Events

Graduate alumni reunion program announced

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Here is the program of the various events to happen on April 1 and 2, 2010.

Thursday, April 1, 4:00 pm – Philip. E. Austin Forum on Economics and Public Policy, Robert Stavins (Harvard University), “Climate Change Policy After Copenhagen,” Student Union Ballroom.

Thursday, April 1, 7:00 pm – Economics Department Annual Awards Banquet, Bishop Center.

Friday, April 2, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm – Graduate Reunion and Forum, alumni research papers, professional experience panel, and graduate research, Bishop Center.

8:30amContinental Breakfast (Room 7 lobby, downstairs)

9:00am
Welcome: William Lott, department head
Program Overview: Dennis Heffley, Professor of Economics

9:10am
Session 1: Alumni Research Papers and Presentations
Moderator: Leshui He, Past President, Association of Graduate Economics Students (AGES)
Dipasis Bhadra (PhD, UConn), Senior Economist, Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Transportation
“Air travel in the US: How do we travel, where do we travel, and why do we travel?”
William Place (PhD, UConn), Medical Economist, Aetna Informatics, Hartford CT
“Behavioral and health care outcomes of wellness program participants”
Philip Shaw (PhD, UConn), Assistant Professor of Economics, Fairfield University
“Nonparametric Instrumental Variable Estimation in Practice”
Alice Zawacki (PhD, UConn), Senior Economist, Center for Economic Studies, US Bureau of the Census
“Searching for data? Using the Census Bureau Research Data Centers?”

10:30am
Coffee Break: Lobby

10:45am
Session 2: Alumni Professional Experience Panel
Moderator: Steven Lanza (PhD, UConn), Executive Editor, The Connecticut Economy
Laura Bhadra (MA, UConn; PhD, American University) Assistant Professor of Economics and Program Head, Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas VA
“Economics and Movies: a hybrid course”
Natalya Shelkova (PhD, UConn) Assistant Professor, Guilford College, Greensboro NC
“From job market to new job”
Hemanta Shrestha (PhD, UConn) Senior Analytics Manager, Sprint Nextel Corporation, Warren, NJ
“Building propensity models for customer targeting”
Monica Tedeschi Cantor (MA, UConn) Financial Strategist and VP, New York City Economic Development Corporation 2005-2007
“Pursuing a career in economic development: a New York City example”

12:00pm
Lunch: Bishop Center

1:45pm
AGES: Matthiew Burnside, President AGES
Introduction of officers
A word about AGES

2:00pm
Session 3: Graduate Research
Moderator: Rasha Ahmed(PhD, UConn), Assistant Professor, Trinity College, Hartford
Lei Chen (ABD, UConn)
“A study of the production technology of the US dental care industry”
Paramita Dhar (ABD, UConn)
“School quality and property values”
Patrick Flaherty (ABD, UConn), Economist, Office of Research and Information, Connecticut Department of Labor
“Tracking the recession in Connecticut: a view from the Department of Labor”
Monika Lopez-Anuarbe (PhD, UConn), Visiting Instructor, Connecticut College, New London CT
“Intergenerational transfers in the long term care market”
Michael Stone (ABD, UConn)
“Three essays on the economics of tort law”

Special thanks to Andreas Karapatakis (PhD, 1992) for his generous support of the Department of Economics 2010 Graduate Reunion and Forum and Annual Awards Banquet.

Parking: If you are traveling to campus by car, parking permits for the lot adjacent to the Bishop Center (just south) will be available at the continental breakfast. Just park, come inside to the lower level and pick up a permit to place in your car. You should be able to park in the lot the entire day if the permit is displayed in the vehicle

PS: Some pictures of the event are available.

Attention Grad Alumni

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In March 2008, the Department hosted a Graduate Reunion and Forum at the Bishop Center. At the one-day event, some of our former PhD students presented their recent research, while others employed by government or the private sector described their work in professional experience panels. We are planning to host a similar event on Friday, April 2, 2010, preceded by two other events you may wish to attend.

