Aaron N. Pacitti

Dr. Aaron Pacitti is Professor of Economics at Siena College. He has been awarded the School of Business's excellence in research, teaching, and service awards. From 2016-2018, Aaron held the Douglas T. Hickey Chair in Business, and in 2018 he taught at the Centre d’Études Franco-Américain de Management in Lyon, France under an Erasmus+ fellowship. In addition to a variety of academic journals, his research in empirical macroeconomics and political economy has been used by the Congressional Budget Office and the International Monetary Fund, and featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Harvard Business Review, the Baltimore Sun, the Huffington Post, U.S. News and World Report, CNBC, MSN Money, and Yahoo Finance. He is a regular panelist on Northeast Public Radio’s (WAMC 90.3) current events Round Table and Vox Pop programs. Aaron holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Case Western Reserve University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from American University. 

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

Economics is important to understanding the world and should be taught from a pluralistic perspective, comparing and critically analyzing competing theories. Economics should also be taught holistically to maximize student engagement. Economists have a responsibility to highlight the ethical and policy dimensions of the discipline, with an eye toward fairness and distribution.

The ultimate goal of my teaching is to not only inform students about important economic issues and their ethical and policy implications, but also to motivate them so that they want to learn more economics. I do this by showing precisely how and why economic forces affect their lives, and how policy can be utilized to alter economic outcomes.

What I Love About Siena

I have the opportunity to explore rapidly changing economic current events as they unfold with hard-working, interested students.

My Favorite Courses to Teach

All of them! But if I had to pick one, it would be Political Economy.

My Professional Experience

Current Research

Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Labor Economics, U.S. Economic History. Much of my current writings and rants can be found at the Huffington Post and on WAMC's Round Table.

Articles & Book Reviews

• Rent-Seeking Behavior and Economic Justice: A Classroom Exercise
  Eastern Economic Journal, vol. 49
  January, 2023
• Bargaining Power, Structural Change, and the Falling U.S. Labor Share
  Structural Change and Economics Dynamics, vol. 60
  March, 2022
• The Cost of Job Loss, Long-Term Unemployment, and Wage Growth
  Journal of Post Keynesian Economics
  October, 2020
• Guaranteed Employment and Universal Child Care for a New Social Contract
  Theory in Action, vol. 11
  2018
• The Rise of Services, Deindustrialization, and the Length of Economic Recovery
  Economic Inquiry, vol. 55
  2017
• Ending the Unemployment Crisis with Guaranteed Employment and Retraining
  Journal Of Economic Issues, vol. 48
  September, 2014
• Efficiency Wages, Unemployment, and Labor Discipline
  Journal of Business and Economics Research, vol. 9
  2010
• Bargaining Power, Labor Market Institutions, and the Great Moderation
  Eastern Economic Journal, vol. 41
  Spring, 2015
• Minimum Wages and Economic Justice: A Classroom Exercise
  Forum For Social Economics, vol. 42
  Jan-Mar, 2013
• The Cost of Job Loss and the Great Recession
  Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, vol. 33
  Summer, 2011
• The Ongoing Labor Market Depression
  Challenge, vol. 58
  July/Aug, 2015
• What the American Elite Won over the Past 35 Years and What All Other Americans Lost
  Challenge, vol. 58
  May/Jun, 2015

Awards & Distinctions

• Best Presentation Award (Advisor) for Economics Track, “Federal Reserve Challenge.” Winnowski Student Conference in Business, 2021. 
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2023
• School of Business Service Excellence Award
  Category: Service-University
  Siena College, 2023
• Best Paper Award (Advisor) for Economics Track, “Equity Prices, Wealth Inequality, and Quantitative Easing: The Role of the Federal Reserve and Large-Scale Asset Purchases.” Winnowski Student Conference in Business, 2021.
   
