Faculty activities

ECE Economics Workshop 2025

Posted on October 29, 2025October 30, 2025 by McConnel, Mark

Ralph Russo, ECE Economics instructor at Guilford High School, explains the Vertical Wall activity at the ECE workshop on October 22, 2025, at the Stamford campus

The Early College Experience (ECE) Economics program is one of the largest at UConn. This academic year, we have 36 schools participating, with 50 teachers running 72 sections of introductory Economics courses. Through the ECE, we offer ECON 1000- Essentials of Economics, ECON 1202 – Principles of Microeconomics, and ECON 1202 – Principles of Macroeconomics.

Instructors are certified to teach those courses through a rigorous process of professional development events. The 2025 annual professional development workshop was held on October 22, 2025, at the Stamford campus. We had 31 teachers in attendance.

The speakers included national-level economic educators from Federal Reserve Banks of New York and St. Louis, Marginal Revolution University (MRU), a non-profit provider of economic education materials, and MoneyLing, financial literacy non-profit provider.

The agenda was packed with presentations of innovative pedagogies in the engaging environment:

At the Local Level: Classroom Activities for Microeconomics
The Big Picture: Basics for Teaching Macroeconomics
Global Trade: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters
The One Where No One Has a Job: Teaching Unemployment and Labor Force Participation Rates
Teaching and Learning Economics with FRED Data in the High School Classroom
Moneyling – Financial Literacy Program for Schools

Participants explored various techniques that would get their students interested in the economic way of thinking, economic analysis, and contemporary economic issues. Instructors came away with the materials that could be immediately used in their classrooms.

Teachers working on the Vertical Wall assignment

A new feature this year was the sharing of “working well in the classroom” technique by the Guilford High School teacher, Ralph Russo, who demonstrated the “Vertical Wall” activity from the “Building Thinking Classrooms” methodology. The photos show how enthusiastic workshop participants were to engage in this activity. Learning from their colleague and trying out how it feels to be a student in this classroom were the highlights of this demonstration.

Overall, the workshop participants shared their satisfaction with the content of the training. The new location in Stamford was advantageous to the instructors located in Fairfield County.

The Economics Department would like to thank the Stamford Events team for helping with the logistics of this workshop.

Professor Kai Zhao Elected to CES Board of Directors

Posted on September 8, 2025 by McConnel, Mark

Professor Kai Zhao has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Chinese Economists Society.

Founded in 1985, the Chinese Economists Society (CES) is a U.S.-registered non-profit academic organization. It aims to promote scholarly exchange among economists and to advance and disseminate research in economics and management sciences, with a focus on China. In his new role, Professor Zhao will contribute to CES’s mission of fostering dialogue on key economic issues and supporting the development of young scholars.

Professor Coşgel in UConn Today: Reimagining Writing Courses in the Age of AI

Posted on July 29, 2025 by McConnel, Mark

Professor Metin Coşgel is featured in the most recent UConn Today:

Economist Reimagines Writing Courses in the Age of AI

Professor Metin Coşgel is piloting a new AI-integrated writing curriculum in economics, one of UConn’s largest majors, with the potential to shape how writing is taught across disciplines.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes classrooms and careers alike, UConn professor of economics Metin Coşgel is asking a deceptively simple question: Can generative AI help students become better writers?

The answer, Coşgel says, lies not just in what we ask students to produce, but in how we guide them through the writing process itself.

“AI can help with writing, but students need to be able to own their work and defend it along the way, not just generate a final paper at the end because the system allows it,” he says.

This fall, Coşgel will launch a redesigned version of ECON 2500W, a core writing-intensive course for UConn economics majors. Supported by a Teaching Enhancement Grant from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), the new curriculum integrates AI tools with traditional instruction to help students improve their writing, understand their learning process, and graduate with the skills needed for today’s workforce.

Read the full article at UConn Today:

Economist Reimagines Writing Courses in the Age of AI

Public Economics Students Propose Policy Solutions for Connecticut Waste Management Problem

Posted on November 22, 2024 by McConnel, Mark

During the Fall 2024, the students in the ECON 3431- “Public Economics” course at the Stamford campus worked with the industry professional to research, analyze, and propose policy solutions to the imminent State of Connecticut problem of Solid Waste Management.

The applied nature of the course allowed students to experience every aspect of public policy development from problem identification, ideation, research of the literature, data gathering, analysis, and policy recommendation formulation.

In addition to Professor Smirnova, who is the instructor of this course, the students worked under the mentorship of Mr. Brian Bartram (CLAS’ 94), who has been the manager of the Salisbury/Sharon (CT) Transfer Station in Connecticut since 2007. At that time Salisbury & Sharon were seeking design ideas to be used in the construction of a new transfer station. Since then, Brian has been active in the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and CT Product Stewardship Council. In 2012 he was appointed by Gov. Malloy to be a member of the Modernizing Recycling Working Group. Brian completed the UConn Master Composter Program in 2015.

Students were assigned to groups to imitate the economic think-tank work environment. Each group selected their topic through the process of ideation based on Brian’s presentation about the acute waste management problem in Connecticut. The following research questions were formulated and answered during the semester:

Cost Benefit Analysis of Installing a Methane Capture System at the Manchester, Connecticut Landfill.
Government Policies Promoting Recycling and Landfill Use Reduction.
Where Did Your Old TV Go?
What is the Most Cost-Effective Waste Conversion Technology for Connecticut Municipalities?
How does Connecticut Dispose of Waste Tires?

At the completion of the course, student teams presented their findings to the class with Mr. Bartram visiting the class virtually, asking questions, and commenting on issues. Brian reflected that he “really enjoyed how different student teams were looking at the issue from different angles. Solid waste is a national, regional, state, and local issue. All different views and situations need to be considered and assessed.”

