Category Archives: BU

Congratulations to BU’s Class of 2014 Economics graduates!

BU, General Economics, Jobs, ,

Please celebrate the 463 Boston University students who earned degrees in Economics at Commencement over the weekend. This year the program contained:

17 Ph.D. recipients

207 Master’s degree recipients (MA, MAPE, MAEP, MAGDE MA/MBA, BA/MA)

256 BA recipients (including BA/MA)

This represents a total of 463 degrees!

These numbers undercount the total for the year since they exclude students who graduated in January 2014 and chose not to appear at Commencement.

The number of graduate degree recipients (234) remains close to the number of  BA students (256) both of which are down from the previous year, which was itself up 10% over 2012.

Last year (2013) there were 21 PhDs, 257 Master’s degree recipients, and 292 BA recipients.

Altogether 23 Ph.D. students obtained jobs this year. To see their placements visit the web site linked here.

http://www.bu.edu/econ/gradprgms/phd/placements/

Many MA students did well on the job market and in being accepted to Ph.D. programs. For a partial list see:
http://www.bu.edu/econ/2014/05/16/ma-students-admitted-to-top-phd-programs/

The department’s recently redesigned website now lists 38 regular professors, a number which is down two since 2012.
http://www.bu.edu/econ/people/faculty/

Congratulations to all!

Explaining these two graphs should merit a Nobel prize

BU, BUHealth, EC 581, EC 782, General Economics,

Reposting from The Incidental Economist Blog

What happened to US life expectancy?

Posted: 07 Jan 2014 03:00 AM PST

Here’s another chart from the JAMA study “The Anatomy of Health Care in the United States”:

life expectancy at birth

Why did the US fall behind the OECD median in the mid-1980s for men and the early 1990s for women? Note, the answer need not point to the health system. But, if it does, it’s not the first chart to show things going awry with it around that time. Before I quote the authors’ answer, here’s a related chart from the paper:

ypll

The chart shows years of potential life lost in the US as a multiple of the OECD median and over time. Values greater than 1 are bad (for the US). There are plenty of those. A value of exactly 1 would mean the US is at the OECD median. Below one would indicate we’re doing better. There’s not many of those.

It’d be somewhat comforting if the US at least showed improvement over time. But, by and large, it does not. For many conditions, you can see the US pulling away from the OECD countries beginning in/around 1980 or 1990, as was the case for life expectancy shown above. Why?

The authors’ answer:

Possible causes of this departure from international norms were highlighted in a 2013 Institute of Medicine report and have been ascribed to many factors, only some of which are attributed to medical care financing or delivery. These include differences in cultural norms that affect healthy behaviors (gun ownership, unprotected sex, drug use, seat belts), obesity, and risk of trauma. Others are directly or indirectly attributable to differences in care, such as delays in treatment due to lack of insurance and fragmentation of care between different physicians and hospitals. Some have also suggested that unfavorable US performance is explained by higher risk of iatrogenic disease, drug toxicity, hospital-acquired infection, and a cultural preference to “do more,” with a bias toward new technology, for which risks are understated and benefits are unknown. However, the breadth and consistency of the US underperformance across disease categories suggests that the United States pays a penalty for its extreme fragmentation, financial incentives that favor procedures over comprehensive longitudinal care, and absence of organizational strategy at the individual system level. [Link added.]

This is deeply unsatisfying, though it may be the best explanation available. Nevertheless, the sentence in bold is purely speculative. One must admit that it is plausible that fragmentation, incentives for procedures, and lack of organizational strategy could play a role in poor health outcomes in the US — they certainly don’t help — but the authors have also ticked off other factors. Which, if any, dominate? It’s completely unclear.

