July 20. 2020 Important update on superspreading events. This article from the Washington Post provides a useful update about how superspreading events account for the vast majority of infection and are driving the pandemic. 3-5 minute read. Washington Post Ariana Eunjung Cha July 18, 2020 at 1:58 p.m. EDT ‘Superspreading’ events, triggered by people who […]
December 18, 2019 at 10:42 am
This NY Times column 12/18/2019 summarizes a British Medical Journal article about bias in medical abstracts, but the same could be done for economics journals, I am sure. Worth the five minutes to read. Bottom line: Women should brag more, and editors and reviewers should get men to tone it down. Men Call Their Own […]
November 22, 2019 at 2:50 pm
This blog contains the excellent advice of Nancy Rose to MIT faculty and students, along with my own two addenda on Etiquette and Advice to Presenters. Here is a pdf version if you wish to print and post or forward it. Subject: Some guidance for our upcoming seminars Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2019 […]
November 15, 2019 at 11:22 am
A colleague W. David Bradford wrote the following article about me for the “Great Mentors” series they are running in the ASHEcon Newsletter, which is published by the American Society of Health Economists. Flattering, and very satisfying. Perhaps it will inspire more people to become great mentors. Great Mentors: Randy Ellis The full newsletter is […]
August 19, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Dear colleagues, students, alumni, and friends. The preliminary program is out for the Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) meeting to be held in San Diego California this January 3-6, 2020, commonly known as the AEA meetings (American Economics Association). As I have done each recent year, I tabulated all of the current BU faculty, graduate […]
August 16, 2019 at 12:56 pm
Happy end of summer! Even though the summer is winding down, it is not too late to sneak in a book or two or even keep reading them in coming weeks! Below are a few of the ones I have most enjoyed reading this summer. I recommend them all to you. I have been relatively […]
March 12, 2019 at 12:49 pm
I just saw the abstract below to a review article by someone I know and regard highly (Rachel Kranton) in the March 2019 Journal of Economic Literature. I took a look at the full article(14 pages) and then bought the book on line. Then I finished reading the article (15 minutes with pondering). The Moral […]
September 11, 2018 at 12:33 pm
As I have done in previous years, I tabulated the names I could find from BU faculty, students, and alumni on the preliminary ASSA (Allied Social Science Associations) program for the Atlanta AEA (American Economics Association) meetings, the largest annual US gathering of economists. BU set a new record for its presence at the 2019 […]
June 26, 2018 at 11:31 am
I have been on sabbatical, and hence am late to do this calculation and blog. Alas my sabbatical has come to an end. Please celebrate the BU students who earned 590 degrees in Economics at Commencement this May! This year the program honors: 18 Ph.D. recipients 231 Master’s degree recipients (MA, MAPE, MAEP, MAGDE MA/MBA, […]
February 16, 2018 at 10:17 am
It is nice while on sabbatical to avoid the fray of politics, but our president’s recent attack on Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps) and Medicare makes me want to share the following three sets of links. The bottom line of the Medicaid video (4:52) summary of two studies is that “able bodied” eligibles represent only about […]
December 12, 2017 at 2:27 pm
While on sabbatical this year, I have been enjoying some extra reading. I have just added two new books and one old one to my favorites list on my web site. I recommend them all highly to you. The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds Michael Lewis Dec 6, 2016 This remarkable and […]
December 12, 2017 at 2:22 pm
Today, the first day of Hanukah and two weeks before Christmas and Kwanza, I am writing to wish my colleagues and my BUHealth blog readers a peaceful and happy holiday, whatever your faith background. I am loving my sabbatical at Boston College this fall and looking forward to our stay in Barcelona starting in mid-January. […]
June 26, 2017 at 11:15 am
I was at a conference last week and learned about a terrific timer for my iPhone called Performance Timer. It counts down your specified time, and then changes from green to red as you go over. What makes it superior to the default iPhone timer is its large font, there is no alarm when time […]
There is a wonderful article about Machine learning in the spring 2017 issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, and there is also a series of four fine articles in the AER May 2017. I decided to share as a BUHealth blog to all. Whether you are curious, newly interested or an expert working in […]
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 […]
