
- earlyd@southwestern.edu
- 512.863.1592
- Mood-Bridwell 334
Dirk Early
Professor of Economics
Dirk Early received his PhD from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA in 1995 and his BSB from Miami University, Oxford, OH in 1988.
In the News
A U.S. Army veteran himself, Johnathon Melamed ’25 prioritized supporting his fellow student veterans, all while managing his own small business, supporting his family, and revitalizing his community.
more informationEnjoy highlights from the Commencement Convocation Ceremony celebrating the Southwestern University Class of 2025.
more informationWith computer-aided design and 3D printing skills increasingly in demand across a variety of industries, Southwestern University students will soon have another avenue to sharpen their technical knowledge.
more informationSamuel Hoffman ’27 and Ethan Wilcox ’26 were each awarded $40,000 scholarships from The Sumners Foundation for their studies at Southwestern University.
more informationSouthwestern’s new Certificate in Legal Studies is designed to prepare students to engage with questions of the law in today’s society by exploring the applications, contexts, and consequences of law.
more informationSouthwestern students will soon have the opportunity to study abroad at Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City.
more informationSouthwestern and Texas A&M are teaming up to provide opportunities for SU students interested in pursuing graduate business programs at TAMU.
more informationPre-nursing graduates from Southwestern will now have the opportunity to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing in as little as 12 months.
more informationAfter nearly a decade of bonding over patty melts and honey bbq chicken strip sandwiches, the Southwestern University football team’s offensive line recently became the star of a national Whataburger marketing campaign.
more informationPillars in the Georgetown community, the Brightwells left a $1 million estate gift to Southwestern University.
more informationMilitary Friendly® has honored Southwestern with a Silver Award to recognize the University’s inclusivity efforts for the military community.
more informationA U.S. Army veteran himself, Johnathon Melamed ’25 prioritized supporting his fellow student veterans, all while managing his own small business, supporting his family, and revitalizing his community.
more informationEnjoy highlights from the Commencement Convocation Ceremony celebrating the Southwestern University Class of 2025.
more informationWith computer-aided design and 3D printing skills increasingly in demand across a variety of industries, Southwestern University students will soon have another avenue to sharpen their technical knowledge.
more informationSamuel Hoffman ’27 and Ethan Wilcox ’26 were each awarded $40,000 scholarships from The Sumners Foundation for their studies at Southwestern University.
more informationSouthwestern’s new Certificate in Legal Studies is designed to prepare students to engage with questions of the law in today’s society by exploring the applications, contexts, and consequences of law.
more informationSouthwestern students will soon have the opportunity to study abroad at Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City.
more informationSouthwestern and Texas A&M are teaming up to provide opportunities for SU students interested in pursuing graduate business programs at TAMU.
more informationPre-nursing graduates from Southwestern will now have the opportunity to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing in as little as 12 months.
more informationAfter nearly a decade of bonding over patty melts and honey bbq chicken strip sandwiches, the Southwestern University football team’s offensive line recently became the star of a national Whataburger marketing campaign.
more informationPillars in the Georgetown community, the Brightwells left a $1 million estate gift to Southwestern University.
more informationMilitary Friendly® has honored Southwestern with a Silver Award to recognize the University’s inclusivity efforts for the military community.
more informationA U.S. Army veteran himself, Johnathon Melamed ’25 prioritized supporting his fellow student veterans, all while managing his own small business, supporting his family, and revitalizing his community.
more informationEnjoy highlights from the Commencement Convocation Ceremony celebrating the Southwestern University Class of 2025.
more informationWith computer-aided design and 3D printing skills increasingly in demand across a variety of industries, Southwestern University students will soon have another avenue to sharpen their technical knowledge.
more informationSamuel Hoffman ’27 and Ethan Wilcox ’26 were each awarded $40,000 scholarships from The Sumners Foundation for their studies at Southwestern University.
more informationSouthwestern’s new Certificate in Legal Studies is designed to prepare students to engage with questions of the law in today’s society by exploring the applications, contexts, and consequences of law.
more informationSouthwestern students will soon have the opportunity to study abroad at Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City.
more informationSouthwestern and Texas A&M are teaming up to provide opportunities for SU students interested in pursuing graduate business programs at TAMU.
more informationPre-nursing graduates from Southwestern will now have the opportunity to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing in as little as 12 months.
more informationAfter nearly a decade of bonding over patty melts and honey bbq chicken strip sandwiches, the Southwestern University football team’s offensive line recently became the star of a national Whataburger marketing campaign.