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2021
• Best Presentation Award (Advisor) for Economics Track, “Equity Prices, Wealth Inequality, and Quantitative Easing: The Role of the Federal Reserve and Large-Scale Asset Purchases.” Winnowski Student Conference in Business, 2021. 
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2021
• School of Business Teaching Excellence Award
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2019
• Guest Lecturer, Centre d’Études Franco-Américain de Management, Lyon, France, November 2018. 
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, Centre d'Études Franco-Américain de Management, 2018
• School of Business Service Excellence Award
  Category: Service-University
  Siena College, 2018
• Douglas T. Hickey Chair in Business
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2017
• Douglas T. Hickey Chair in Business
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2016
• Best Paper Award (Advisor) for Economics Track, "The Cost of Job Loss during the Recovery from the Great Recession." Siena College Student Conference in Business, 2014.
  
  
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2014
• School of Business Research Excellence Award
  Category: Research
  Siena College, 2014
• Best Paper Award (Advisor) for Economics Track, "Gender Discrimination, Educational Attainment, and the Female Employment Share." Siena College Student Conference in Business, 2012.
  Category: Teaching
  Siena College, 2012
• Dissertation Fellow
  Category: Research
  American University, 2008
• James H. Weaver Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Category: Teaching
  American University, 2008
• Dean's Fellow
  Category: Other
  American University, 2003
• Co-President Economics Graduate Student Union
  Category: Service-University
  American University, 2002

Books & Book Chapters

• Critical Perspectives on the Minimum Wage
  Enslow
  2016
• The Institutionalist Tradition in Labor Economics
  M.E. Sharpe
  2004

Presentations

• Rent Seeking Behavior and Economic Justice: A Classroom Experiment
  June, 2022
  Western Economics Association International, Portland, Oregon
• The Economics of Power
  April, 2022
  University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine
• Bargaining Power, Structural Change, and the Falling U.S. Labor Share
  March, 2022
  University of North Carolina Asheville, Asheville, North Carolina
• Bargaining Power, Inequality, and Structural Change in the U.S. Economy
  February, 2021
  Eastern Economic Association Annual Conference, New York, New York
• The Rise of Services and the Lengthening of Economic Recovery
  April, 2018
  Bureau of Labor Statistics Macroeconomics Workshop, Washington, District of Columbia
• The Cost of Job Loss, Long-Term Unemployment, and Wage Growth
  2017
  Allied Social Science Association Meeting, Chicago, Illinois
• The Rise of Services and the Lengthening of Economic Recovery
  2017
  New School, Empirical Macroeconomics Seminar, New York, New York
• The Cost of Job Loss and Wage Growth
  February, 2016
  Eastern Economic Association Annual Conference, Washington, District of Columbia
• Rethinking Employment Relations: The Social Bargain, Pensions, and Price Stability
  October, 2014
  Allied Social Science Association Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts
• The Cost of Job Loss during the Recovery from the Great Recession
  October, 2014
  NYSEA Conference, Loudonville, New York
• Goods, Services, and the Pace of Economic Recovery
  September, 2013
  Economic History Association, Arlington, Virginia
• Is a Fair Labor Market Compatible with Full Employment and Price Stability? An Empirical Analysis of the Social Bargain
  January, 2013
  Allied Social Science Association Meeting, San Diego, California
• Goods, Services, and the Pace of Economic Recovery
  2013
  Siena College Brown Bag Research Seminar, Loudonville, New York
• Goods, Services, and the Pace of Economic Recovery
  2013
  University of Maryland Baltimore County Economics Department Seminar, Baltimore, Maryland
• Goods, Services, and the Pace of Economic Recovery
  2013
  University of Massachusetts Amherst Economics Department History and Development Seminar, Amherst, Massachusetts
• Goods, Services, and the Pace of Economic Recovery
  2013
  Washington Area Economic History Society Seminar, D.C., Washington
• Labor Market Institutions, the Phillips Curve, and Inflation during the Great Recession
  November, 2011
  International Confederation of Associations for Pluralism in Economics, Amherst, Massachusetts
• Minimum Wages and Economic Justice: A Classroom Exercise
  October, 2011
  New York State Sociological Association, Loudonville, New York
• The Cost of Job Loss and the Great Recession
  2011
  Eastern Economic Association Annual Conference, New York, New York
• Bargaining Power and the Phillips Curve
  February, 2010
  Eastern Economic Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Effort and Efficiency Wages: The Role of Unemployment in Labor Disciplining
  November, 2009
  Rethinking Marxism, Amherst, Massachusetts