Associate Professor of Economics

Center for Civic and Global Engagement

EDUCATION

• PhD, Economics. University of Reading  
• MBA, West Texas A&M University
• BA, Sociology/Anthropology, Principia College

CONTACT

• 618.374.5496
• Send a message to Dr. Benson.

Dr. Portia Benson is an Associate Professor of Economics at Principia College, where she teaches courses in microeconomics, econometrics, and finance. She holds a BA in sociology/anthropology from Principia, an MBA from West Texas A&M University, and a PhD in economics from the University of Reading (UK). She is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and brings over 25 years of experience in financial management, consulting, and teaching to the classroom. She was recognized as Principia's Teacher of the Year in 2020. Her previous research explored the determinants of tax morale and compliance, focusing on the roles of social norms and political gender representation, as well as the impacts of participatory governance on economic prosperity. Her current project examines the impacts of civic engagement on a country's economic prosperity. 

SCHOLARLY INTERESTS

• behavioral economics and finance
• tax morale and compliance
• civic engagement and economic prosperity
• ethics and corporate governance

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FIELD

• Dr. Benson has shared her research at graduate student conferences in the UK. She has also presented her economics teaching philosophy at the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis at both the 2023 and 2024 Professor's conferences.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS

• American Economic Association (AEA)
• Institute for Management Accountants (IMA), Certified CMA
• National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) 

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Benson, P. 2024. “Game Changer: Using Sports to Teach Gender Equality’s Economic Impact” St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Professor’s Conference, St. Louis, MO, November 8, 2024.

Benson, P. 2024.  "The Effects of Participatory Budgeting on Local Government Tax Compliance" University of Reading Graduate Conference, Reading, UK, June, 2024. 
 
Benson, P. 2023. “Active Learning by Scaffolding Assignments: The Trade-offs between Book Learning and Scaffolding” St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Professor’s Conference, St. Louis, MO, November 3, 2023.

Benson, P. 2023.  "Political Leader Gender and Tax Morale: Evidence from the UK Elections" University of Reading Graduate Conference, Reading, UK, June, 2023. 

Benson, P. 2022. "Examining the Effects of Injunctive and Descriptive Norms on Tax Non-compliance on US Individual Income Payers" University of Reading Graduate Conference, Reading, UK, June, 2022. 

AWARD

• Principia College Teacher of the Year, 2020

Portia Benson CV