An article on the American Melting Pot in Slate Magazine on October 31st discusses one of Professor Ross‘s recent working papers. In this paper, Professors Ananat, Fu and Ross find that African-Americans benefit less in terms of earnings for working in locations with lots of economic activity. Exposure to economic activity allows workers and firms to learn from each other and raises productivity and thus wages. However, these spillovers appear to accrue along racial lines so that African-Americans do not benefit from a vibrant work location when most of the individuals working in that location are white.
Faculty in media
Prof. Hallwood’s Press Release
Prof. Paul Hallwood’s (with Professor Ronald MacDonald of University of Glasgow) Press Release on Wednesday of his position paper (submitted to the Smith Commission) outlining a new fiscal settlement for Scotland – following September’s Independence Referendum – had within 24-hours received widespread coverage in the Scottish Press; five newspapers covered it in six reports or editorials. The headlines of the news pieces were: “No Scots bail-out by Westminster, academics warn” (Daily Express), “Pressure mounts on Labour to review tax proposals” and an editorial “Party labours with its powers plan” (The Herald), “Scotland should have to wait 15 years for a bailout it its spends too much” (The Scotsman), “Tight rein on spending needed” (Aberdeen Press and Journal), and “Put up and Shut up” (Daily Record).
Prof. Hallwood’s Position Paper on Rearranging Scottish Finances Released
An excerpt from the Press Release is below.
A copy has been lodged with the Smith Commission on Scottish finances
NEWS RELEASE
22 October 2014
WHAT IS THE RIGHT BUDGET CONSTRAINT FOR SCOTLAND?
An analysis by Professor Paul Hallwood (University of Connecticut) and Professor Ronald MacDonald (University of Glasgow)
Highlighted recommendations include:
- Block grants from Westminster should not be elastic in the sense that if the Scottish Parliament cannot finance its chosen spending level out of the existing block grant and own-sourced taxes, the block grant is not automatically or quickly increased.
- Any extra taxes raised by Scotland are not shared with Westminster.
- If the Scottish Parliament’s tax policy led to a smaller tax base (a shrinking economy), it should have to live with that during the extended period of non-adjustment.
- Borrowing by the Scottish Government should be regulated.
The fiscal design proposals of all the main Scottish political parties are examined against these criteria. Only those of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives are shown to be workable.
Cycling to School: an Update
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Professor Prakash discusses the results of his and Karthik Muralidharan’s IGC project involving providing free bikes to girls in rural Bihar.
Watch the discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4bJtCWnL2I
The above video is also featured on the Mankiw blog, as well as the homepage of the IGC.
Prof. Mike Shor publishes…photo?
Professor Mike Shor, who among his many talents is an amateur photographer, has had one of his photos purchased for a book cover. Evelyn Waugh’s “Officers and Gentlemen” uses a photo from a three-photo series on the cover of the French translation. You can see the series the picture was taken from here.
Professor Harmon Presents at ITL Lunchtime Workshop
Prof. Oskar Harmon co-presented with Professor Steven Park at the Uconn Institute of Teaching and Learning’s lunchtime workshop “Mobile Learn for Students” on Nov. 6 2012. The seminars provide an opportunity to gather with colleagues to listen, discuss, comment, interact, and reflect on a number of topics. Prof. Harmon is part of the Fall 2012 Mobile Learn pilot project exploring the capabilities of the mobile App for BlackBoard Next Generation. At the workshop Prof. Harmon discussed his experience with creating tests, announcements, and multimedia course content for mobile devices.
Professor Shor Named Associate Editor of Economic Inquiry
Economic Inquiry, a general interest journal, has named Professor Mike Shor as Associate Editor. Published since 1962, Economic Inquiry is widely regarded as one of the top scholarly journals in its field.
Economic Inquiry has taken steps in recent years to diversify its areas of specialization. Professor Shor will primarily be assisting in the newly developed area of Competition Economics.
Professor Prakash Featured on UConn Today
Professor Prakash’s “Cycling to School” project is featured on UConn Today. Professor Prakash’s project centers around providing bicycles to girls in rural India, in an effort to increase school attendance. The project is funded by the International Growth Centre .
Click here to read more.
Professor Ahking on WNPR Monday, March 19, 8:00 a.m.
Professor Francis Ahking was interviewed on March 16, 2012 by Harriet Jones, business reporter for WNPR. Ms. Jones questioned Professor Ahking on his recent piece, “How Free is Connecticut,” published in The Connecticut Economy (Spring 2012). The interview is scheduled to air on Monday March 19, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. Stop into the Economics Main Office (345 Monteith) for a copy of the quarterly; Prof. Ahking’s article begins on page 3.
Prof. Hallwood in the Scotsman
Professor Hallwood’s article “The Case for Fiscal Autonomy for Scotland with or without Independence,” was recently quoted by a reader in the Scotsman.