Expert Witness

    Wendell E. Sweetser, Jr., Ph.D.

    Education:

    • Ph.D. - Virginia Tech (Economics), 1980

      Dissertation: An Analysis of Revenue Sharing's Performance in Achieving Formula Goals

      Dissertation Advisors: T. Nicolaus Tideman, Professor at Virginia Tech and Charles J. Goetz, Joseph M. Hartfield Professor of Law and Harrison Foundation Research Professor of Law at University of Virginia

    • M.A. - Virginia Tech (Economics), 1974
    • B.A. - University of New Hampshire (Economics), 1972

    Professional Experience:

    • Consultant and expert witness for the Public Service Commission of West Virginia. Testified to the consequences of deregulating the market for the collection of municipal solid waste in West Virginia (April 2001).
    • Plaintiff consultant and expert for the assessment of punitive damages using the economic analysis of law and the economic analysis of penalties (1999-present).
    • Defense consultant for the assessment of punitive damages using the economic analysis of law and the economics of penalties (1998-present.
    • Forensic Economics - Qualified as an Expert on Economics and Statistics in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
    • Served as a consultant and expert witness for the assessment of compensatory damages in personal injury, fatal accident, and breach of contract litigation (1987-present).
    • Consultant to Cooksey Brothers, Inc. to develop a more profitable pricing strategy for landfill space (1995).
    • Consultant to the West Virginia Water Company to evaluate econometric forecasts of water use produced by the Consumer Protection Agency. I also testified to my findings in a rate hearing of the Public Service Commission (1985).
    • Consultant to the West Virginia Tax Study Commission to evaluate alternative proposals for converting the state liquor monolopy to a license system (1984).
    • Consultant to the Marshall Foundation to assess the economic impact of the Marshall University School of Medicine (1980).
    • Assistant Professor of Economics at Marshall University (1980-1998).
    • Instructor of Economics at Marshall University (1977-1998).
    • Instructor of Economics at Virginia Tech (Nov 1976- June 1977).

    Affiliations: Forensic Economics

    • National Association of Forensic Economics
    • American Rehabilitation Economics Association
    • American Law and Economic Association

    Affiliations: Economics

    • Public Choice Society
    • American Economic Association
    • Southern Economic Association
    • International Atlantic Economic Association
    • Economic Science Association

    Current Projects:

    • The use of Economic Analysis of Law and the Economics of Penalties to assess punitive damages in financial injury cases.
    • "Relevance of Defendant Financial Records in Assessing Punitive Damages: Will Practices Change with Daubert/Kumho?" presented at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association and the National Association of Forensic Economics, Boston, MA, (January 2000).
    • "The Efficacy of a Writing-Intensive Laboratory Course" presented at the annual meeting to the American Economic Association, New York, NY, (January 1999).
    • Using Classroom Experiments to Explore the Economics of Business Ethics
    • Incentive Compatibility Problems with Using SETs to Assess Teaching Effectiveness Helped develop Understanding Markets - an Honors Course that uses classroom experiments and lab reports as primary learning exercises, for Fall 1998.

    Publications:

    • "Political Deadlocks and Distributional Information: The Value of the Veil," with Roger Congleton, (1992) Public Choice 73: pp. 1-19.
    • "Redesigning the Introductory Economics Curriculum to Develop Writing/Communication Skills," with Harlan Smith (Gebruary 1997) Proceedings of the 3rd National Writing Across the Curriculum Conference, Charleston, SC.
    • "Market Failure in the Market for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal: A Framework for Analysis," with Don Holdren, (June 1996) Papers and Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Nashville, TN.
    • "Using Market Based Experiments to Internationalize Your Principles Course," (February 1996) Papers and Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on "Teaching Economics: Instruction and Classroom Based Research," Robert Morris College, Corapolis, PA.
    • Prepared and in-depth review of Public Finance and the American Economy, by Neil Bruce for Addison Wesley Longman, 1997 (Spring 1997).

    Presentations:

    • "Relevance of Defendant Financial Records in Assessing Punitive Damages: Will Practices Change with Daubert/Kumho?" presented at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association and the National Association of Forensic Economics, Boston, MA (January 2000).
    • "The Efficacy of a Writing-Intensive Laboratory Course" Presented at the annual meeting to the American Economic Association, New York, NY, (January 1999).
    • "A Protocol to Demonstrate Gains from Trade Using Classroom Experiments," for a panel on Global Issues in the Economics Curriculum. Presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Business Administration Association, Chicago, IL (March 26, 1998)
    • "The Efficacy of a Writing-Intensive Laboratory Course," Presented at the annual meeting of the Public Choice Society and the Economic Science Association, New Orleans, LA (March 14, 1998)
    • "Improving Learning: Learning in Writing to Learn vs. Lecture Style University Courses," an invited presentation at Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA (March 12, 1998)
    • "Market Failure in the Market for Municipal Solid Waste Disposal: A Framework For Analysis," with Don Holdren. Presented at the annual meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Nashville, TN (June 23-28, 1996). Published in the Proceeding. The article is being revised for the Journal of Air and Waste Management.
    • "An Examination Into the Use of Computer Proficiency/Literacy Examinations, " with Don Holdren, and Wilma Skean. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Finance Association, Charlotte, NC (April 20, 1996)
    • "Classroom Experiments a Vehicles to Demonstrate Gains from Trade," Presented at an annual meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, Las Vegas, NV (April 12, 1996)

    Funded Research Projects:

    • Bilateral Winner's Curse: Does the Distribution of Payoffs Affect Learning?" Marshall University Foundation, 1993.
    • Alternative Proposals for Converting the State Liquor Monopoly in West Virginia to a License System, with R. Morris Coats, funded by the West Virginia Tax Study Commission.
    • "A Profitable Pricing Strategy for the Cooksey Brothers Landfill, funded by Cooksey Brothers, Inc. May 1995.

    University and Community Service:

    • Served on the Assessment Committee for the College of Business and served as chair for one year. Served as faculty advisor and instructor for the Marshall University Karate Club 1978 to 1998.
    • Member of the Centennial Toastmasters Club chartered by Toastmasters International and currently servings as Vice President in charge of membership.
    • Served as treasurer for the Greater Huntington Home Brewers Association from 1996 to 1999.

    Courses Taught at Marshall University

    Principles of Microeconomics
    Principles of Macroeconomics
    Intermediate Microeconomic Theory
    Advanced Microeconomic Theory
    Survey of Economics
    Understanding Markets (Honors 150)
    Econometrics
    Mathematical Economics
    Law and Economics
    Public Finance
    Industrial Organization
    Environmental Economics

    Honors:

    • Certified as a Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Professor by the Marshall University Writing Across the Curriculum Committee October 1996
    • Recertified as a WAC Professor by the Marshall University Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Committee May 1998.
       


    References are available upon request.