UConn Today

Professor Furtado in UConn Today: Impacts of Immigration on Nursing Home Care

Posted on by

Professor Delia Furtado is featured in the current issue of UConn Today:

UConn Professor Examines Impacts of Immigration on Nursing Home Care

Study finds that local immigration reduces mortality and improves quality of life for nursing home residents

The United States is on the brink of a crisis in elder care. Reports of an aging population have not been exaggerated – it is no longer the case that a relatively small population of older adults can be supported physically and financially by a much larger population of working adults. Thanks to both the Baby Boom and lifespan-enhancing advances in medicine, these groups are now more similar in size. 

Where does that leave older adults today – especially those who struggle with ADLs, or activities of daily living? 

Many older adults are cared for in nursing homes. These facilities are exorbitantly expensive (the average yearly price for a private room in a nursing home in Connecticut exceeds $200,000, according to CareScout) and often understaffed.

professional headshot“You’d think that with that amount of money, staying in a nursing home should be like staying in a five-star hotel, but no,” says Delia Furtado, professor of economics.

Furtado is interested in how an unexpected variable – immigration — may impact the quality of care that nursing home residents receive. 

“I’ve been working on immigration my entire career — over 20 years now,” says Furtado. Her previous research has explored the assimilation process of immigrants and their impacts on the native population via their work in childcare and housekeeping. 

Furtado’s recently published research in the Journal of Human Resources found that when more people immigrate to a certain geographic area, it leads to better care outcomes for nursing home residents in that area...

Read the full article at UConn Today:

UConn Professor Examines Impacts of Immigration on Nursing Home Care

Professor Levin in UConn Today: Economics Students Gain Research Experience in Historic Risk Lab

Posted on by

Professor Remy Levin is featured in the current issue of UConn Today:

Economics Students Gain Research Experience in Historic Risk Lab

A UConn economics professor has assembled one of the largest known collections of historical insurance policies from the whaling industry. Now, he’s opened that archive to undergraduates for a hands-on research opportunity preparing them for their futures.

In Connecticut, a state once known as a hub of the American whaling industry and home to the “Insurance Capital of the World,” UConn economics majors are learning how these two industries intersected in the 19th century through a unique undergraduate research experience.

Remy Levin, assistant professor of economics, leads a meeting of his Historic Risk Lab with undergraduate research students in Herbst Hall on Oct. 29, 2025.
Remy Levin, assistant professor of economics, leads a meeting of his Historic Risk Lab with undergraduate research students in Herbst Hall on Oct. 29, 2025. (Bri Diaz/UConn Photo)

Remy Levin, assistant professor of economics, leads the Historic Risk Lab, which studies risk-taking and insurance in the whaling industry. A behavioral economist who specializes in decision-making under uncertainty, Levin has spent the past two years assembling one of the largest known collections of historical insurance policies from any industry in the 1800s.

Now, he’s opened that archive to undergraduates for a hands-on research opportunity that connects economic theory with real-world application…

Read the full article at UConn Today:

Economics Students Gain Research Experience in Historic Risk Lab

Economics Major Nidhi Nair is UConn’s First Schwarzman Scholar

Posted on by

Nidhi Jayakumar Nair in Oak Hall
Nidhi Nair in Oak Hall (Sydney Herdle/UConn Photo)

Economics undergraduate student Nidhi Nair has been featured in UConn Today as the university's first-ever recipient of the prestigious Schwarzman Scholar award.

Nair is an honors student double-majoring in economics and mathematics-statistics and was selected from more than 3,000 applicants to join a cohort of 150 other Schwarzman scholars from around the world in Beijing to complete a one-year master's degree. Recipients of this award are selected on the basis of leadership abilities and potential to bridge political and cultural differences.

Nidhi Nair founded last year's Invisible Hand Economics seminar series and is the president of the UConn Economics Society, as well as being involved in the Women and Minorities in Economics organization here at UConn. Nair has worked on multiple economics research projects here at UConn, and has completed several research and advocacy focused internships at different organizations.

Nair noted the support of her Honors advisor, Economics Professor Richard Langlois in her interview for UConn Today: "Dr. Langlois has also been a source of support and has provided invaluable advice on carving out a strong career in economics that advances my interests in socioeconomic mobility and microeconomic analysis."

Read the full article online: Nidhi Nair '23 Named UConn's First Schwarzman Scholar