Economic & Workforce Development
26% of Richmonders are living in poverty and the city is seeking to move 10,000 adults from below the poverty line to above the poverty line by 2030 through creation of sustainable work opportunities. With many startup businesses and rising job opportunities in the city of Richmond, this page will allow students who want to help with the economic field to get an introduction through courses and campus organizations. These on and off campus connections serve the community through economic policy work to supporting startups build a stronger foundation.
Featured Community Partners
Capital Area Partnership Uplifting People
Capital Area Partnership Uplifting People is a non-profit community action agency that has been serving the communities of Richmond, Petersburg, Hopewell, Prince George, and Dinwiddie for over 50 years. We are dedicated to combating poverty and poverty related issues in the capital region of Virginia through providing direct action and aid to individuals and families facing hardship.
PlanRVA
PlanRVA is a regional convener, planning agency and provider of essential services to the localities of the Richmond Region. PlanRVA convenes community representatives to build relationships and capacity across the region; provides technical assistance to member jurisdictions; serves as a liaison between local, state and federal governments; and implements services when requested by members. The mission of PlanRVA is to promote regional cooperation and collaboration between government, private sector and community organizations to improve the quality of life for citizens in the planning district.
United Way
United Way is engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide. The organization is focused on creating community-based and community-led solutions that strengthen the cornerstones for a good quality of life: education, financial stability and health.
Campus Connections
Entrepreneurship Club
The Entrepreneurship Club hosts a series of events to support two tracks of career interest among students: Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital. The Entrepreneurship Club is open to all students, regardless of major, and encourages and assists students to start their own business, from ideation to business plan development. It also allows students to learn how to evaluate start-up companies and structure deals.
Women in Business
Women in Business focuses on helping young women acclimate into the business world and gain a greater understanding of the overall industry. We want our members to feel comfortable entering into a career in business with adequate resources and a network of connections to lean on for guidance and assistance.
Relevant Courses
ECON 233 Ethics and Economics
Explores ethical considerations that arise in economic analyses. In positive economics, how are choices informed by considerations of duty or virtue (in addition to utility)? In normative economics, how do concepts of welfare and efficiency derive from ethical theories, and how have these changed over time? What competing ethical theories add to our understanding of public policy issues? Preparation for a complex world when economic analysis is viewed as complementary to a critical-thinking process about ethical frameworks. Addresses additional questions such as: What is the moral philosophy behind capitalism? What are the moral limits to markets? Do businesses create and rely upon moral capital?
ECON 300 Industrial Organization and Public Policy
Designed to identify features of industries with various degrees of competition. Issues to be explored include: identifying dominant firm, tight or loose oligopoly, competitive, and monopoly industries; product vs. geographic markets; technological innovations; collusion, product differentiation; mergers; advertising; efficiency; price discrimination; etc. In addition, antitrust policies will be reviewed as they pertain to these issues.
LDST 375 Economic Policy and Leadership
Explores two questions using debates amongst economists as our policy laboratory. First, what is the scope for policy makers to lead the economy through crises and the inevitable ups and downs that accompany economic expansion? How much agency should policy makers assume and when are unusual mechanisms called for? Second, what leadership role do economists legitimately play in the development and implementation of new economic policy? As we read and discuss the policy proposals of the past, we explore the answers to these and other questions in today's economic contexts. Primary focus ethical.