Robert L. Beekman

default profile picture

Robert L. Beekman, PhD, is an associate professor and chair of the economics department in the Sykes College of Business at the University of Tampa. His research interests include the impact of education-abroad programs and the distributional effects of international trade reforms. Beekman serves on the Florida Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and as a board member of the Academy of Business Economics. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida in 1987 and a PhD in international trade and environmental economics from the University of South Carolina in 1998. Previously he has worked as a commercial lender at a predecessor of Bank of America and as a policy analyst with the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Publications & Appearances

Basic Economics of the Export-Import Bank of the United States

We find that a domestic economy should not offer an export subsidy, whether a foreign government offers its own export subsidy or not. Finally, regardless of the Ex-Im Bank’s impact on economic efficiency, the ultimate decision about whether to intervene is political. Economic analysis can help political decision makers better understand the benefits and costs of their decisions.