Evans, Lawrence Lee, Jr. 1970–

PERSONAL: Born August 19, 1970, in Youngstown, OH; father a minister, case worker, and nonprofit organization founder; mother an affiliate of a nonprofit organization; married Vanessa Martin (a behavioral specialist), June, 2000; children: Jalil. Ethnicity: "Black." Education: Colgate University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1992; New School University, M.A. (with honors), 1997; University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Ph.D., 2001. Politics: "Independent." Religion: "Interfaith."

ADDRESSES: Home—14636 McKnew Rd., Burtonsville, MD 20866. Office—U.S. General Accounting Office, 441 G St. N.W., Room 6K17-E, Washington, DC 20548. E-mail—evansl@gao.gov.

CAREER: Writer. U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, DC, economist in Office of Applied Research and Methods, 2001–03, senior economist, 2003–. Amherst College, Amherst, MA, research fellow, 2000–01; Political Economy Research Institute, member of board of directors, 2003–. Summer instructor at Colgate University, 1998, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1999.

MEMBER: American Economic Association, National Economics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, Eta Sigma Phi, Omicron Delta Epsilon.

AWARDS, HONORS: Meritorious Service Award, Government Accounting Office; U.S. General Accounting Office, Young Investigator Award, 2002, Managing Directors' Award, 2004.

WRITINGS:

Why the Bubble Burst: U.S. Stock Market Performance since 1982, Edward Elgar Publishing (Northampton, MA), 2003.

Contributor to books, including Empirical Work in Keynesian Economics, Routledge (New York, NY), in press.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Walk of Shame: The U.S. Post-Bubble; High Returns, No Risk! A Guide to Financial Scams; research on the economics of the music industry, small business finance, and exchange rate issues.

SIDELIGHTS: Lawrence Lee Evans, Jr. told CA: "I became interested in writing through reading, watching movies, and listening to music. It was through these media that I discovered the power of the spoken and written word. I think (or rather hope) this is reflected in my work; not only do I want to convey what I want to say clearly, I also want it to sound good rolling off my tongue or yours. I eventually want to make a transition from academic-style books toward works for the general population. My next book on financial scams will be a big step in that direction; I even wrote a short story last year.

"I'm influenced by a broad range of people from scriptwriters to economists like Robert Heilbroner and John Kenneth Galbraith. In general, I find most academic economists to be horrible writers, but even some of them influence me at times. I would have to say my greatest influence would have to be Dean Koontz. His writing is all about rhythm. Did you know that at least one of his books was written entirely in iambic pentameter? And you wonder why you can't put his books down.

"The most surprising thing I have learned is that people actually respect and appreciate what you've done. At the end of the day I want to educate and entertain. I hope that when people read my work they close the book smarter and that the process was an enjoyable one."