Apart from the explanation or lack thereof, I also wonder how much welfare has been lost relative to the counterfactual that the US kept pace with the OECD in life expectancy and health spending. It’s got to be enormous unless there are offsetting gains in areas of life other than longevity and physical well-being. For example, if lifestyle is a major contributing factor, perhaps doing and eating what we want (to the extent we’re making choices) is more valuable than lower mortality and morbidity. (I doubt it, but that’s my speculation/opinion.)

(I’ve raised some questions in this post. Feel free to email me with answers, if you have any.)

@afrakt

Latest REPEC rating has BU economics at #10!

BU, Data, General Economics

I know rankings of departments are always imprecise, but I think  BU Economics should be proud that REPEC, (REsearch Papers in EConomics), which measures research output on 31 dimensions and takes an average, currently puts us at #10 in the US, just behind Yale, and ahead of Penn, Brown, Michigan and Northwestern. Keep up the great productivity!

 

Here is the link.
http://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html

In case it changes before you look, or your don't have time, here are the top 30 places.

Top 25% US Economics Departments
Please note that rankings can depend on the number of registered authors in the respective institutions. Register at the RePEc Author Service.
Rank	Institution	Score	Authors	Author shares
1	Department of Economics, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA)
	1.02	64	50.86
2	Economics Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA)
	2.3	41	32.55
3	Department of Economics, University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois (USA)
	3.41	41	34.28
4	Department of Economics, Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey (USA)
	3.87	47	33.41
5	Department of Economics, University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, California (USA)
	4.16	45	34.66
6	Department of Economics, New York University (NYU) New York City, New York (USA)
	6.39	54	40.17
7	Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University New York City, New York (USA)
	7.58	52	40.63
8	Department of Economics, Stanford University Stanford, California (USA)
	8.18	55	44.19
9	Economics Department, Yale University 
New Haven, Connecticut (USA)
	9.62	52	30.74
10	Department of Economics, Boston University Boston, Massachusetts (USA)
	11.89	52	42.41
11	Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA)
	12.33	38	33.32
12	Economics Department, Brown University 
Providence, Rhode Island (USA)
	12.76	41	37.31
13	Economics Department, University of Michigan 
Ann Arbor, Michigan (USA)
	12.86	68	53.1
14	Department of Economics, Northwestern University 
Evanston, Illinois (USA)
	12.93	35	30.54
15	Finance & Economics Department, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University New York City, New York (USA)
	14.36	25	20.52
16	Department of Economics, University of California-San Diego (UCSD) La Jolla, California (USA)
	16.29	42	34.57
17	Department of Economics, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, California (USA)
	16.9	42	32.8
18	Economics Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin (USA)
	20.34	36	24.97
19	Department of Economics, Cornell University Ithaca, New York (USA)
	20.53	45	28.04
20	Economics Department, Dartmouth College Hanover, New Hampshire (USA)
	21.04	30	27.25
21	Department of Economics, Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (USA)
	21.32	46	40.43
22	Economics Department, University of California-Davis Davis, California (USA)
	22.1	38	34.98
23	Department of Economics, University of Maryland College Park, Maryland (USA)
	22.76	43	35.97
24	Economics Department, Georgetown University Washington, District of Columbia (USA)
	23.21	43	34.12
25	Department of Economics, Duke University Durham, North Carolina (USA)
	23.95	43	34.71
26	Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee (USA)
	25.5	33	31.14
27	Department of Economics, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA)
	26.67	27	20.99
28	Economics Department, Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan (USA)
	27.5	38	32.35
29	Economics Department, Stern School of Business, New York University (NYU) New York City, New York (USA)
	27.98	23	20.61
30	Department of Economics, University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB) Santa Barbara, California (USA)
	29.55	31	26.08

This page shows one of the many rankings computed with RePEc data. They 
are based on data about authors who have registered with the RePEc Author Service, institutions listed on EDIRC, bibliographic data collected by RePEc, citation analysis performed by CitEc and popularity data compiled by LogEc. To find more rankings, historical data and detailed methodology, click here. Or see the ranking FAQ.
These rankings take only into account institutions registered in EDIRC and authors registered with the RePEc Author Service
 and the institutions they claimed to be affiliated with. For US 
Economics Departments, these are 478 institutions. Institutions need 
satisfy the following criteria to be included: Institutions having the 
following words in its name or its name translation on EDIRC: Economics and one of School, Department, Division or Faculty; be located in the United States.

