Professor Naknoi Publishes in the Canadian Journal of Economics

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Canadian Journal of EconomicsProfessor Naknoi’s paper titled “Real Exchange Rate Fluctuations, Wage Stickiness and Tradability” has been accepted for publication in the Canadian Journal of Economics.

Her study demonstrates that when factors of production is classified by their tradability, the relative wage of nontraded labor influences the real exchange rate through the relative cost of distribution services. She employs monthly data on the sector-level U.S.-Canada real exchange rate and the relative wage of service-producing labor. The relative wage accounts for 40% of the variability of the real exchange rate at a one-month horizon.

Furthermore, she constructs a measure of effective nontraded labor content to classify goods into nontraded and traded ones, and shows that the variability of the price of the nontraded-goods basket accounts for more than half of the variability of the real exchange rate.

Zheng Xu Defends Dissertation, Stays at Harvard

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ZhengDefenseOn August 28th, Zheng Xu defended his dissertation, “Developing in the Era of Globalization: The Case of China” written under the supervision of major advisor Professor Delia Furtado and associate advisors, Professor Nishith Prakash, Professor Kathleen Segerson, and Professor Richard Freeman from Harvard University.

Zheng’s dissertation studies how globalization has reshaped China in terms of the labor market, environment, and media. The first chapter examines how rising demand for Chinese exports affects Chinese labor markets. Particular emphasis is given to how the massive internal migration in China shapes the labor market consequences of trade. The second chapter studies whether party-newspapers in China are less likely to report local pollution events and whether the difference distorts households’ self-protective behaviors against potential health risks. The third chapter uses the list of environmental goods endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to test whether export production improves air quality in China through adoption of green inputs.

Since September of 2013, Zheng has been a research fellow in the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. In 2014, he received a CLAS Graduate Fellowship which helped support his time at Harvard. Zheng has already started a new position as postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities.

Congratulations, Zheng!

Professor Ahking Publishes in the Journal of Economic and Social Measurement

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JEMProf. Ahking’s paper “Measuring U.S. business cycles: A comparison of two methods and two indicators of economic activities” has been published by the Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 199-216, 2015.

The paper compares the performance of two economic time series in capturing the U.S. business cycle turning points using two statistical methods.

Professor Hallwood Quoted in the Quarterly Journal of Political Science

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hallwoodProfessor Paul Hallwood is quoted in a paper in the current issue of the Quarterly Journal of Political Science (Vol. 10, 2) b by Harvard and Princeton co- authors on the hot topic of inter-Arab state political relationships.

Professor Hallwood was for several years an economic advisor working in the London Embassy of the Saudi Arabian government.

Couch Serves on APPAM Strategic Planning Committee

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couchProfessor Kenneth Couch is participating in a Strategic Planning Committee of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM).

APPAM is a scholarly association representing roughly 90 member institutions and 2000 individual members. The committee is charged with developing a five-year strategic plan for APPAM and is chaired by a Harvard Professor and the Chief Economist of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Other members of the committee include representatives of Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Howard University, Mathematica, MDRC, Pepperdine and the University of Minnesota.

A High Ranking for the M.A. Program in Economics

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econ50The M.A. program in Economics at the University of Connecticut has been ranked #38 of the 157 programs evaluated in the Financial Engineer’s 2015 Master of Economics Rankings.

A variety of factors are used to evaluate each program, including acceptance rates, the employment prospects for new graduates, and starting salaries and bonuses.  The results are considered “”the most comprehensive rankings for graduate financial economics programs in the United States.”

 

Professor Hallwood’s Book Reviewed in Applied Economics Journal

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Economics of the OceansBook Review

Paul Hallwood, Economics of the Oceans: Rights, Rents and Resources. Oxon and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 298 pages. ISBN: 978-0-415-63911-8.

“Economics of the Oceans fills a critical gap between broad environmental economics texts and marine resource texts focused on only one resource. Its major strength is the ease with which Paul Hallwood blends background information, case studies and economic theory.

“Over fifty percent of the book is on non-fish resources and includes important ocean resource topics such as coral reef protection, mineral extraction, ocean pollution, maritime piracy and shipwreck recovery. The major strength of the book is the ease with which the author blends background information, interesting case studies and economic theory. The book is a great example of just how applicable basic microeconomic principles are to a range of policy issues (even in the often anarchic world of the ocean).

“The general theme of Economics of the Oceans is that property rights are what really matter in the ocean. This will come as no surprise to economists but the stark differences in outcomes across settings that differ primarily in terms of rights may surprise even the most ardent Coaseans. As an illustrative example, Hallwood cleverly compares and contrasts oil with fish. Offshore oil is heavily regulated in most countries with clear property rights and generates significant rents for host governments. Fish populations are poorly regulated in the waters of many countries with unclear property rights and generate little economic rents. Why this has come about and what can be done to remedy this situation is one of the key lessons in Economics of the Oceans.”

John Lynham, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University. (Applied Economics Journal Vol. 21 No. 2 (December 2014): 105-108).5

Professor Harmon on ‘Nontraditional Magic’ Panel

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ProfessorAAUP Harmon took part in the panel “Nontraditional Magic: Online and Service-Learning Pedagogy and Teaching,” joining panelists: Diana Rios, UConn Professor of Communication and El Instituto, and UConn Professor Carl Salsedo, Extension Educator, Horticulture, at the 2015 American Association of University Professors Conference on the State of Higher Education, Washington, D.C. June 11, 2015.

The roundtable focused on reconfiguring traditional “live” ways of learning and lecturing into another kind of “magic.” Contemporary “magic” refers to dynamic inspiration to share knowledge and to instigate learning among Millennials.

Professor Baggio Publishes in Environmental and Resource Economics and in Ecological Economics

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baggioProfessor Michele Baggio has had two papers published this spring:

“Optimal Fishery Management with Regime Shifts: An Assessment of Harvesting Strategies,” in Environmental and Resource Economics

“Modeling adaptation in multi-state resource systems,” with co-author Charles Perrings, in Ecological Economics.