more informationPillars in the Georgetown community, the Brightwells left a $1 million estate gift to Southwestern University.
more informationMilitary Friendly® has honored Southwestern with a Silver Award to recognize the University’s inclusivity efforts for the military community.
more informationA U.S. Army veteran himself, Johnathon Melamed ’25 prioritized supporting his fellow student veterans, all while managing his own small business, supporting his family, and revitalizing his community.
more informationEnjoy highlights from the Commencement Convocation Ceremony celebrating the Southwestern University Class of 2025.
more informationWith computer-aided design and 3D printing skills increasingly in demand across a variety of industries, Southwestern University students will soon have another avenue to sharpen their technical knowledge.
more informationSamuel Hoffman ’27 and Ethan Wilcox ’26 were each awarded $40,000 scholarships from The Sumners Foundation for their studies at Southwestern University.
more informationSouthwestern’s new Certificate in Legal Studies is designed to prepare students to engage with questions of the law in today’s society by exploring the applications, contexts, and consequences of law.
more informationSouthwestern students will soon have the opportunity to study abroad at Universidad de la Libertad in Mexico City.
more informationSouthwestern and Texas A&M are teaming up to provide opportunities for SU students interested in pursuing graduate business programs at TAMU.
more informationPre-nursing graduates from Southwestern will now have the opportunity to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing in as little as 12 months.
more informationAfter nearly a decade of bonding over patty melts and honey bbq chicken strip sandwiches, the Southwestern University football team’s offensive line recently became the star of a national Whataburger marketing campaign.
more informationPillars in the Georgetown community, the Brightwells left a $1 million estate gift to Southwestern University.
more informationMilitary Friendly® has honored Southwestern with a Silver Award to recognize the University’s inclusivity efforts for the military community.
more informationA U.S. Army veteran himself, Johnathon Melamed ’25 prioritized supporting his fellow student veterans, all while managing his own small business, supporting his family, and revitalizing his community.
more informationEnjoy highlights from the Commencement Convocation Ceremony celebrating the Southwestern University Class of 2025.
more informationSamuel Hoffman ’27 and Ethan Wilcox ’26 were each awarded $40,000 scholarships from The Sumners Foundation for their studies at Southwestern University.
more informationAfter nearly a decade of bonding over patty melts and honey bbq chicken strip sandwiches, the Southwestern University football team’s offensive line recently became the star of a national Whataburger marketing campaign.
more informationPillars in the Georgetown community, the Brightwells left a $1 million estate gift to Southwestern University.
more informationThe field at the new multi-purpose sports complex will be named in honor of Kevin and Elizabeth Dice for their generous donation to the facility.
more informationErika (Sehne) Munch, M.D. ’04 has helped hundreds of patients experience the joys of parenthood through her role as a reproductive endocrinologist at Texas Fertility Center.
more informationSouthwestern’s unique approach to a liberal arts education, paired with passionate faculty and small class sizes, has put countless students on a path to success in law.
more informationA new era for Pirates men’s basketball is underway as Matt Streich takes the helm, bringing over a decade of coaching experience at the NCAA Division III level to Southwestern.
more informationGarey Chair and Professor of Mathematics Alison Marr uses her own experiences as a female mathematician to inspire the next generation of learners while also playing a pivotal role in enhancing the Southwestern community.
more informationAfter celebrating 20 years with the American Heart Association and moving into a new national role, political science major Eric Batch ’97 looks back at his time at Southwestern and how it inspired him to change the world.
more informationNotable Achievements
Economics majors Abbie Boatwright ’19, Stan Kannegieter ’19, and Diana Trevino ’20 presented their research at the Economics Scholars Undergraduate Research Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Boatwright, under the direction of Professor of Economics Dirk Early and Dr. Paul Brenner, associate director of high-performance computing at the University of Notre Dame, presented her research on the link between intellectual-property protections and patenting, “Global Innovation and Intellectual-Property Rights.” Kannegieter presented his work on the effectiveness of solar incentives in solar adoption, “The Effect of Financial Incentive Policies on Residential Solar Panel Installation,” and Trevino presented her paper on discrimination in jury selection, “Discrimination in Peremptory Challenges.” Assistant Professor of Economics Katie Grooms supervised the projects produced by Kannegieter and Trevino. Grooms was also the keynote speaker at the conference and presented her work “Water Pollution in the United States: Regulatory Enforcement, Firm Compliance, and Human Health.”
Dirk Early received his PhD from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA in 1995 and his BSB from Miami University, Oxford, OH in 1988.
