Economics Department News

Posted May 4, 2008

• Masami Imai received a research grant from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s  Center for Financial Research for a proposal entitled: “Real Effects of Finance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Japan.”  (http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/cfr/2008_Call_for_Proposals.html).

• John Bonin participated in "ESOP Social and Economic Performance: the Recent Past and the Immediate Future: A Round Table Conversation among Scholars and ESOP Leaders" sponsored by  Organizational Dynamics Graduate Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania, May 2 - 3, 2008.

• Joyce Jacobsen presented a paper, "Affirmative Action in America: Procedures and Outcomes" at the International Conference for Promoting Equal Employment Opportunity for Women, Seoul, Korea, on April  23.  She also presented a seminar, "Rules vs. Discretion: An Investment-Based Approach to Explaining Custom," at the Economics Department, Seoul National University, Korea on April 22.

Posted April 13, 2008

• Mike Lovell published "A Simple Proof of the Frisch-Waugh-Lovell Theorem," Journal of Economic Education, Winter, 2008, pp 88-91.

• Gil Skillman ("Exploitation") and Joyce Jacobsen ("Gender Roles and Division of Labour") are both contributors to the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/dictionary).

• Richard Grossman made a presentation on the history of European monetary integration to representatives of the European Central Bank and the Bank for International Settlements at the BIS in Basel, Switzerland.

Posted April 6, 2008

• Richard Grossman was quoted in the Star Ledger (Newark, NJ) addressing the notion of a Fed conspiracy (http://www.nj.com/business/ledger/index.ssf?/base/business-9/1207460113225860.xml&coll=1)

Posted February 21, 2008

• Richard Grossman and Stephen A. Lee ’04 co-authored “May Issue versus Shall Issue: Explaining the Pattern of Concealed-Carry Handgun Laws, 1960-2001,” which is forthcoming in Contemporary Economic Policy (http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1465-7287.2007.00094.x?journalCode=coep)

• Francisco Rodríguez presented his paper “Cleaning Up the Kitchen Sink: growth Empirics When the World Is Not Simple” at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, New School for Social Research on February 6.

Posted January 27, 2008

• Gil Skillman presented, "The Evolutionary Robustness of Strategic Cooperation," co-authored with Matt Burke ‘07 on Jan. 6 at the Allied Social Science Association Meetings in New Orleans  (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/Annual_Meeting/ASSA08_program.htm).

• John Bonin chaired two sessions at the ASSA meetings in New Orleans: "Economic Reform of Large Countries: China and India's Recent Experiences" and " Energy Issues and Challenges in Emerging Markets."  John Bonin is President-Elect of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies for 2008 and will serve as President in 2009.  John Bonin published: "Comments on Rosefielde, Parker/Thornton, and Woo," Comparative Economic Studies, Vol. 49, No. 4 (December) 2007, pp. 603-608.

• Richard Grossman published a piece on the outlook for the Connecticut Economy (“Fickle Economy will Fluctuate,” although I didn’t pick the title) in the December 31 edition of the Hartford Business Journal.

Posted January 22, 2008

• Richard Grossman and Masami Imai published "The evolution of a national banking market in pre-war Japan," in  Explorations in Economic History 45(1): 17-29 (January 2008). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2007.05.001

• On December 12, 2007, Francisco Rodríguez discussed his research on Venezuelan social policies at a panel on "Social Factors in the Bolivarian Republic" held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.  On December 14, 2007, Francisco Rodríguez presented the paper "The Price of Political Opposition: Evidence from Venezuela's Maisanta" at the World Bank Microeconomics of Growth Conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  On January 15, 2008, Francisco Rodríguez gave a talk on "Testing for Poverty Traps" (based on his joint research with Cameron Shelton) at the UNDP International Poverty Center in Brasilia, Brazil.
   

Posted December 9, 2007

• Andrews Professor of Economics, emeritus, William Barber's Gunnar Myrdal: An Intellectual Biography has been published by Palgrave Macmillan as part of a series entitled "Great Thinkers in Economics."  See the publisher's website: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=274950.  This is the latest in a long line of important works by Prof. Barber, who co-edited (along with James Tobin) The Works of Irving Fisher; 14 Vols., Pickering and Chatto 1997.  His other works include:  Designs Within Disorder: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Economists, and the Shaping of American Economic Policy, 1933-1945, Cambridge University Press 1996;  From New Era to New Deal: Herbert Hoover, the Economists, and American Economic Policy, 1921-1933, Cambridge University Press 1985; British Economic Thought and India, 1600-1858: A Study in the History of Development Economics, Clarendon Press 1975; A History of Economic Thought, Penguin and Praeger, 1967; The Economy of British Central Africa: A Case Study of Economic Development in a Dualistic Society, Oxford University Press and Stanford University Press 1961.

• On November 30, Francisco Rodríguez participated in the Conference "Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution at Home and Abroad: A New Geometry of Power" held at Yale Law School and sponsored by the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies of Yale University.  In his presentation, he discussed his research on Venezuela's economic and social policies as well as Venezuela's upcoming constitutional referendum.
  On December 8,  Prof. Rodríguez presented the paper "Sharing the Oil Wealth: An Appraisal of Venezuela's Social and Redistributive Policies" at the Conference on "Globalization and the Rise of the Left in Latin America" held at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.  Prof. Rodríguez's article "Venezuela: The Emperor Wants New Clothes" was published in the December 1 issue of Economic and Political Weekly.

