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.
Faculty
Econ Professor’s Book Translated into Vietnamese
The book Toward a Market Economy in Vietnam edited by Associate Professor William Alpert has been translated into Vietnamese. The translated title, “Để Tiến Tới Một Nền Kinh Tế Tự Do ở Việt Nam,” changes “market economy” to “free economy,” emphasizing social justice over competition.
Professor Alpert comments that “The Vietnamese are attempting their own version of a Chinese Economic Miracle.”
Professors Alpert and Harmon present at the International Atlantic Economic Conference
Professor William Alpert and Professor Oskar Harmon presented the paper “Using Social Media in the Online Classroom”, co-authored with Joseph Histen, at the 74th International Atlantic Economic Conference in Montreal Canada, October 4-7. The paper discusses issues related to appropriate uses of social media in an instructional setting and presents empirical estimates of the effects of usage of social media on learning outcomes.
Sanglim Lee Update
On August 10, 2012, Sanglim Lee defended his dissertation entitled “Expected Currency Excess Returns and Debt in the Business Cycle,” under the supervision of Professor Christian Zimmermann.
In the first chapter of his dissertation, Sanglim shows that the risk premium is an important factor in explaining deviations from Uncovered Interest Parity (UIP) in 20 developed and 18 developing countries. In the second chapter, he further examines the UIP condition with a two-country International Real Business Cycle model and shows that the business cycle risk driven by total factor productivity can account for deviations from UIP. The third chapter examines the effects of fiscal austerity on the Canadian economy using a two-sector small open economy model. The model’s simulation results indicate that the effect of fiscal austerity on the economy depends crucially on the relationship between public-debt levels and country-risk premiums.
Starting on October 8th, Sanglim works as a research fellow at the Korea Energy Economics Institute in South Korea.
Professor Prakash in the Media
The London School of Economics has cited Professor Prakash’s paper on education and incentives in Bihar in their blog. The paper, titled “Education Policies and Practices: What Have We Learnt and the Road Ahead for Bihar,” has also been covered by Ideas for India, which Professor Prakash was invited to join earlier this year.
Professor Prakash has also published a non-technical summary of his paper “The Redistributive Effects of Political Reservation for Minorities: Evidence from India” in VOX. VOX is a policy portal that aims to promote research-based policy analysis and commentary by leading scholars.
Professor Nishith Prakash has been invited to Growth Week 2012, a three day conference held by the International Growth Centre at the London School of Economics. Professor Prakash spent time at the IGC this summer as an academic visitor. The conference will be held from September 24-26.
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’s Article Accepted in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Professor Nishith Prakash’s article titled “Consumption and Social Identity: Evidence from India” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.
Abstract:
We examine spending on consumption items which have signaling value in social interactions across groups with distinctive social identities in India, where social identities are defined by caste and religious affiliations. Using nationally representative micro data on household consumption expenditures, we find that disadvantaged caste groups such as Other Backward Castes spend eight percent more on visible consumption than Brahmin and High Caste groups while social groups such as Muslims spend fourteen percent less, after controlling for differences in permanent income, household assets and household demographic composition. The differences across social groups are significant and robust and these differences persist within different sub populations. We find that the higher spending of OBC households on visible consumption is diverted from education spending, while Muslim households divert spending from visible consumption and education towards greater food spending. Additionally, we find that these consumption patterns can be partly explained as a result of the status signaling nature of the consumption items. We also discuss alternative sources of differences in consumption patterns across groups which stem from religious observance.
Professor Prakash in The Times of India
The Times of India published a story highlighting a paper co-authored by Professor Nishith Prakash. The paper, titled “Education Policies and Practices: What Have We Learnt and the Road Ahead for Bihar,” analyzes the steps taken by the Indian government to improve education in the region of Bihar, and the effects of those steps.
To read more, click here.
Prof Harmon at the AEA National Conference
Prof. Oskar Harmon presented the paper “Interactive Online Exercises: An Evaluation of Their Effectiveness in a Large Size Principles of Economics Class at a Public University” co-authored with Prof. William Alpert, at the AEA’s 2nd Annual National Conference on Teaching Economics, Boston, MA, May 30 to June 1, 2012.
Their paper reported empirical estimates of the effect of various online exercises on learning outcomes.
Professor Prakash invited to join new India Policy Portal
Professor Nishith Prakash was recently invited to join a newly formed online economics and policy portal for India, funded by the International Growth Centre (IGC). The portal will potentially become the go-to source for ideas and evidence on policy issues in India. The portal’s goal is to be an ideologically neutral portal for researchers to discuss policies and ideas with a wide audience, and to encourage debate and analysis based on rigorous evidence.
Professor Prakash’s expertise and research in the Indian economy made him a sought after addition to the group. His “Cycling to School” project, which focuses on school attendance in rural India, is also funded by the IGC.