The first is the Philip E. Austin Forum on Economics and Public Policy, which will be held at 4:00 on Thursday, April 1, 2010, in the Student Union Auditorium. This is an inaugural event, which will feature a lecture on climate change policy by Harvard environmental economist Robert Stavins (see details in separate blog entry).

After the Austin Forum, at 7:00 PM on Thursday evening, the Department will hold its Annual Awards Banquet at the Bishop Center. In addition to recognizing the achievements of some of our outstanding undergraduates and graduate students, we’ll be honoring Bill Lott, who will be leaving the Department this spring after 40 years of outstanding service to the University.

We currently are looking for volunteers to present papers and participate in the professional experience panels, so please let us know if you would be interested in taking part. A brief note to Dennis.Heffley@uconn.edu will suffice. We’ll be forwarding more information by email, so if you think you may not be on our current list, or if you have recently changed your email address, please contact us.

Finally, if you would like to catch up on (and keep up with) the activities of the Department’s students, faculty members, and alumni, continue to visit the Blog. At the bottom of each page, you can scroll back to earlier entries, which also can be accessed by clicking on the links listed on the left side of this page.

We hope to see you in April!

Very best wishes,
Dennis Heffley

Mark your calendar for the inaugural Austin Forum

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On Thursday, April 1, the day before the Graduate Reunion and Forum, the Department of Economics will host the first Philip E. Austin Forum on Economics and Public Policy. The purpose of the Forum is to provide an opportunity for discussion and debate about current public policy issues from an economic perspective. The Forum is funded through the Philip E. Austin Endowed Chair, which is currently held by Economics Professor Kathleen Segerson.

Given the prominence of the current debate about climate change, including the recent international climate change summit in Copenhagen, we have chosen to focus this first Austin Forum on this important and controversial issue. The featured speaker at the Forum will be Harvard environmental economist Robert Stavins, who will present a talk entitled “Climate Change Policy After Copenhagen”. Professor Stavins is the Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. He is a world-renowned economist, who has been working on the economics of climate change and the design of “cap-and-trade” systems for decades. Professor Stavins was recently honored as a 2009 Fellow [pdf] of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE). The award was given by Professor Segerson, who is the current President of AERE, at the annual AERE luncheon at the ASSA meetings in Atlanta . In bestowing the award, she quoted from letters of support that stated: “In my view, no other environmental economist can match Rob in the ability to work effectively with policy makers…I cannot think of another current environmental economist who straddles more effectively the academic and policy communities” and Rob “has probably done more than any other single environmental economist to bring the idea of tradable emission permits (“cap and trade”) to the attention of policy-makers as a viable alternative for the management of pollution levels.” Professor Stavins also writes a regular blog on An Economic View of the Environment.

The Austin Forum is scheduled for 4:00 PM in the Student Union Auditorium and is open to all interested members of the UConn community and the public. President Emeritus Philip Austin, Provost Peter Nicholls, and CLAS Dean Jeremy Teitelbaum plan to attend this event.

Department has strong presence at ASSA meetings in Atlanta

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The annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations in early January is the big meeting place of economists, about 11,000 are expected this year. Many members of the department will be in attendance, and quite a few will be presenting their research, see the list below. Note that the department is not organizing a reception this year, but an informal gathering will happen on Monday January 4th, 8:30pm, at the Westin Peachtree Plaza (210 Peachtree St.). We will be heading to a restaurant thereafter.

Jan. 3, 8:00 am, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, International C (American Economic Association)
Low-Skilled Immigration and Work-Fertility Tradeoffs Among High-Skilled U.S. Natives
Delia Furtado (University of Connecticut)
Heinrich Hock (Florida State University)

Jan. 3, 10:15 am, Hilton Atlanta, Room 211 (American Economic Association and Association of Environmental and Resource Economists)
Combining Environmental and Development Goals: Strategies for Moving Forward (Panel Discussion)
Presiding: Kathleen Segerson (University of Connecticut )
Christopher Barrett (Cornell University)
Ariel Dinar (University of California-Riverside)
Paul Ferraro (Georgia State University)
Charles Perrings (Arizona State University)
Ma Zhong (Renmin University, China)
David Zilberman (University of California-Berkeley)

