Please celebrate the students who earned 556 degrees in Economics at Commencement this May! This year the program honors: 14 Ph.D. recipients 215 Master’s degree recipients (MA, MAPE, MAEP, MAGDE MA/MBA, BA/MA) 327 BA recipients (including BA/MA) This total of 556 degrees is up from 498 (12%) since 2016. These numbers may undercount the total […]
March 18, 2017 at 5:13 pm
Two interesting links related to the recent Republican health care proposal called the AHCA. The first is a serious but also humorous Forbes article by my BU colleague Larry Kotlikoff in his series about Stupid Economics, this one targeting Tom Price and the AHCA bill. (A 3-minute read.) Tom Price’s Liver And ‘The Coverage They […]
January 29, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Bottom line: Trump’s racism predicted to cost US households $147 billion in extra payments to the rest of the world. Like many people, I am appalled by president Trump’s recent executive order banning refugees – and even US legal immigrants – from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. In the process, Trump has […]
January 26, 2017 at 1:40 pm
I invite you to read this Forbes posting on Stupid Economics by Laurence Kotlikoff. I don’t always agree with my dear colleague, Larry Kotlikoff, but this posting at Forbes is one that I can really get behind. Our president needs to start listening to serious economists instead of acting solo as an autocrat. […]
December 22, 2016 at 11:52 am
Health economists and every concerned citizen should disseminate the facts in this NEJM article about Donald Trump’s nominee of Tom Price to be the next secretary of HHS. Coauthor Richard Frank is also a BU Ph.D. alum! Randy Ellis Care for the Vulnerable vs. Cash for the Powerful — Trump’s Pick for HHS Sherry […]
August 22, 2016 at 5:31 pm
Boston University Working Paper Randall P. Ellis Boston University, Department of Economics August 22, 2016 Abstract This paper presents four arguments for why the US should ban or at least heavily tax the sale or transfer to civilians of weapons designed for mass shootings (WDMS), which would include most semi-automatic guns and weapons with large […]
July 12, 2016 at 10:40 am
There is a very important article in this week’s JAMA – Internal Medicine, written by Barach Obama. It highlights the effects of the ACA/Obamacare. It is free on-line. United States Health Care Reform: Progress to Date and Next Steps http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2533698 If you are short on time, then the following link to just the figures provides […]
Partly just to keep track of them for my BU annual report, this post links to my press interviews and quotes. Meeting basic needs under Trump Fed funds key for landlords, affordable tenants; Trump’s health secretary opposes Obamacare Bay State Banner Jule Pattison-Gordon | 12/7/2016, 1:13 p.m. Effects of Brexit on the world economy and […]
My previous post was discouraging in that it was all about the techniques Donald Trump is using to build support. This one is much more upbeat. I had heard about but not actually watched or listened to Hillary Clinton’s Memorial day speech, which has been getting a lot of favorable reviews. I just finished listening […]
This email will interest people who are closely following the US presidential election. I invite you to watch the following four minute video on Trump and Hillary when you have time. It changed my thinking. On the Friday June 2 Real Time with Bill Mayer, Scott Adams (who is the genius creator of the Dilbert […]
Please celebrate the students who earned 498 Boston University degrees in Economics at Commencement this May. This year the program mentions: 22 Ph.D. recipients 203 Master’s degree recipients (MA, MAPE, MAEP, MAGDE MA/MBA, BA/MA) 273 BA recipients (including BA/MA) This total of 498 degrees is up from 482 in 2015. These numbers undercount the total […]
I just got an email from Prateek Agarwal <prateek@intelligenteconomist.com> He has compiled a list of the Top 100 Economics Blogs of 2016. I am of course not on it since I blog infrequently and do not archive (and make public) on my web site all of my blogs, but I thought I would share the […]
April 5, 2016 at 11:12 am
Congratulations to the 24 current or recent Ph.D. students from BU Economics who have accepted jobs for this September. Recent placements from the department are linked here, as well as pasted below. http://www.bu.edu/econ/phd/outcomes/placements/ This year candidates selected 14 academic jobs, five government or central bank jobs, and five private sector jobs for their initial placement. […]
February 3, 2016 at 9:04 am
I am often asked by undergrads and MA students what BU students do when they graduate. For the first time that I know of, BU has published a relatively complete description and list of the places where they get jobs, or go to graduate school or volunteer. It is discussed in the new CAS Dean […]
November 12, 2015 at 11:44 am
With Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both mentioning Democratic Socialism in Denmark, it is interesting to read about what it actually is. Here is one link with one persons discussion. Living with Denmark’s democratic socialism Denmark sounds pretty wonderful to me Switzerland I just returned from Switzerland which is not democratic socialism, […]
October 20, 2015 at 12:33 pm
This is why enrollment in health insurance will continue to rise in the US from the ACA. For 2016: Max of $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable income if uninsured. http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/10/19/health-law-fine-uninsured-will-more-than-double/76FbuARARxAmaT9H4nN66K/story.html Full text is below. Health law fine for uninsured to rise Boston Globe Associated Press October 19, 2015 WASHINGTON — The federal penalty for […]
September 18, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Since I have blogged about rankings in the past – here and here, I thought I would blog about BU’s latest rankings by US News and World Report and elsewhere. BU was ranked 41, up one position in the 2015 as top US Colleges and Universities. This ranking is across all fields, and is based […]
Please celebrate the students who earned 482 Boston University degrees in Economics at Commencement over the weekend. This year the program contained: 22 Ph.D. recipients 155 Master’s degree recipients (MA, MAPE, MAEP, MAGDE MA/MBA, BA/MA) 305 BA recipients (including BA/MA) This represents a total of 482 degrees! Up from 463 in 2014. These numbers undercount […]
February 21, 2015 at 1:31 pm
If you are a beginning SAS programmer, then the following may not be particularly helpful, but the books suggested in the middle may be. BU students can obtain a free license for SAS to install on their own computer if it is required for a course or research project. Both will require an email from […]
February 21, 2015 at 1:27 pm
There is also a posting on Ellis SAS tips for Experienced SAS programmers It focuses on issues when using large datasets. Randy’s SAS hints for New SAS programmers, updated Feb 21, 2015 ALWAYS begin and intermix your programs with internal documentation. (Note how I combined six forms of emphasis in ALWAYS: color, larger font, […]