Grade inflation article – BU looks tough

BU, Jobs

A few quotes from a story in today's Boston Globe.

"Harvard, other schools still fighting grade inflation" The Boston Globe By Marcella Bombardieri. December 05, 2013

"At Yale College, where 62 percent of grades are in the A range, proposals to curb grade inflation are in doubt following student protests and faculty concern."

"After a Boston Globe analysis in 2001 found that an astonishing 91 percent of Harvard College students were graduating with honors, officials released data showing that 48.5 percent of grades were A’s and A-minuses, compared to 33.2 percent who received those marks in 1985."

"In response to the uproar that followed, the [Harvard] faculty capped honors — summa, magna, and cum laude — at 60 percent."

"In response to a professor’s question at Tuesday’s meeting of the [Harvard] Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Jay M. Harris, dean of undergraduate education, said that the median grade awarded to undergraduates is an A-minus, while the most frequently awarded grade is an A."

"Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, found in a national survey that 41 percent of students had grade point averages of A-minus or higher in 2009, compared to just 7 percent in 1969."

"A few universities emphasize strict grading, or what students unhappily call “grade deflation.” Boston University has been known for difficult grading for many years."

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/05/with-its-most-common-grade-harvard-earns-disapproval-but-has-company/kCeheDYfuDjSRcM1sVljfK/story.html?s_campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline

Personal experience with the new Federal Exchange web site

BU, BUHealth, Politics

Randall P. Ellis, Professor, Boston University Department of Economics and past president of the American Society of Health Economists.

Today, Tuesday Dec 3, I went on line to check out the new HealthCare.gov web site for selecting individual health insurance. I checked out options for enrolling in the Oxford County Maine. The web page now has a totally new feel and look to it. Most importantly, it allowed me to shop for different plan options without having to first pass through the extensive security barriers which used to prevent people from shopping until they established eligibility. Now, it is attractive and better than the Massachusetts exchange.

I clicked through 50 screens, and dozens of plans in the middle of Tuesday morning with no noticeable delays or glitches. (The Boston University benefits web site gave me more problems in recent weeks.)

The options look terrific to me, although I am covered at work and hence not eligible to enroll through the exchanges.

The premium in rural Oxford County Maine for a 20 year old in the lowest cost option is only $110 per month, without any government subsidy. That is astoundingly low compared to the overpriced policies that were previously available.

I also priced out a gold plan (Community Advantage) comparable to my coverage at Boston University for a family of three. Without any subsidy, that plan would be $1799 per month. The Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Gold Guided Access plan was $2013/month. At BU I am currently paying $1813 per month. So these two plans look reasonable to me in comparison. Of course my employer subsidizes my coverage, and many will be eligible for subsidies from the ACA or their employer.

Also new is the link to the Kaiser Family Foundation calculator, which allows the user to get an estimate of any savings that he or she is eligible for based on income and family size. I played with it for a while, and it worked well. I quickly used that calculator to calculate that a 39 year old in Oxford Maine earning $30,000 per year could expect to pay $3790 per year, and then receive a tax credit of $1278, bringing the total cost to $2512 per year which is 8.37%.

This new interface makes shopping on the exchanges simple and easy to understand.

Although terribly unpleasant, the flaws in the initial Healthcare.gov system promoted awareness and discussion in the media about the new exchanges, which is good. It also encouraged employers to step forward and offer coverage instead of relying on individuals. Both of these are very positive outcomes.

I predict that enrollments through the exchanges by the end of December will be below the initial, optimistic forecasts of the administration, but that millions more will enroll in early 2014 as people fill out their tax forms and are prompted to answer whether they have health insurance. In Massachusetts, that was a greater motivation to purchasing than the end of the calendar year.

