Robert C. Tatum, Ph.D.

Robert C. Tatum is Professor of Economics and Finance and Director of the University Honors Program at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Trained as an international macroeconomist, his research has increasingly explored how theology can enrich economic reasoning about the purposes of economic life. His scholarship contributes to the development of theological economics, an emerging interdisciplinary field that examines how theological traditions inform economic thought, public policy, and broader questions of human flourishing.

His work has appeared in journals including Environment and Development Economics, Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Economics, Theology and Religion, and Faith & Economics, and has been presented at conferences throughout North America, South America, and Europe. His research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright-Hays Program.

As Director of the University Honors Program, Tatum provides leadership for interdisciplinary academic programming, student intellectual community development, and public-facing Honors initiatives. He previously served as Chair of the Department of Economics, where he led curriculum reform, faculty hiring, and departmental strategic planning. He also serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Economics, Theology and Religion and as Economics Editor of The Big Picture magazine, published by the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology.

Education

• B.S., Economics, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, June 1997
• M.A., Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington, May 1999
• Ph.D., Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington, March 2005

Courses Regularly Taught

• ECON 101 Principles of Macroeconomics
• ECON 103 Introductory Economic Analysis
• ECON 178 Economics and the Global Poor First-Year Seminar
• ECON 291 Intermediate Macroeconomics
• ECON 306 Managerial Finance
• ECON 314 Economic Growth and Development
• ECON 338 Morality and Material Progress
• ECON 342 Money and the Financial System
• ECON 355 Open-Economy Macroeconomics

Selected Publications

• Tatum, R. (2026). “Patristic Perspectives on Wealth and Inequality: Theological Economics in the Writings of Clement of Alexandria and Basil the Great.” Journal of Economics, Theology, and Religion 6(1).
• Tatum, R. and G. Menzies (2026). “Beyond Endless Growth: Redeeming Economic Growth through Transcendence.” Journal of Markets & Morality 28(1).
• Tatum, R. and J. Ma (2023). “Biblical Requisites and Implications for Economic Globalization.” Faith and Economics 81: 85–116.
• Tatum, R. (2022). “A Newbie’s Guide to Developing a Question-Driven and Humanities-Infused Course in Economics.” Faith and Economics 79: 17–44.
• Tatum, R. (2021). “To What Ends for Theology–Oriented Economic Policymaking?” Journal of Economics, Theology and Religion 1(1): 65–80.
• Tatum, R. (2020). “Move Beyond the One-Hit Wonder of Economic Growth and Use the Whole Hymnal.” Faith and Economics 76: 73–88.
• Tatum, R. (2017). “Homo Economicus as Fallen Man: The Need for Theological Economics.” Journal of Markets & Morality 20(1): 127–140.
• Tatum, R. (2017). “A Theology of Economic Reform.” Faith and Economics 69: 63–83.
• Tatum, R. (2013). “A Hard Row to Hoe: Farming on the Economic Frontier under Incomplete Property Rights.” Environment and Development Economics 18(5): 576–594.
• Tatum, R., and K. Childers (2013). “The Distribution and Utilization of Class Time: How Long Should Class Be and Should Students Even Attend.” International Review of Economic Education 13: 1–9.
• Tatum, R. (2010). “Liberalization of Import Restrictions on Capital Goods and the Balance of Payments.” Journal of International Trade and Economic Development 19(3): 385–419.
• Tatum, R. (2005). “Sustaining Imperfectly Credible Trade Liberalization: Do the Rate of Tariff Reduction and the Degree of Labor Mobility Matter?” Journal of International Trade and Economic Development 14(4): 407–435.