Professor Stephen Ross attended the advisory council meeting for the 2010 Housing Discrimination Study at the Urban Institute on Nov 16th. The 2010 Housing Discrimination Study is a nationwide effort to measure the level of racial and ethnic discrimination in U.S. metropolitan areas using pairs of testers sent to the same real estate or rental agency. Professor Ross was the research director for the 2000 Housing Discrimination Study and has been a key advisor on the new study since its inception.
Seminar Series: Alumnus Jeffrey Milyo
On Friday, November 16, the Economics Department welcomed back an illustrious alumnus as a speaker in the department’s weekly seminar series. Jeffrey Milyo ’86, Middlebush Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Missouri, spoke on “Campaign Finance Reform and the ‘Actuality and Appearance’ of Corruption.”
Milyo graduated from UConn as an Honors and University Scholar, which allowed him to receive the B.A. and M.A. in Economics simultaneously. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford, and went on to positions at Tufts and the University of Chicago before coming to Missouri.
Using differences in campaign-finance laws among U. S. states as a natural experiment, Milyo’s seminar paper tested empirically the effect of campaign-finance reform on corruption in government. His conclusion is that campaign finance reform has no discernible effect on levels of corruption.
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.
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.
Alumni Association to Host Film Screening
On October 15, 2012, the UConn Alumni Association welcomes Travelers in presenting a film screening and discussion of Overdraft. Overdraft is a documentary sponsored by Travelers focusing on America’s debt crisis.
Registration is recommended for this event, which will be held in the Student Union ballroom followed by a viewing of the film in the theater. There will also be a discussion panel led by UConn faculty following the film.
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.
GE On Campus September 4
GE will be visiting Storrs on 9/14/2012 to showcase some of their programs and career opportunities to our students. CLAS students in Math, Statistics, and Economics (in addition to students from the School of Business and School of Engineering) are encouraged to participate in the day. The event will be hosted in the SU, Room 104, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Students are encouraged to attend any part of the day that they can participate in, and GE will be providing boxed lunches to all attendees between Noon and 1:00 pm.