BU to be Well Represented at ASSA 2014

BU, Conferences

Congratulations!

Boston University is again well represented at the ASSA (AEA) meetings to be held in Philadelphia, January 3-5 2014. Counting coauthors, people presiding and discussants equally, current BU affiliates are on the program 46 times (31 distinct names). In addition, recent BU Economics alumni are also on the program at least 24 times, bringing the total to at least 70 BU participants, nearly tying the 71 participants at the 2013 meetings in San Diego. (This total is almost certainly an undercount, since recognizing the names of BU alumni is imprecise. I apologize for missing some names.) Of these 70 participating, 28 are current Economics faculty, 11 are current SMG faculty, one is in the SPH, six were Ph.D. Economics students at the time they submitted, and 24 are alumni. This year three professors share the title for the most appearances on the ASSA program: Alisdair McKay, Kevin Lang and Laurence Kotlikoff, each of whom appears three times on the program in various roles. Well done colleagues!

 

PS: It is not too early to begin planning for attending the 2015 meetings, which will be January, in Boston and are sure to set a new record for BU involvement.

 

PPS. If you attend either conference, plan to attend the BU reception, which is now an ASSA tradition for Saturday evening at 6:00.

Saturday, Jan 4, from 6-8pm at the Loews Philadelphia- Commonwealth Hall A1.

The preliminary ASSA program is linked here. http://www.aeaweb.org/aea/2014conference/program/preliminary.php

Below is a full list of BU participants and the time and place of their sessions. (Also an easy way for you to check for your own time and room although this is the PRELIMINARY program.)

 

Jan 03, 2014 8:00 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 305
American Economic Association
Evaluation of Social Programs (H4)
Smallpox and Human Capital Development: 1850-1930
Dara N. Lee (University of Missouri)
Jan 03, 2014 8:00 am, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Regency Ballroom A
American Finance Association
Credit Risk I (G1)
Synthetic or Real? The Equilibrium Effects of Credit Default Swaps on Bond Markets
Martin Oehmke (Columbia University)
Adam Zawadowski (Boston University)
Jan 03, 2014 8:00 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 306
American Economic Association
Health Economics (I1)
Presiding: Kathleen Carey (Boston University)
Does Reputation Matter? Patient-Created Reviews and Drivers of Demand for Physician Services On ZocDoc.com
Sonal Vats (Boston University)
Michael Luca (Harvard Business School)
Why Does the Health of Immigrants Deteriorate?
Osea Giuntella (University of Oxford)
Jan 03, 2014 8:00 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 403
Econometric Society
Industrial Organization: Theory and Applications (L1)
Strategic Responses to Used-Goods Markets: Airbus and Boeing since 1997
Myongjin Kim (Boston University)
Discussants: Myongjin Kim (Boston University)
Jan 03, 2014 10:15 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 201-A
American Economic Association
Looking Back at the United States during the Late Nineteenth Century: Lessons from the American Economy during the Time of the Great Migration Era (J6)
Technical Change and the Relative Demand for Skilled Labor: The United States in Historical Perspective
Lawrence Katz (Harvard University)
Robert Margo (Boston University)

