Essentials of Economics

About the Author

Bradley R. Schiller

Bradley R. Schiller has more than four decades of experience teaching introductory economics at American University, the University of Nevada, the University of California (Berkeley and Santa Cruz), and the University of Maryland. He has given guest lectures at more than 300 colleges ranging from Fresno, California, to Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Schiller’s unique contribution to teaching is his ability to relate basic principles to current socioeconomic problems, institutions, and public policy decisions. This perspective is evident throughout The Economy Today.

Dr. Schiller derives this policy focus from his extensive experience as a Washington consultant. He has been a consultant to most major federal agencies, many congressional committees, political candidates, and presidents. In addition, he has evaluated scores of government programs and helped design others. His studies of poverty, discrimination, training programs, tax reform, pensions, welfare. Social Security, and lifetime wage patterns have appeared in both professional journals and popular media. Dr. Schiller is also a frequent commentator on economic policy for television and radio, and his commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Los Angeles Times, among other major newspapers.

Dr. Schiller received his Ph.D. from Harvard and his B.A. degree, with great distinction, from the University of California (Berkeley). On his days off, Dr. Schiller is on the tennis courts, the ski slopes, or the crystal-blue waters of Lake Tahoe.

Karen Gebhardt

Dr. Karen Gebhardt is a faculty member in the Department of Economics and is the Director of the Online Economics Program at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023, she received a national award by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association recognizing her excellence in online teaching and course development. Dr. Gebhardt has a passion for teaching economics. She regularly instructs courses in all modalities (online, on campus, hybrid, remote) from introductory courses in macro- and microeconomics, to upper-division courses in microeconomics, international trade, and managerial economics and graduate courses in environmental economics and public finance.

She is an early adopter of teaching with technology and advocates strongly for it because she sees the difference it makes in student engagement and learning. Dr. Gebhardt was the recipient of the Water Pik Excellence in Education Award in 2006 and was awarded the Best Teacher Award in 2015 while she was at Colorado State University. She most recently won a national award for excellence in online teaching and course development from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association.

Dr. Gebhardt research interests, publications, and presentations involve economics and online education and the economics of human-wildlife interaction. Before returning to academia, she worked as an economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Wildlife Services/National Wildlife Research Center, conducting research related to the interactions of humans and wildlife. Her current research focuses on using data to improve student learning outcomes in economics education with an emphasis on improving grades and completion rates in online courses.

In her free time. Dr. Gebhardt enjoys learning about new teaching methods that integrate technology and going rock climbing and camping in the Colorado Rockies and beyond.

Christopher D. Blake

Christopher D. Blake is a faculty member at Oxford College of Emory University, a liberal arts, teaching-focused unit of Emory University. He received his PhD from Colorado State University and his BS in Economics from Gonzaga University. In his work in the Economics Department at Oxford, Dr. Blake has experience teaching principles and intermediate courses, along with topics courses in data science, the history of economic thought, and regional economics.
Dr. Blake is an accomplished instructor with a passion for course development and clarity of instruction. He works hard to make content relatable and relevant for students encountering economic ideas for the first time. In 2019, he was honored with the Phi Eta Sigma teaching award, an award given to one faculty member at Oxford each year and voted on by the most accomplished students within the college. He also won two outstanding teaching awards while serving as a graduate student instructor at Colorado State University.
Dr. Blake also works closely with undergraduate students in a research mentorship role. His work, which focuses on regional labor market outcomes and regional policies, provides ample opportunity for the first and second-year students at Oxford to try their hand at research. With frequent participation in the Oxford Research Scholars program, Dr. Blake is committed to helping students see how their course content can be applied to research topics of interest to them in addition to their daily lives.
Dr. Blake is an avid pinball player, often competing in local tournaments. When not playing pinball, he can be found playing basketball, running, golfing, or spending time with his wife and two cats.