| I
am currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of
Economics and Information Systems at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville. I
have a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University. My areas of interest include
Law and Economics, Public Economics, Applied Microeconomics, and Computational
Agent-based Modeling.
::Dissertation:
An Economic Analysis of Judicial
Doctrine (Abstract)
::Advisor: Richard Wagner (rwagner@gmu.edu)
::Job Paper: The Role of
Competition in the Market for Adjudication
::Files: Teaching
Evaluations (Spring 06, Fall
06); Curriculum Vitae
::Email: isaac.diianni@uah.edu
::Working Papers:
::Why
the Judiciary Acts as an Administrative Agency: The Impact of
Institutional Structure on Judicial Doctrine
I conduct an analysis of the American legal system primarily using
two tools of economics: agency theory and the concept of
bureaucratic free enterprise. I argue that despite significant
differences at the level of nominal appearance, there is a
fundamental similarity between federal administrative agencies and
the federal judiciary.
::Evolution
and Inefficiency: A Computational Model of Common Law Evolution
This paper focuses on the behavior of litigants. I use an
agent-based computational model to show that even without
rent-seeking, changes in litigant behavior in response to a
greater interest in precedent can interfere with the evolution of
common law precedent towards efficient rules.
::
Announcements:
Posted Nov 20, 2006: Watch a classic PBS interview of Milton
Friedman here,
and enjoy the warmth, passion, and dedication of this brilliant
man. You can also read a brief autobiography here.
:: Summer
2008 Courses
Economics
143: Principles of Microeconomics
The lectures and readings in this course are designed to
familiarize students with the fundamentals of microeconomic
theory. The central focus of the course is on understanding the
process of price formation in a free exchange economy. Market
institutions such as the firm, advertising, profit/loss mechanism,
speculation, and property rights are explored for their role in
the coordination of economic activity.
::Syllabus
(PDF Format)
::Course
Resources
::
Other Course Information
Principles of
Macroeconomics
The lectures and readings in this course are designed to
familiarize students with the fundamentals of macroeconomic
theory. The central focus of the course is on understanding the
process of price formation in a free exchange economy. Market
institutions such as the price system, the monetary system, and
financial intermediaries are explored for their role in the
coordination of economic activity. Finally, the basic principles
will be applied to an understanding of economic issues such as
inflation, unemployment, national income, economic growth, and the
business cycle.
::Syllabus
(PDF Format)
::Course Resources
Money and Banking
This course is designed to familiarize students with the fundamentals of economic theory as it applies to monetary and banking institutions. It will focus on the economic dynamics (information and transaction costs) that have propelled the historical evolution of money, credit, and financial intermediation from the ancient world to the present. Related financial institutions such as bond, stock, and insurance markets are also explored. In addition, the course will cover the structure of the Federal Reserve System, bank regulation,
and the mechanics of the international monetary framework.
::Syllabus
(PDF Format)
::Course resources (Password required)
Economic Problems and Public Policies
This
course is designed to familiarize students with the application of
economic theory to a wide variety of public policy issues.
Price controls, competition policy, labor policy, consumer
protection legislation, and environmental regulation will all be
explored. In addition, the nature of the state and its relationship to
individual citizens will be examined from a constitutional
perspective.
::Syllabus
(PDF Format)
::Course resources (Password required)
:: Recommended Readings The pursuit of economic understanding requires more than just class work. Here are texts that I recommend to those who seek to understand the intellectual foundation of the free market and the moral basis for capitalism.
::Browse the list | 