Jan 03, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Ballroom - Salon J
American Economic Association
Firms, Uncertainty and the Business Cycle (E3)
Entry, Exit, Firm Dynamics, and Aggregate Fluctuations
Berardino Palazzo (Boston University)
Gian Luca Clementi (New York University)
Jan 03, 2014 10:15 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Grand Hall
American Economic Association
Macroeconomics Poster Session (E1) (Poster Session)
Investment Decisions of the Elderly
Valentina Michelangeli (Bank of Italy)
Jan 03, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Ballroom - Salon K
Association of Environmental & Resource Economists
Automobiles, Fuel Markets and Energy Efficiency (Q4)
Testing a Model of Consumer Vehicle Purchases
Gloria Helfand (US Environmental Protection Agency)
Ari Kahan (US Environmental Protection Agency)
David Greene (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Changzheng Liu (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Michael Shelby (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Jan 03, 2014 10:15 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 102-A
Labor & Employment Relations Association
Building a Sustainable Biomedical Research Workforce (J5)
The Biomedical Postdoc: Human Capital Investment or Holding Pattern?
Shulamit Kahn (Boston University)
Donna K. Ginther (University of Kansas)
Jan 03, 2014 2:30 pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 201-C
American Economic Association
Public Policy and the Design of Medicare Part D (I1)
Medicare Part D: Are Insurers Gaming the Low-Income Subsidy Design?
Francesco Decarolis (Boston University)
Jan 03, 2014 2:30 pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 105-B
American Economic Association
Women and Development (J16)
Presiding: Alicia Adsera (Princeton University)
Jan 03, 2014 2:30 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 406
Cliometrics Society
Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective (N2)
Economies of Scale in Nineteenth Century American Manufacturing Revisited: A Resolution of the Entrepreneurial Labor Input Problem
Robert A. Margo (Boston University and NBER)
Discussants:
Carola Frydman (Boston University and NBER)
Jan 03, 2014 2:30 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 401
Econometric Society
Banks, Sovereign Risk and Currency Wars (F5)
Sovereign Risk and Financial Risk
Simon Gilchrist (Boston University)
Vivian Yue (Federal Reserve Board)
Egon Zakrajsek (Federal Reserve Bank)
Jan 03, 2014 2:30 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 306
National Economic Association
Innovations in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (O3)
Innovation Strategies in Entrepreneurial Firms: Market Maturity and Killer Apps in the iPhone Ecosystem
Pai-Ling Yin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Jason Davis (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Yulia Muzyrya (Boston University)
Jan 04, 2014 8:00 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 103-B
American Economic Association
Financial Frictions, Business Cycles and Investment Dynamics (E2)
Uncertainty, Financial Frictions, and Investment Dynamics
Simon Gilchrist (Boston University)
Jae Sim (Federal Reserve Board)
Egon Zakrajsek (Federal Reserve Board)
Discussants:
Francois Gourio (Boston University)
Berardino Palazzo (Boston University)
Jan 04, 2014 8:00 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 107-B
American Economic Association
Racial Disparities (J1)
Presiding: Kevin Lang (Boston University)
Attorney Empowerment in Voir Dire and the Racial Composition of Juries
Jee-Yeon K. Lehmann (University of Houston)
Jeremy Blair Smith (Analysis Group)
The Black-White Education-Scaled Test-Score Gap in Grades K-7
Timothy N. Bond (Purdue University)
Kevin Lang (Boston University)
Discussants:
Johannes Schmieder (Boston University)
Jan 04, 2014 8:00 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 307
Economic Science Association
Identifying Time Preferences from Lab and Field Data (D9)
Identifying Self Control in Field Data
Sendhil Mullanaithan (Harvard University)
Supreet Kaur (Boston University)
Michael Kremer (Harvard University)
Jan 04, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Ballroom - Salon C
American Economic Association
Agency Conflicts and Asset Pricing (G1)
Andrea M. Buffa (Boston University)
Dimitri Vayanos (London School of Economics)
Paul Woolley (London School of Economics)
Jan 04, 2014 10:15 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 204-C
American Economic Association
Behavioral Economics and Public Policy (H3)
How Product Standardization Affects Choice: Evidence from the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange
Keith Marzilli Ericson (Boston University)
Amanda Starc (University of Pennsylvania)
Jan 04, 2014 10:15 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 109-B
American Economic Association
Computational Solutions to Optimal Policy Problems (C6)
Presiding: Laurence Kotlikoff (Boston University)
Generational Risk - Is It a Big Deal?
Jasmina Hasanhodzik (Boston University)
Laurence J. Kotlikoff (Boston University)
Discussants:
Laurence J. Kotlikoff (Boston University)
Jan 04, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 404
Econometric Society
Risk and Ambiguity (D8)
No Two Experiments are Identical
Larry Epstein (Boston University)
Yoram Halevy (University of British Columbia)
Jan 04, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 405
Econometric Society
Wage Inequality (E2)
Presiding: Alisdair McKay (Boston University)
Idiosyncratic Risk and the Dynamics of Aggregate Consumption: A Likelihood-Based Perspective
Alisdair McKay (Boston University)
Jan 04, 2014 10:15 am, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Regency Ballroom C2
International Economic & Finance Society
Exchange Rates and Fundamentals (F4)
On What States Do Prices Depend? Evidence from Micro-Prices in Ecuador
Craig Benedict (Vanderbilt University)
Mario Crucini (Vanderbilt University)
Anthony Landry (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)
Jan 04, 2014 2:30 pm, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Millenium Hall
American Finance Association
The Consequences of Imperfect Financial Markets (G1)
Intangible Capital and Corporate Cash Holdings
Antonio Falato (Federal Reserve Board)
Dalida Kadyrzhanova (University of Maryland)
Jae Sim (Federal Reserve Board)
Jan 04, 2014 2:30 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 406
Cliometrics Society
Technology and Property Rights (N7)
Copyright and the Allocation of Talent
Petra Moser (Stanford University)
Megan MacGarvie (Boston University)
Hoan Nguyen (Stanford University)
Turning Points in Leadership: Shipping Technology in the Portuguese and Dutch Merchant Empires
Claudia Rei (Vanderbilt University)

