Ralph Byrns

Adjunct Professor
Rice University
Information Economics

Prior to joining the Department of Economics at UNC-Chapel Hill as an Adjunct Professor in 2001, Ralph Byrns taught at Rice, Clemson, Metropolitan State College at Denver, the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Loyola University of Chicago, Greensboro College, and Duke. His research interests include the economics of personal relationships, the sociology of economics as a discipline, behavioral economics, and the logic of economic theoreticians vis-à-vis the art and science of economics.

Byrns' writings for economic education currently focus on Economicae: an Interactive Encyclopedia for Economics, and he’s seeking a coauthor for his intermediate microeconomics text. His Economics text (with Gerald W. Stone, now in a 6th edition) has been used by more than one million students at over 1200 universities since 1981. He regularly teaches large sections of Introduction to Economics, upper division courses in History of Economic Doctrines and Financial Markets, and has been honored with numerous teaching awards. He also sponsors the Carolina Economics Club and enjoys debating economic issues and talking about possible career paths with students.

Professor Byrns holds a B.S. from Arizona State University (1965), and an M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. (1977) from Rice University. He and his wife, Patricia J. Byrns (M.D., Associate Dean, UNC Medical School) live in Chatham County. He enjoys reading about philosophy, science, and politics, plays golf wretchedly, and was the world champion backgammon player on the internet in 2002.