Jan. 3, 10:15 am, Hilton Atlanta, Room 306 (Society of Government Economists)
Measurement Issues in the Labor Market
Kenneth Couch (discussant, University of Connecticut)

Jan. 3, 12:30 pm, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, M103 (National Association of Economics Educators)
Student Performance in Traditional vs. Online Format: Evidence from an MBA Level Introductory Economics Class
Oskar Harmon (University of Connecticut)
James Lambrinos (Union University)

Jan. 3, 12:30 pm, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, M303 (Omicron Delta Epsilon)
The Impact of Population Density on Technology, Productivity of Human Capital and Growth
Juan-Pedro Garces (University of Connecticut)

Jan. 4, 10:15 am, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, L508 (American Economic Association)
Measuring Employment Transitions and Mass Layoffs with Administrative Data
Kenneth Couch (University of Connecticut)
Dana Placzek (Connecticut Department of Labor)

Jan. 4, 10:15 am, Hilton Atlanta, Room 206 (American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association)
Urban Labor Markets
Stephen Ross (discussant, University of Connecticut)

Jan. 4, 2:30 pm, Hilton Atlanta, Room 210 (Association of Indian Economic and Financial Studies)
Profit Efficiency and Return on Equity in Banking: Evidence from India
Subash Ray (University of Connecticut)
Abhiman Das (Reserve Bank of India)
Kankana Mukherjee (Babson College)

Jan. 5, 1:00 pm, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, L402 (American Economic Association)
Malaria Policy: Alternative Prevention and Eradication Strategies in a Dynamic Model
Douglas Gollin (Williams College)
Christian Zimmermann (University of Connecticut)

Preliminary Spring seminar program released

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The UConn Department of Economics pursues an active seminar program to allow outsiders to present their latest research as well as local faculty and students to run their latest output by their colleagues. For this Spring term, the preliminary program has been posted. Among the regular activities are:


  • the seminars, typically given by faculty from outside the university, are given Fridays at 3:30pm and run for 90 minutes;
  • the brownbags are scheduled for Tuesdays at 12:30pm this term and run for 45-60 minutes. Usually, local faculty and students present their work in an informal setting. Bring your lunch;
  • the macro workshop is set for most Wednesdays at 12:20pm, with presentations on macroeconomics, broadly defined, and sometimes on very preliminary research. Bring your lunch, and non-macroeconomists are also welcome;
  • Other, irregular activities are also listed on the seminar page. They include the Austin Forum, a new event sponsored by the Austin Chair in Economics, and a reunion of graduate alumni.

Robert E. Lucas, Jr., to speak on campus on Friday

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Robert E. Lucas, Jr., the 1995 Economics Nobel Laureate, will be visiting the UConn campus this Friday. After a meeting with graduate students, he will speak at 11:00am at the Konover Auditorium (Thomas J. Dodd Research Center) on the topic of “Trade and the Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution.” Everyone is welcome to attend the lecture.

Robert Lucas is the John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and a pioneer in macroeconomics. His visit is part of the Distinguished Speaker Series organized by the Association of Graduate Economics Students (AGES). Previous editions have featured 2004 Nobel Prize laureate Finn Kydland, Ariel Rubinstein, Greg Mankiw and Karl Case.

Former MA and PhD Students: Hold These Dates

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In late March 2008, the Department hosted a Graduate Reunion and Forum at the Bishop Center. At the one-day reunion, some of our former PhD students presented their recent research, while others employed in the private sector or by government described their work in professional experience panels. That evening, we also held the Department’s annual awards banquet. We are planning to host a similar event on Friday, April 2, 2010.

Also, the day before the reunion (April 1), we will be holding the “Philip E. Austin Forum on Economics and Public Policy.” Professor Segerson is organizing this event, and funding it using part of the endowment funds for the Austin Chair. The speaker for the forum will be Harvard University environmental economist Robert Stavins. He will speak on climate change in a Post-Kyoto era. President Emeritus Austin, Provost Nicholls, and Dean Teitelbaum are all planning to attend this event.

We will have more details about both events, but for now we hope you will keep the two dates open and plan to attend. See you in April!

