- Forensic Economics

Catalog description

After an untimely death or a wrenching divorce, forensic economists are often called upon to estimate the economic worth of a human life or a family business. To make such estimations requires that students have a firm understanding of the underlying micro- and macroeconomic aspects of economic theory, of the relevant demographic and economic data that is available, and of the process of calculating net discounted present value. There are generally accepted ways of calculating economic worth, but there are also grey areas where judgments are made. The latter requires a subtle understanding of the issues behind why one assumption may be better than another and its impact on the final value of economic worth. Students will role-play a movie forensic economist who is a member of a well-respected law firm specializing in wrongful death and divorce.