Job Market Update (February 2022): I am over-joyed to announce that I have accepted an employment offer from The Fontana Group. I will begin working as an Economist at The Fontana Group in the Fall of 2022.
My name is Max McDevitt. I am a PhD Candidate at Boston University. My research interests are economic history, political economy, and applied econometrics. In my job market paper I relate the political connections of firms to capital investment and firm-specific legislation using an original dataset.
Address: 270 Bay state Road, Boston, MA 02215
Phone: 425-753-5721
Email: mjmcd@bu.edu
I am passionate about teaching. During my PhD I taught economics courses at Boston University, Northeastern University, and Goucher College in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and American economic history.
Teaching Evaluations:
I consistently receive high marks from my students on teaching course evaluations. I have demonstrated ability to teach successful core courses as well as upper-division field courses. The following are brief numerical summaries from some of the courses I have taught:
American Economic History (Northeastern University, Fall 2020)
(Values shown are averages of students’ responses on a 1-5 scale)
-Instructor Effectiveness: 4.7 (Dept. 4.2; Univ. 4.4)
-Course was Intellectually Challenging: 4.7 (Dept. 4.2; Univ. 4.2)
-I learned a lot in this course: 5 (Dept. 4.2; Univ. 4.3)
Introductory Microeconomic Analysis (Boston University, Summer 2020)
(Values shown are averages of students’ responses on a 1-5 scale)
-Overall Course Rating: 4.64
-Overall Instructor Rating: 4.43
Research Works in Progress:
Between the Board Room and Parliament: Special Legislation, Capital Investment, and Railway Directors in Parliament, 1864-1901 (JMP)
Political Connections, Bureaucratic Incentives, and Consumer and Employee Safety: Fatal Railway Accidents in the U.K., 1832-1924
Democracy and Political Connections: Franchise Reforms and the Decline of Corporate Directors in the House of Commons
Pricing Political Connections in Victorian Britain: Unanticipated Deaths, Close Elections, and Asset Price Movements on the London Stock Exchange
Political Connections and the Development of the Irish Railways: The Role of Corporate Directors as Justices of the Peace
Testimonials from my former students:
“The instructor was extremely kind and understanding, and very available to answer questions and concerns. He also made all course materials easily available and his lectures were engaging and interesting. He is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about course materials and his general field of study which makes his course all that much more enjoyable to take.” – Student, American Economic History, Northeastern University, Fall 2020
“Extremely organized, easy to follow structure of the class. Instructor has immense knowledge in subject and was more than happy to offer advice to students asking for course help as well as advice in careers/further education in economics.” – Student, American Economic History, Northeastern University, Fall 2020
“Thank you for a great class! Definitely one of the better, if not best, teacher that I have had so far. Taking intermediate macro and econometrics at the same time scared me at first. But in all honesty you made the intuition easier to understand and the math less daunting. Thank you…” – V., Intermediate Macroeconomics, Boston University Summer 2019
“Hello Max, I hope you are doing well and staying safe. I just wanted to thank you for this summer’s economics class. I have never taken econ before and you made each concept so clear and understandable. I truly appreciate the effort and patience you had answering all of my questions as well as going through exams and lectures with me. I hope that you continue to teach economics as you make it so enjoyable.” – P., Introductory Microeconomic Analysis, Boston University Summer 2020
“Hi Max, I hope you are doing well! I wanted to say thank you so much for a great summer semester! I had pushed off taking EC101 for three years, as I was super nervous to take it, but this class exceeded every expectation I had. I genuinely loved this class so much and I learned an incredible amount in such a short time. Thank you for all the help and encouragement you provided.” – J., Introductory Microeconomic Analysis, Boston University, Summer 2020
“One of my favorite teachers I have had…Would highly recommend. He knows how to set his students up for success.” – Student, American Economic History, Northeastern University, Fall 2020
