Doctoral Programs
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

The Andrew Young School currently has 62 students in the Ph.D. in Economics program; 5 students in the Ph.D. in Human Resource Development program, and 28 in the joint Ph.D. in Public Policy.

In This Page

• The Ph.D. in Economics and the Ph.D. in Human Resource Development
  • Graduates
  • Current Students
• Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy
• Graduate Research and Teaching Assistants

Graduates of the Ph.D. in Economics and the Ph.D. in Human Resource Development

Doctoral Graduates

Nine doctoral degrees were awarded in the Andrew Young School in 2002.

Howard Bailey (Ph.D. in Human Resource Development) successfully defended his dissertation entitled “An Exploration of Dissonance Experienced by Host Country Workers in Nongovernmental Organizations." Data for this study were collected in India. Dr. Bailey is currently the president of the UK consulting firm, International Cross-Cultural Partners.

Jonathan Dawe (Ph.D. in Human Resource Development) successfully defended his dissertation, "Career Development and Ex-Offenders of White-Collar Crimes." He is presently Director of Human Resources, Safety, Wellness and Workers’ Compensation at the Simmons Company in Atlanta.

Steve Everhart (Ph.D. in Economics) successfully defended his dissertation, "Private Investment, the Quality of Public Investment, and the Impact of Corruption in Emerging Economies." He works as Economist at the Office of the Vice President, Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

David Kialain (Ph.D. in Human Resource Development) successfully defended his dissertation entitled "Obstacles Inhibiting Managerial Leadership Initiatives and Performance Within Formal Organizations in Liberia." Dr. Kialain is originally from Liberia.

Kimberly Clauss Magee (Ph.D. in Human Resource Development) successfully defended her dissertation, "The Impact of Organizational Culture on the Implementation of Performance Management." She is currently the director for Human Resources for information technology at the Coca-Cola Company.

Waseem Mina (Ph.D. in Economics) successfully defended his dissertation, “Political Risk and Moral Hazard in International Lending: Two Essays.” He has been appointed as a Visiting Assisting Professor in Economics at Georgia State University.

Piriya Pholphirul (Ph.D. in Economics) successfully defended his dissertation, "Foreign Direct Investment, Exchange Rate Pass-Through, and Exchange Rate Volatility: A Perspective of Spatial Panel Data." He accepted a position as Research Economist at the Thailand Development Research Institute.

William Joseph Smith (Ph.D. in Economics) successfully defended his dissertation, "Employment and Recidivism for Female AFDC and TANF Case Heads: The Roles of Neighborhood and Access to Employment Growth." He works as Research Associate in the Fiscal Research Program at Georgia State University.

Stephanie M. Zobay (Ph.D. in Economics) successfully defended her dissertation, "Fiscal Federalism and Intergovernmental Grants: The Role of the State."

Current Students

Doctoral students co-author a number of articles with AYSPS faculty, and engage in a wide assortment of research and international activities. For a complete listing, see the "Graduate Student Activities" portion of the research section of this report.

The Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy

The joint Georgia State-Georgia Tech Ph.D. program in Public Policy continues to grow, strengthen, and diversify. We have awarded our first two doctorates, to Angela Blair Hutchinson and David Rein. Seven students are now ABD, and three more have passed their core comprehensive exams. Most of the 25 current students are Americans, but citizens of Bolivia, China, France, India, Korea, and Turkey comprise one-third of the students. At least ten students have presented research papers at professional conferences or have had them published in refereed journals. Eleven have taught courses since joining the program.

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistants

Almost all doctoral students and many master's-level students in AYSPS work as graduate assistants while completing their academic programs. A list of the break-down per semester is provided below. Funding for GRAs totalled $892,000 for the year.