Peer Reviewed Publications:
A Panel of Interarea Price Indices for All Areas in the United States, 1982-2012. (with Paul Carrilo, George Washington University, and Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia). Journal of Housing Economics, 2014.
Geographical Price Variation, Housing Assistance and Poverty. (with Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia) in Philip M. Jefferson (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Poverty, Oxford University Press, 2012.
An Empirical Investigation of the Determinants of Street Homelessness. Journal of Housing Economics, Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2005.
The Determinants of Homelessness and the Targeting of Housing Assistance. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 55, No. 1, January 2004.
Subsidized Housing, Emergency Shelters, and Homelessness: An Empirical Investigation Using Data from the 1990 Census. (with Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia.) Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 2, 2002.
Rent Control, Rental Housing Supply, and the Distribution of Tenant Benefits. Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 48, Number 2, September 2000.
The Effects of Rent Regulations on Price in the Uncontrolled Sector: An Empirical Investigation using Data from the AHS. (with Jon Phelps, Southwestern University.) Journal of Housing Research, Volume 10, Issue 2, December 1999.
A Microeconomic Model of Homelessness: An Empirical Investigation Using Choice-Based Sampling. Journal of Housing Economics, Volume 8, Number 4, December 1999. The Role of Subsidized Housing in Reducing Homelessness: An Empirical Investigation Using Micro-Data. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Volume 17, Number 4, Fall 1998.
Rent Control and Homelessness. (with Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia.) Regional Science and Urban Economics, Volume 28, Number 6, November 1998.
Non-Peer Reviewed Publications:
Medicaid, Managed Care and the Health of Children in Texas. (with Mary Young, Southwestern University). In The Status of Women: Facing the Facts, Forging the Future: Proceedings of the Symposium held in Washington, D.C., June 8-10, 2001, edited by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2002.
Grants:
US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Research for Assisted Housing II Grants Program, Title: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Rents of Constant Quality Units in the Housing Choice Voucher Program: Evidence from HUDs Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2010.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Research for Assisted Housing II Grants Program, Title: Metropolitan Area Cost of Rental Housing Indices Using the Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2006.
Dirk Early received his PhD from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA in 1995 and his BSB from Miami University, Oxford, OH in 1988.
Peer Reviewed Publications:
A Panel of Interarea Price Indices for All Areas in the United States, 1982-2012. (with Paul Carrilo, George Washington University, and Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia). Journal of Housing Economics, 2014.
Geographical Price Variation, Housing Assistance and Poverty. (with Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia) in Philip M. Jefferson (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Poverty, Oxford University Press, 2012.
An Empirical Investigation of the Determinants of Street Homelessness. Journal of Housing Economics, Vol. 14, No. 1, March 2005.
The Determinants of Homelessness and the Targeting of Housing Assistance. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 55, No. 1, January 2004.
Subsidized Housing, Emergency Shelters, and Homelessness: An Empirical Investigation Using Data from the 1990 Census. (with Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia.) Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 2, 2002.
Rent Control, Rental Housing Supply, and the Distribution of Tenant Benefits. Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 48, Number 2, September 2000.
The Effects of Rent Regulations on Price in the Uncontrolled Sector: An Empirical Investigation using Data from the AHS. (with Jon Phelps, Southwestern University.) Journal of Housing Research, Volume 10, Issue 2, December 1999.
A Microeconomic Model of Homelessness: An Empirical Investigation Using Choice-Based Sampling. Journal of Housing Economics, Volume 8, Number 4, December 1999. The Role of Subsidized Housing in Reducing Homelessness: An Empirical Investigation Using Micro-Data. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Volume 17, Number 4, Fall 1998.
Rent Control and Homelessness. (with Edgar Olsen, University of Virginia.) Regional Science and Urban Economics, Volume 28, Number 6, November 1998.
Non-Peer Reviewed Publications:
Medicaid, Managed Care and the Health of Children in Texas. (with Mary Young, Southwestern University). In The Status of Women: Facing the Facts, Forging the Future: Proceedings of the Symposium held in Washington, D.C., June 8-10, 2001, edited by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2002.
Grants:
US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Research for Assisted Housing II Grants Program, Title: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Rents of Constant Quality Units in the Housing Choice Voucher Program: Evidence from HUDs Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2010.
US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Research for Assisted Housing II Grants Program, Title: Metropolitan Area Cost of Rental Housing Indices Using the Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2006.
In the News
Southwestern professors Saroj Dhital and Dirk Early explain the impacts of the pandemic on the U.S. economy.
The Hugh Roy and Lillie Cullen Chair in Economics shares his thoughts on his students, his dream vacation, and his 26 years at Southwestern.