using software to aid in the analysis of the vast amount of data. The research is a continuation of studies initiated by Crain and Fishman last spring through the EXCEL program.
“Professor Crain’s research is groundbreaking because no one has ever attempted to undertake a project like this,” Fishman explains. “This research can provide valuable insight into the effects of public policy and can be used by both government and business. It will be interesting to see if the more heavily regulated states have weaker economies compared to freer states.”
Crain stresses the reason that no one has ever embarked on a project such as this is due to the volume of state administrative codes and the hundreds of thousands of pages of regulations that are involved.
He also commends Fishman for his dedication and problem solving abilities.
“We experienced many dry holes, but his persistence paid off,” notes Crain. “He was thinking through the process about what would make the project feasible. For example, he identified an appropriate qualitative software package to allow us to identify and classify state regulations in an efficient manner. Since then, he has been involved with dividing the state regulations into manageable bites for the other students involved in the project.”
Fishman also holds his mentor in high esteem, noting Crain’s wealth of knowledge and his genuine concern for students on an academic and personal level.
Crain notes that this project is precisely what a liberal arts education is about and asserts that what Fishman has done at Lafayette will prepare him for any path he chooses after graduation.
“It requires David to apply theories and methods learned in a classroom setting to an important real world problem,” says Crain. “If David chooses to go to graduate school, this is exactly the type of original research project he can expect in a top-rated program. If he accepts employment immediately after graduation, the skills he is honing will have a wide variety of practical applications in the business world.
“As any businessperson can attest, regulatory compliance is a major part of daily operations in every sector. Perhaps more than that, David’s ability to frame real world, immediate problems and use analytical tools while working cooperatively in a group
and succinctly reporting outcomes makes him a valuable asset to many ventures.”
Fishman is optimistic in securing a job in finance after he graduates.
He is an active member of the Investment Club, Hillel Society, and volunteers with Kids In the Community, a Landis Community Outreach Center program.