Prof. Joyce Burnette

Prof. Joyce Burnette (Ph.D., Northwestern University) is Lawrence E. Devorre Professor of Economics at Wabash College. She is an economic historian who focuses on the role of women in the labor market.  Her 2008 book, Gender, Work, and Wages in Industrial Revolution Britain (Cambridge University Press), argues that, since strength was important in many occupations, lower wages do not necessarily imply discrimination.

 


Which book that isn't typically on course syllabi should all economics students read?

The book I would suggest is Joel Mokyr's Lever of Riches.

Do you have any good economics jokes you can share?

A physicist, chemist, and economist are stranded on a desert island.  They have canned food but no can openner.  The physicist says: "If we climb up a tree and drop the can, the force of the fall will open it." The chemist says: "If we heat the can, the contents will expand and force open the can." The economist says: "Assume we have a can opener..."