When Prof. Scott Redenius (ECON) entered Oberlin College as a freshman, he'd planned on majoring in a subject "along the lines of English, history or philosophy."An introductory economics course, however, not only changed his academic plans, but also determined the course of his professional career.

I discovered that economics answers all the questions you never knew you had," Redenius says.

During his senior year of college, Redenius says he realized he "didn't want to spend his life doing theoretical work." Captivated by the historical applications of economics, Redenius enrolled in Yale University, where he received his Ph.D. in economic theory in 2002.

This September marked the start of Redenius' teaching career at Brandeis, following four years at Knox College and six years at Bryn Mawr College.

Redenius' decision to become a professor was based on a desire to translate his passion for economics to his students. His favorite parts of teaching, Redenius explained, are the "aha! moments," the moments when all the material begins to click for the students.

This semester, Redenius is teaching three sections of "Statistics for Economic Analysis." In the spring, he will be teaching "Money and Banking," as well as "Introduction to Economics." According to Rachel McCulloch, chair of the Economics department, Redenius will also teach economic history in the future.

In his research, Redenius has analyzed American economic history and the economics of financial institutions, with a particular focus on the history of the American financial system.

His most recent project consisted of researching the reasons behind the variation of interest rates among regions across the United States after the Civil War, when rates on bank loans varied from 5 percent in Massachusetts to 12 percent or more in parts of the South and West, Redenius explains. This issue played a key role in the formation of the Federal Reserve System and the American government's effort to implement a national interest rate.

The question in the literature, Redenius says, is what generated these differences and why they declined so slowly over time. Economic researchers have developed several theories in response to this question-loans in the South and West were much riskier than loans in the North; Southern and Western banks operated as monopolies; and bank costs were higher in the South and West than in other parts of the country.

Redenius's research, however, "indicates that banks costs were an important component of the story," but that "high rates were also a product of the more rapid growth of the South and West."

For Redenius, the opportunity to watch college students begin to develop an enthusiasm for economics is just as valuable as his economic research.

Describing the most rewarding aspects of teaching, Redenius says, "Suddenly, things begin to make sense, and the students get really excited. I really like that.