Faculty in media

Professor Kathleen Segerson Published in Science

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Professor Segerson, a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut, has made significant contributions to the field of environmental economics. Her research focuses on the incentive effects of environmental policy instruments, particularly on legal rules and principles applied to environmental problems.

Dr. Segerson recently served as the lead author in an article published in the journal Science, where she and her colleagues highlight the hidden costs of green subsidies. They warn that while these subsidies can promote sustainability, they may also lead to increased consumption and market distortions. The authors advocate for clear end dates and cautious application to avoid long-term reliance and negative spillover effects.

As described in UConn Today:

Green Subsidies May Have Hidden Costs, Experts Warn

Some subsidies that appear to encourage sustainability are not so simple

Government subsidies for business practices and processes should be approached with caution, even when they seem to be environmentally friendly, writes a group of scientists and economists in this week’s Policy Forum in the journal Science.

They argue that subsidies can alter market pressures, leading to unintended consequences that not only perpetuate harmful subsidies over time but also diminish the overall effectiveness of those intended to promote environmental sustainability.

Therefore, when they must be used, subsidies should have clear end-dates, advise the authors.

“We’ve got this odd juxtaposition of trying to get rid subsidies in some sectors, and then ramping up subsidies in others,” says lead author Kathleen Segerson, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut. “The question that interested me was: is this a good thing or a bad thing?”

The full article is online at

https://today.uconn.edu/2024/10/green-subsidies-may-have-hidden-costs-experts-warn/

Professor Langlois and “The Corporation and the Twentieth Century in UConn Today

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Photo of Richard Langlois, Economics Department Head
Professor and Head of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Richard Langlois (UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)

Professor Langlois and his book “The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise” are featured in the most recent UConn Today:

An Alternate View of The American Corporation: Economist Reassesses Twentieth-Century Business

Economist Richard Langlois presents a sweeping new take on so-called managerialism in his acclaimed book

Americans have in recent years become fascinated with the 1950’s and 60’s, as seen in the fascination with hit TV series like “Mad Men,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Call the Midwife,”and so many others. The mid-to-late-twentieth century has acquired a sheen of romance, becoming in people’s imaginations an era of social connection, “good” jobs and prosperity. 

But according to one UConn economist, these so-called golden years, which relied on the success of the modern American corporation, were far from what they seem in hindsight.

In “The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: The History of American Business Enterprise,” Richard Langlois, Professor and Head of Economics, explains how the American corporation rose to prominence, prospered, and eventually died a dismal death.

The book, which was favorably reviewed in the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times and was picked as a Foreign Affairs best book of 2023, argues that although the corporation as an institution remains crucial to economic growth and prosperity, the large and extensive corporate structures that dominated much of the twentieth century were something of an aberration rather than a norm.  

He writes that extensive managerial corporations were creatures of the mid–twentieth century’s economic and political events – the Depression, the New Deal, and World War II.  

The full article is online at:

An Alternate View of The American Corporation: Economist Reassesses Twentieth-Century Business

Professor Levin in The New Yorker

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Professor Remy Levin was quoted recently in an article in The New Yorker:

As Remy Levin, an economics professor at the University of Connecticut, told me, “People often go into this field to study their own inner demons. If you feel bad about time management, you study time inconsistency and procrastination. If you’ve had issues with fear or trauma, you study risk-taking.” 

The article may be found online at:

They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie?

Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino became famous for their research into why we bend the truth. Now they’ve both been accused of fabricating data.

www.newyorker.com

Professors Coşgel and Miceli on Faculti

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Cosgel and Miceli Interview Headshot

Professors Metin Coşgel and Thomas Miceli recently participated in an interview on Faculti, in which they “offer new data and a new analytical approach to examine the roots of today’s civil conflicts that lie deeply in religious and political history.”

The full interview is available online at:

https://faculti.net/religion-rulers-and-conflict/

 

Professor Levin in the Financial Times

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Professor Remy Levin was quoted recently in an article in the Financial Times:

Remy Levin, a behavioural scientist at the University of Connecticut, said: “As a scientist, it is Prof Ariely’s duty to ensure that his scientific record is free of errors and falsehoods. The burden of proof lies with him to show to the scientific community and the public at large that he has told the truth about his work.”

The article may be found online at:

Star Duke professor is latest academic to face questions about research | Financial Times

Dan Ariely rejects claims he has manipulated data in another controversy hitting universities

www.ft.com

 

Professor Langlois in the Wall Street Journal

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Professor Langlois recently published an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal about the Big-Tech regulatory commission proposed by Senators Lindsey Graham and Elizabeth Warren, arguing that historical precedents from the Twentieth Century like the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Communications Commission should give us pause about creating a new intendent regulatory commission.

Freakonomics Radio interviews Professor Baggio

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Professor Michele Baggio recently appeared on Freakonomics Radio to discuss racial diversity in the whaling industry, a topic he and Professor Metin Coşgel focus on in their working paper “Racial Diversity and Team Performance: Evidence from the American Offshore Whaling Industry“.

The episode “What Can Whales Teach Us About Clean Energy, Workplace Harmony, and Living the Good Life?” has just been released and is available on the Freakonomics website here, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and other podcast sites.

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