Posted, November 19, 2007

• On November 10, Francisco Rodríguez presented the paper “Sharing the Oil Wealth? An Appraisal of Venezuela’s Social and Redistributive Policies” at the Annual Meeting of the New England Council on Latin American Studies held in Mt. Holyoke College.

• On November 14, Francisco Rodríguez gave the presentation “The Bolivian Growth Puzzle” to the Conference on Challenges of Economic Growth in Bolivia held at the Andean Development Corporation in La Paz, Bolivia.  Rodríguez spoke via videoconference from Wesleyan’s Science Center.

• Francisco Rodríguez’s article, “Economic Policies of the New Radical Left Will Fail” was published in the Fall 2007 issue of Americas Quarterly.

Posted October 28, 2007

• On October 19, Francisco R. Rodríuez was one of the two invited keynote speakers at the Conference "Economic, Social and Environmental Consequences of the Liberalization of Trade in North Africa and the Middle East" organized by the University of Lyon and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.  The Conference was held in Rabat, Morocco.  The talk was titled "Growth, Trade, and Development: The Role of Poverty Traps."

Posted October 21, 2007

• Joyce Jacobsen’s edited book Queer Economics: A Reader (Routledge 2007), co-edited with Adam Zeller '00, came out this week. http://www.routledge.com/shopping_cart/products/product_detail.asp?curTab=DESCRIPTION&id=&parent_id=&sku=&isbn=9780415771696&pc=/shopping_cart/search/search.asp!search=Queer%20Economics

•  Abigail Hornstein presented a paper “Do Corporate Expenditures Reflect Information Sharing? Multi-Unit Firms, Inter-Unit Coordination, and Corporate Capital Budgeting Decisions” with Minyuan Zhao (University of Michigan) at the Financial Management Association conference in Orlando (http://www.fma.org/Orlando/OrlandoProgram.htm). The paper was designated one of the top 10% of papers presented. 

 Posted October 13, 2007

• The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with Al Gore, won this year's Nobel Peace Prize.  Gary Yohe was a Coordinating Lead Author in the Contribution of Working Group II of the Fourth Assessment Report and a member of the Core Writing Team for the Synthesis Report of the Fourth Assessment of the IPCC. 

• On October 4-6 Francisco Rodríuez attended the Latin American and Caribbean Economics Association (LACEA) meetings in Bogot? Colombia, where he chaired a session on Macroeconomics and Growth and presented his paper "Are capital shares higher in poor countries? Evidence from Industrial Surveys" (joint with Daniel Ortega).  Coauthor Edward Miguel presented their paper "The price of political opposition: Evidence from Venezuela's Maisanta" at another session.  He was also among a group of 50 economists at the conference invited to attend a breakfast with President Alvaro Uribe on October 6th.
   

Posted October 6, 2007

• Joyce Jacobsen just published:  "Marriage, Specialization, and the Gender Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, 25(4) 763-93, Oct. 2007 (co-authored with Matthew Baker '90).  This is their second collaborative publication of the year—the first was: "A Human Capital-Based Theory of Postmarital Residence Rules," Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 23(1): 208-41, April 2007

Posted September 16, 2007

• John Bonin attended the United Nations University-World Institute Development Economic Research Conference "Southern Engines of Global Growth: China, India, Brazil, and South Africa," Helsinki, Finland, September 7-8 at which he chaired two sessions and participated in a policy roundtable.  He also served on the advisory board for the project (http://www.wider.unu.edu/).  He also attended the International Conference on "Global Competitiveness and Taiwan's Financial Sector Reforms," Taipei, Taiwan  September 27?28 sponsored by Fuhwa Financial Holdings and University of Wisconsin.

Posted September 8, 2007

• Francisco’s Rodriguez was elected for a three-year term as member of the Council of the Venezuelan Studies Section, Latin American Studies Association.

Posted August 31, 2007

• Wendy Rayack attended the Mellon Workshop on Statistical Consulting at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, July 25-27.  The conference focused on users and suppliers of statistical advice at liberal arts colleges.  Specifically, the conference explored various models for consulting structures given the increasing use of statistical analysis among liberal arts students, faculty, and administrators.
• Bill Barber's Gunnar Myrdal: An Intellectual Biography will be published next month by Palgrave Macmillan as part of a series entitled "Great Thinkers in Economics."  See the publishers website: http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=274950. 
• Masami Imai attended the Third Annual Workshop in Macroeconomic Research at Liberal Arts College (August 7-8).  Prof. Imai presented his paper "Related Lending and Financial Development" (with Robert Cull and Stephen Haber).  Conference web site: http://www.smith.edu/economics/la-macro/schedule.html
• Masami Imai presented "Ideologies, Vested Interest Groups, and Postal Saving Privatization in Japan" at the Third Asia-Pacific Economics Association Conference in Hong Kong (http://www.apeaweb.org/confer/hk07/index.htm).
• Christiaan Hogendorn published "Tacit Collusion in Capacity Investment: The Role of Capacity Exchanges," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, 7(1) (Topics), Article 25, 2007. http://www.bepress.com/bejte/vol7/iss1/art25