William J. Collins

Terence E. Adderley Jr. Professor of Economics
Professor of History

Professor Collins is an economic historian whose research focuses on US labor markets and cities.  He has recently studied immigration and inter-regional migration (within US), income inequality, racial disparities, and unions.  Professor Collins is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and co-directs the NBER’s Development of the American Economy Program.  In the past he has been a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, Senior Economist for the Council of Economic Advisers, and Editor of Explorations in Economic History and the Journal of Economic History.  At Vanderbilt, he has served as the Chair of the Department of Economics and as the Department’s Director of Graduate Studies.  He has been honored with the College of Arts and Science Nordhaus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the IPUMS-USA Research Award.

Courses taught:

Graduate: Introduction to Economic History, Microeconomic Topics in Economic History, and Labor Economics

Undergraduate: U.S. Economic History, Labor Economics