Charles L. Baum II
Associate Professor of Economics

Director, Economics Graduate Program
(Ph.D., 1999, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; B.A., 1995, Wake Forest University)

Elizabeth (05/08/02), Charles (09/30/05), me, and Anna Jane (11/11/03).  My wife’s taking the picture!!

          Economics and Finance Department                                                             Email: cbaum@mtsu.edu
          P. O. Box 27                                                                                               Phone: (615) 898-2527
          Middle Tennessee State University                                                               Fax: (615) 898-5596
          Murfreesboro TN, 37132
 

Courses

Fall Semester (2006):
        ECON 6120:                               Microeconomics I, Tuesdays, 2:40-5:40

Spring Semester (2007):
        ECON 7520:                               Advanced Labor Economics II, Mondays, 3:00-6:00
     

Supplemental materials for these (and other) courses are available through the following links:

·  ECON 2420 Principles of Economics, Microeconomics

·  ECON 2420H (Honors Class) Principles of Economics, Microeconomics

·  ECON 4420/5420 Labor and Human Resource Economics

·  ECON 4510/5510 Unions & Collective Bargaining

·  ECON 6120 Microeconomics I

·  ECON 7120 Microeconomics II  
 · ECON 7121 Microeconomics III

 · ECON 7520 Advanced Labor Economics II


Research

 

A portion of my research examines the labor supply patterns of women with children because an increasing number of mothers are participating in the labor force.  Consequently, these mothers must divide their time between marketplace and household responsibilities.  I have examined the effects of maternal employment on child development, as well as the effects of maternity leave (mandated by the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act) on mothers’ work decisions after giving birth. 

I am currently interested in identifying the links between various economics factors and obesity.  For example, what effects, if any, have cigarette taxes, food stamps, and female labor force participation rates had on the increasing prevalence of obesity?  Certainly the prevalence of obesity began rising during a time when cigarette smoking decreased (and cigarette taxes increased), food stamps to low-income families were introduced, and more women switched from being primarily homemakers to employees in the labor force.  The USDA is currently providing me funding to link empirically obesity to food stamp receipt, and, in 2007, the University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty will financially support my research to examine whether Food Stamps help expectant mothers gain recommended amounts of weight during their pregnancies.

In a related study, a colleague of mine and I examined the effects of obesity on wages, finding that obese workers suffer a wage penalty.  Possible explanations include productivity differentials, health limitations, increased cost of employer-provided health care for obese workers, and customer and/or employer discrimination.  

·  Resume

·  Publications and External Research Grants/Awards


Middle Tennessee State University
 

·  Economics and Finance Faculty Directory

·  MTSU Home Page

·  Economic and Finance Department

·  Graduate Programs in Economics


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How To Contact Me

Charles L. Baum II
Dept. of Economics & Finance
P.O. Box 27
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, TN  37132

Phone: (615) 898-2527
Fax: (615) 898-5596
E-mail: cbaum@mtsu.edu