Jan 04, 2014 2:30 pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 102-A
Labor & Employment Relations Association
Human Capital at Work: Education and Health (J5)
Impact of Comorbid Mental and Physical Illness on Employment,, Earnings Loss and Disability
E. Nilay Kafali (Harvard University)
Benjamin Cook (Harvard University)

Jan 04, 2014 2:30 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 401
Econometric Society
Bounded Rationality and Markets (D4)
Presiding: Bart Lipman (Boston University)
Foundations for Optimal Inattention
Andrew Ellis (Boston University)
Jan 04, 2014 2:30 pm, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Washington A
National Tax Association
Taxes, Top Incomes, and Executive Compensation (H2)
The Impact of Taxes and Regulations on Executive Compensation: An Examination of the TARP Rules
Carola Frydman (Boston University)
Seth H. Giertz (University of Nebraska)
Jacob Mortenson (Georgetown University and Joint Committee on Taxation)
Jan 05, 2014 8:00 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 201-C
American Economic Association
Theory and Measurement of Intangible Capital (E2)
Customer Capital over the Business Cycle
Francois Gourio (Boston University)
Leena Rudanko (Boston University)
Jan 05, 2014 8:00 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 203-A
American Economic Association
Transfers and Networks in Developing Countries (O1)
The Network Effects of Financial Interventions: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Nepal
Margherita Comola (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Silvia Prina (Case Western Reserve University)
Discussants:
Silvia Prina (Case Western Reserve University)
Jan 05, 2014 8:00 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 404
Econometric Society
Searching and Contracting (D3)
Repeated Contracting in Decentralised Markets
Sambuddha Ghosh (Boston University)
Seungjin Han (McMaster University)
Jan 05, 2014 8:00 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 102-A
Labor & Employment Relations Association
Human Capital at Work: Talent, Skills (J5)
Discussants:
Shulamit Kahn (Boston University)
Jan 05, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Ballroom - Salon K
American Economic Association
Credit and Collateral (G2)
Rising Intangible Capital, Shrinking Debt Capacity and the United States Corporate Savings Glut
Jae W. Sim (Federal Reserve Board)
Antonio Falato (Federal Reserve Board)
Dalida Kadyrzhanova (University of Maryland)
Jan 05, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Ballroom - Salon A
American Economic Association
Education, Human Capital and Gender (J16)
Presiding: Kevin Lang (Boston University)
Labour Market Decisions of Immigrant Households
Alicia Adsera (Princeton University)
Ana Ferrer (University of Calgary)
Discussants:
Daniele Paserman (Boston University)
Jan 05, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 403
Econometric Society
Life-Cycle Decision-Making with Intergenerational Interactions and Health/Life Expectations (I1)
Bequest Motives in a Life-Cycle Model with Intergenerational Interactions
Loretti Isabella Dobrescu (University of New South Wales)
Fedor Iskhakov (University of South Wales)
