UAA appoints Timothy Cason as new Rasmuson Chair of Economics

Sept. 29, 2016

The University of Alaska Anchorage announces that Timothy Cason, distinguished professor and Robert and Susan Gadomski Chair in Economics at Purdue University, has been appointed to serve as the University of Alaska Anchorage’s seventh Rasmuson Chair of Economics for the fall 2016 semester. Cason is also director of the Vernon Smith Experimental Economics Laboratory and past president of the Economic Science Association, an international association of experimental economists. He brings three decades of research and teaching experience in several areas, including experimental economics, environmental economics, public economics, behavioral game theory and industrial organization.

“The Rasmuson Chair has been an amazing gift to UAA by making it possible to bring some of the world’s foremost economists to the university,” says Jim Murphy, UAA economics professor and former Rasmuson Chair. “Dr. Cason has been a leader in the field of experimental economics, and his visit is an opportunity to enrich the experiences of our faculty and students.”

Cason’s research uses controlled laboratory experiments to investigate a number of topics including the design of emissions trading programs, various market institutions and game theory. His work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency. Cason has published in leading economics journals and currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Economics and as an advisory editor for Experimental Economics and Games and Economic Behavior.

The Rasmuson Chair of Economics was created through a generous endowment by the late Elmer Rasmuson, an Alaska banker, entrepreneur and philanthropist. The aim of the position is to bring to UAA distinction and leadership in the study of economics and its relevance to Alaska’s future.

Additional resources