Nobel Prize laureate to visit campus

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At the invitation of the Association of Graduate Economics Students (AGES), 1995 Economics Nobel Prize Laureate Robert E. Lucas, Jr. will spend the day of November 13, 2009, on campus as part of the annual AGES prestigious lecture series. He will first meet with graduate students and then give a public lecture. A reception at the department will then follow.

Robert Lucas is a pioneer of modern macroeconomics who redifined the way theory in macroeconomics is approached. It is on his insistence that macroeconomists started thinking of a national economy as the aggregation of independent optimizing units, rather than thinking only in terms of big aggregates. He has also written influencial papers on economic development, a topic that should be the focus of his public lecture.

More details about this day will follow later on this blog.

Economic Rights Panels at Upcoming Human Rights in the USA Conference

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Human Rights in the USA is an international three-day conference from October 22 to 24 that takes place at both the Storrs and Law School campuses. Three Economic Rights panels will explore issues surrounding the right to an adequate standard of living (details follow). The entire UConn community is invited to attend the conference and to learn about the state of the art research in human rights and economic rights.

Friday, October 23, 2009, UConn Law School, Hartford

Economic Rights and Poverty
Chair: Shareen Hertel, University of Connecticut.
Discussants: Ken Neubeck, University of Connecticut Emeritus, and Susan Randolph, University of Connecticut

  • Catherine Albisa, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative. “Drawing Lines in the Sand: The Development of New Rights Norms in the United States.”
  • Philip Harvey, Rutgers University School of Law, Camden. “A Rights-Based Anti-Recession Strategy: What American Progressives Learned from the New Deal and then Forgot.”
  • Rhoda Howard-Hassmann, Wilfred Laurier University. “The Yellow Sweatshirt: Human Dignity and Economic Human Rights in Advanced Industrial Democracies.”
  • Gillian MacNaughton, University of Oxford. “A Holistic Human Rights Perspective on Poverty.”

Saturday, October 24, 2009. University of Connecticut, Storrs Campus, Rome Ballroom

Katrina through an Economic Rights Lens
Chair: Evelyn Simien, University of Connecticut
Discussants: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, The New School and Heather Turcotte, University of Connecticut

  • Davida Finger, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, Rachel Luft, University of New Orleans “Post Hurricane Katrina Evacuation and Housing Policy: A Human Rights and Social Movements’ Analysis.”
  • Hope Lewis, Northeastern University School of Law. “Transnationalism and Human Rights in the U.S.: Notes from the Afro-Caribbean Diaspora.”
  • Kristen Lewis, Social Science Research Council, American Human DevelopmentProject. “A Portrait of Louisiana: Louisiana Human Development Report 2009.”

Researching Economic Rights in the USA
Chair: David Richards, University of Memphis
Discussants: David Richards, University of Memphis and Lyle Scruggs, University of Connecticut

  • David Cingranelli, SUNY-Binghamton. “Measuring and Explaining the Gap between ILO Standards and US Labor Policies.”
    Patrick Heidkamp, Southern Connecticut State University. “Measuring Economic Rights in the USA: A Spatial Analytic Perspective.”
  • Lanse Minkler, University of Connecticut. “On the Cost of Economic Rights in the US.”
  • Susan Randolph, University of Connecticut. “Economic Rights in the Land of Plenty: Monitoring State Fulfillment of Economic & Social Rights Obligations in the United States.”

For more information about Human Rights in the USA go to the conference website.

Preliminary Fall seminar program released

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The UConn Department of Economics pursues an active seminar program to allow outsiders to present their latest research as well as local faculty and students to run their latest output by their colleagues. For this Fall term, the preliminary program has been posted. Among the regular activities are:


  • the seminars, typically given by faculty from outside the university, are given Fridays at 3:30pm and run for 90 minutes;
  • the brownbags are scheduled for Mondays at noon this term and run for 45-60 minutes. Usually, local faculty and students present their work in an informal setting. Bring your lunch;
  • the macro workshop is set for most Tuesdays at 12:20pm, with presentation on macroeconomics, broadly defined and sometimes on very preliminary research. Bring your lunch, and non-macroeconomists are also welcome;
  • Other, irregular activities are also listed on the seminar page.