Jan 05, 2014 10:15 am, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 406
Econometric Society
Using Information Technology to Improve Health in Developing Countries (O1)
Presiding: Wesley Yin (Boston University)
Using Text-Message Authentication to Combat Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals
Daniel Bennett (University of Chicago)
Seema Jayachandran (Northwestern University)
Wesley Yin (Boston University)
Jan 05, 2014 1:00 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Grand Ballroom - Salon I
Association for Comparative Economic Studies
Shall I Fear Thou? Theoretical and Empirical Evidence on the Determinants, Effects, and Persistence of Aggression vs. Cooperation (Z1)
Presiding: Pauline Grosjean (University of New South Wales)
Terrorism: A Tale of Reputation and Intimidation
Sambuddha Ghosh (Boston University)
Gabriele Gratton (University of New South Wales)
Caixia Shen (Shangai University of Finance and Economics)
Jan 05, 2014 1:00 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 401
Econometric Society
Asset Pricing-Theory (G1)
Robust Contracts in Continuous Time
Jianjun Miao (Boston University)
Alejandro Rivera (Boston University)
Jan 05, 2014 1:00 pm, Philadelphia Marriott, Meeting Room 403
Econometric Society
Inference and Statistical Decision Theory (C1)
On the Computation of Size-Correct Power-Directed Tests with Null Hypotheses Characterized by Inequalities
Adam McCloskey (Brown University)
Jan 05, 2014 8:00 am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 204-A
American Economic Association
Medical Innovation (I1)
The Local Influence of Principal Investigators on Technology Adoption: Evidence from New Cancer Drugs
Leila Agha (Boston University)
David Molitor (University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign)
Entries with current affiliation of Boston University (46 entries, 31 names)
Adam Zawadowski (Boston University) SMG
Alejandro Rivera (Boston University) SMG
Alisdair McKay (Boston University) Econ  *3
Andrea M. Buffa (Boston University) SMG
Andrew Ellis (Boston University) Econ PhD (now at LSE)
Bart Lipman (Boston University) Econ
Berardino Palazzo (Boston University) SMG *2
Carola Frydman (Boston University and NBER) Econ *2
Daniele Paserman (Boston University) Econ
Francesco Decarolis (Boston University) Econ
Francois Gourio (Boston University) Econ *2
Jasmina Hasanhodzik (Boston University) Econ Ph.D. candidate
Jianjun Miao (Boston University) Econ
Johannes Schmieder (Boston University) Econ
Kathleen Carey (Boston University) SPH
Keith Marzilli Ericson (Boston University) SMG
Kevin Lang (Boston University) Econ *3
Larry Epstein (Boston University) Econ
Laurence J. Kotlikoff (Boston University) Econ *3
Leena Rudanko (Boston University) Econ
Leila Agha (Boston University) SMG
Megan MacGarvie (Boston University) SMG
Myongjin Kim (Boston University) Econ Ph.D (now at U Oklahoma) *2
Robert A. Margo (Boston University and NBER) Econ *2
Sambuddha Ghosh (Boston University) Econ *2
Shulamit Kahn (Boston University) SMG *2
Simon Gilchrist (Boston University) Econ *2
Sonal Vats (Boston University) Econ Ph.D candidate
Supreet Kaur (Boston University) SMG, (IR?)
Wesley Yin (Boston University) Econ *2 (now at UCLA)
Yulia Muzyrya (Boston University) SMG