Through this exercise, students learned to collaborate with and present and defend their findings to the industry expert. Collaborative experiences such as this, between UConn students and the State of Connecticut professionals, are invaluable in preparing our students for careers in industries and the public sector. By integrating the workplace analytical approaches into the curriculum of applied courses, we are teaching students career competencies that are demanded of them upon graduation.

Professor Langlois Delivers the Eli Heckscher Lecture in Stockholm

Posted on October 4, 2024 by McConnel, Mark

Professor Langlois delivered the Eli Heckscher Memorial Lecture at the Stockholm School of Economics on September 26, 2024, talking on the theme of the American corporation in the twentieth century.

The Heckscher lecture has been given annually since 2003 by a list of distinguished economists, including two Nobel Laureates. It is named in honor of Eli Heckscher (1879-1952), known to most economists for the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem in international trade, who was the founder of economic history in Sweden.

UConn Hosts Experimental Economics Workshop

Posted on July 2, 2024 by McConnel, Mark

On July 1 and 2, the Department of Economics hosted the annual New England Experimentalist Workshop.

The Workshop brought together experimental and behavioral economists from twelve universities to present research on topics as diverse as gender pay disparities, self-censorship of political views in the classroom, and effective environmental policy.

The two-day workshop was organized by faculty members Remy Levin and Mike Shor and graduate student Anastassiya Karaban.

Two Stamford Students Present at Frontiers 2024

Posted on April 30, 2024 by McConnel, Mark

(left to right) Mitchell Velasco (’25), Dr. Smirnova, Matthew Dalzell (’25) at the Frontiers of Undergraduate Research Exhibition, Stamford campus, April 16, 2024

The Welcome Center area at the Stamford campus was crowded on April 16th as the Frontiers of Undergraduate Research 2024 exhibition was about to start. Thirteen undergraduate students from the Stamford campus presented their research on various topics within diverse fields of study.

Among the presenters, there were two students of Professor Smirnova, Matthew Dalzell and Mitchell Velasco. Both started their research in the ECON 3431W – Public Economics course. However, their interest in the topic grew and they continued working on their papers.

Matthew Dalzell’s (‘25) paper entitled “The Impact of Privately Owned Buses on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Connecticut” written in Spring 2023 was presented at the New York State Economics Association (NYSEA) conference 2023 in October. Matthew’s trip to the conference was sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research, for which Matthew is grateful. Matthew acknowledged in his speech the benefits of attending a conference outside UConn. He said that such exposure allowed him to see what students at other universities are doing in terms of research, “rub elbows” with professional economists and distinguished faculty, and gain confidence for his studies and future career aspirations.

Mitchell Velasco’s (‘25) paper entitled “Decarbonization of the US Power Grid and Cost Competitiveness of Renewable Energy Technology” was written in Fall 2023. The Frontiers’ presentation was the first outside-of-the-classroom presentation for Mitchell. Dr. Smirnova encourages Mitchell to continue improving his paper and to submit it to the undergraduate panel at the Eastern Economic Association, the annual conference of which is scheduled for February 2025 in New York City.

The Frontiers event showcased the dedication of the Stamford faculty to undergraduate students’ success and to students’ preparation for careers after graduation.

Professor Langlois at the Janus Forum Lecture Series

Posted on April 16, 2024 by McConnel, Mark

Professor Langlois recently participated in the Janus Forum Lecture Series at Brown University, joining Tim Wu, who was President Biden’s special assistant for technology and competition policy, in conversation about the regulation of Big Tech industries.

The lectures are sponsored by the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Brown.

Women in Economics Symposium at Stamford

Posted on April 5, 2024August 15, 2025 by McConnel, Mark

UConn-Stamford students at the Women in Economics Symposium Watch Party, April 4, 2024

UConn-Stamford was an official Watch Party for the Women in Economics Symposium 2024. The Symposium’s goal is to showcase the role of women in Economics profession and inspire students to pursue majors and careers in Economics.

This year, the agenda included interesting conversations about careers with BA and MA degrees, about getting the first job, and the keynote address by the newest Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, Adriana Kugler.

Stamford students enjoyed the discussion about economics’ role in their career preparation, interactive activities provided by the organizers, togetherness, and camaraderie. And, of course, pizza and cookies provided by the Honors Program.

Jonathan was on hand to provide additional spiritual support!

Professor David Cutler Talks to Students of the Department of Economics

Posted on December 1, 2023 by McConnel, Mark

Professor David Cutler was invited by Professor Patti Ritter to speak to the students of the Department of Economics on October 18th about his book The Survival of the City.

Approximately 120 students and faculty from the Department of Economics attended the talk in person at the Dodd Center in Storrs, and 20 students streamed the talk at the Stamford Campus in a watch party.

David Cutler is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. His work in health economics and public economics have earned him significant academic and public acclaim. He also has served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration, and has advised the Presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Barack Obama. He also served as Senior Health Care Advisor for the Obama Presidential Campaign.

In his talk, Professor Cutler discussed the importance and contribution of cities, the history of epidemics and how they have affected urban areas, how the particular problems of American cities make them vulnerable to epidemics and, finally, ways of minimizing the impact of future epidemics.

Students and faculty participated during the talk and had the opportunity to meet Professor Cutler in a small reception afterwards. It was a great opportunity for them to reflect about the consequences of the pandemic and lessons to be learned. A great opportunity also, to witness how a brilliant economist applies economics to the analysis of problems and derives policy recommendations. Finally, the talk was based on the book written by Professor Cutler and his colleague Professor Edward Glaeser, two thinkers with different political orientations. Thus, the talk provided an example of how good economics should not be politically biased, and will hopefully inspire students to put the welfare of our society above our political differences.