School of Economics

Dr. Schaffer, professor emeritus of Economics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Duke University. He has directed major inter-industry studies for the states of Hawaii and Georgia and the province of Nova Scotia. With special interests in regional economics, he has contributed to the literature on constructing regional inter-industry models, on economic impact analysis and input-output applications, and on the teaching and theory of regional science.

In addition, he has published studies of the economic impact of various professional sports teams, festivals, and educational and cultural activities around the nation. He is author or co-author of several books, including Cost-Benefit Analysis and On Input-Output Models and Regional Planning, and has consulted and testified on environmental questions, project feasibility, computer applications, and tourism impacts. His latest publication is electronic: “Economic Impact Models in The Web Book of Regional Science at West Virginia University.”

He acted as chair of the School of Economics at Georgia Tech, 1990-7 and 1999-2000, and has been on the boards of private corporations, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, and several professional associations and journals. Most recently, he was president of the Atlanta Economics Club in 2000. Schaffer has also been a member of the International Council of the Regional Science Association and was president of the North American Regional Science Council in 1996-7. He has been honored as a distinguished fellow of the Southern Regional Science Association and is a recipient of the Faculty of the Year award of the Student Government Association at Georgia Tech.

His teaching interests include microeconomics and regional and urban economics.

His research interests include economic impact analysis, models of open economies, economic explanations of regional and urban phenomena.