معرفی
Marcus Shera is an emerging economist set to begin as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Eastern University in St. David's, PA, in Fall 2025. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Smith Institute at Chapman University (2024–2025). He earned his PhD in Economics from George Mason University in Summer 2024, where he had been affiliated since his undergraduate studies began in 2016.
His research centers on the intersection of religion and economic institutions, particularly in historical contexts. His work spans the political economy of religion, institutional economics, and the intellectual traditions of Adam Smith and Austrian economics. Key themes include legitimacy in religious institutions, the economic consequences of monasticism, and the long-term impact of church-state interactions.
- Political Economy of Religion
- Institutional Economics
- Economic History
- Smithian Political Economy
- Austrian Economics
- Political Economy of Genocide
His recent and forthcoming publications examine topics such as the fall of the Templars, mass deportation in the Ottoman Empire, and institutional incompleteness. His research often combines historical analysis with theoretical modeling, drawing on frameworks like the club model of religion and credible commitment problems. He is currently working on several projects, including a paper on the persistence of Protestantism in England post-Dissolution and another on Islam's role in shifting economic activity to Northwestern Europe.
Marcus Shera is active in public scholarship, running a Substack and YouTube channel called The Econ Playground. He has no listed scientific awards or formal advisees at this stage in his career. He maintains a robust research agenda with multiple papers in various stages of completion, as visualized in his 'Paper Map'.
He has not held prior faculty positions and is not retired or deceased. His transition from postdoc to assistant professor marks the beginning of his independent academic career.
