Martin A. Asher

Martin A. Asher
  • Adjunct Full Professor in Finance

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    2300 Steinberg-Dietrich Hall
    3620 Locust Walk
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: antitrust, law and economics, macroeconomics, gender and race wage differentials, income distribution

Overview

Education

PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1986; MA, University of Pennsylvania, 1979; BA, Stanford University, 1977

Recent Consulting

Expert economic testimony in antitrust cases regarding allegations of price fixing and market allocation, including analysis of class certification issues and construction of damages models. Court-appointed expert in largest U.S. gender discrimination damages case. Contract research and evaluation for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare.

Career and Recent Professional Awards; Teaching Awards

Recipient of a 2021 and 2022 Wharton Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award and 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2014 William G. Whitney Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching in the Associated Faculty, The Wharton School; 2000 Kravis Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in Economics, Department of Economics, College of Arts and Sciences.

Academic Positions Held

Wharton: 1995-present (Director, Research and Scholars Programs 2004-2014; Director, Joseph Wharton Scholars Program, 2000-2014). University of Pennsylvania: 1997-2000 (Lecturer, Department of Economics; Associate Director, Institute for Law and Economics, Penn Law). Professor of Economics and Business, Westmont College (2016-2023). Visiting appointments: Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College. Previous appointment: Villanova University.

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Teaching

All Courses

  • FNCE1010 - Monetary Econ & Glob Eco

    This is an intermediate-level course in macroeconomics and the global economy, including topics in monetary and international economics. The goal is to provide a unified framework for understanding macroeconomic events and policy, which govern the global economic environment of business. The course analyzes the determinants and behavior of employment, production, demand and profits; inflation, interest rates, asset prices, and wages; exchange rates and international flows of goods and assets; including the interaction of the real economy with monetary policy and the financial system. The analysis is applied to current events, both in the US and abroad. Students cannot receive credit for taking both FNCE 1010 and ECON 2200. Wharton students are required to take FNCE 1010.

  • FNCE1018 - Monetary Econ & Glob (Honors)

    This is an intermediate-level course in macroeconomics and the global economy, including topics in monetary and international economics. The goal is to provide a unified framework for understanding macroeconomic events and policy, which govern the global economic environment of business. The course analyzes the determinants and behavior of employment, production, demand and profits; inflation, interest rates, asset prices, and wages; exchange rates and international flows of goods and assets; including the interaction of the real economy with monetary policy and the financial system. The analysis is applied to current events, both in the US and abroad. Students cannot receive credit for taking both FNCE 1010 and ECON 2200. Wharton students are required to take FNCE 1010. Honors sections require MATH 1400 or MATH 1070 as a prerequisite. Application process.

  • WH3990 - Honors Thesis

    This seminar takes place over two semesters and provides students with the skills to perform their own research under the guidance of a Wharton faculty member. At the conclusion of the fall semester, students will produce a thesis proposal including literature review, significance of the research, methodology, and exploratory data if relevant. Throughout the fall semester faculty guests from a range of disciplines will present on their research in class, highlighting aspects that are relevant to the work students are engaging in at that point. During the second semester, students will collect and analyze data and write up the results in close collaboration with their faculty mentor. At the end of the spring semester, each student will present their research in a video presentation. Throughout the course, students will work individually, in small groups, and under the mentorship of a Wharton faculty member. The goal is to becomes capable independent researchers who incorporate feedback and critical (self-) analysis to take their research to the next level.

Activity

Wharton Magazine

All Over the Map

How Wharton’s research programs prepare undergraduates for careers in academia and the private sector.

Wharton Magazine - 01/01/2011