Jan 04, 2014 2:30 pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 102-A
Labor & Employment Relations Association
Human Capital at Work: Education and Health (J5)
Presiding: Phanindra Wunnava (Middlebury College and IZA)
Private and Social Returns to Education: Evidence from the Current Population Survey
Kristen Monaco (California State University-Long Beach)
Steven Yamarik (California State University-Long Beach)
Impact of Comorbid Mental and Physical Illness on Employment, Earnings Loss and Disability
E. Nilay Kafali (Harvard University)
Benjamin Cook (Harvard University)
Employment Patterns of Foreign-Born Immigrants in the United States: The Role of English Proficiency
Ying Zhen (Wesleyan College)
Discussants:
Paul Harrington (Drexel University)

To the Sea by the T

BU, ,

Although Boston has many beaches, all swimmable, many people just go to the Cape and don't think to try the beaches nearby. This link from BU TODAY, To the Sea by the T has a really cool Map showing the beaches and how to get there via the T for the cost of a subway fare. My favorite is Revere Beach (200 meters from the Blue Line Revere Beach stop), particularly for the National Sand Sculpting Festival that runs July 19-21 in 2013. Most people's favorite is Nantasket Beach on Hull (best by car, since still a 3.1 mile walk or short taxi from the T).  Bicycling is another option...  Taking the ferry to one of the Boston Harbor Islands is another easy choice.

To the Sea by the T

A guide to MBTA-accessible beaches
Map

http://www.bu.edu/today/2013/boston-beaches-accessible-by-mbta/

National Sand Sculpting Festival

Unbelievable pictures from past sand sculpture contests at Revere Beach.

2012 and 2012

2011

2010

2006

Enjoy Summer!

Useful reference for serious SAS programmers

BU, BUHealth, General Economics

I often do bootstrap and simulations in my research, and for some background research, I found the following excellent short article on how to use SAS to do efficient replications/bootstrapping/jackknifing.

Paper 183-2007
Don't Be Loopy: Re-Sampling and Simulation the SAS® Way
David L. Cassell, Design Pathways, Corvallis, OR

http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/forum2007/183-2007.pdf

Here is an elegant example that shows how to do 1000 replications of the Kurtosis of X. Note that proc univariate could be replaced with anything. Discussion of proc append and critique of alternative programs is also useful.

(I will note that it starts by creating a sample that is 1000 times as large as the original, but still, it is very fast given what is being done.)

proc surveyselect data=YourData out=outboot /* 1 */
seed=30459584 /* 2 */
method=urs /* 3 */
samprate=1 /* 4 */
outhits /* 5 */
rep=1000; /* 6 */
run;
proc univariate data=outboot /* consider noprint option here to reduce output */;
var x;
by Replicate; /* 7 */
output out=outall kurtosis=curt;
run;
proc univariate data=outall;
var curt;
output out=final pctlpts=2.5, 97.5 pctlpre=ci;
run;

Congrats to our 570 New Graduates!

BU

I invite you to join me in celebrating our Class of 2013  Department of Economics graduates.

This past weekend, Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences Department of Economics awarded degrees to

21    PhD students
257 MA students  of all kinds (MA, MAPE, MAEP, MAGDE MA/MBA, BA/MA)
292 BA students

Congratulations to all 570 degree recipients!

The number of graduate degree recipients (278) fell behind the number of  BA students (292) with strong grown in both!

Last year (2012) there were 15 PhDs, 245 MA degree recipients, and 257 BA recipients. Overall, we had a one year growth of over 10%!

Two Great Articles in the December JEL

BU, BUHealth, General Economics

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2012

Two great articles.

Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market: Theory and Empirics

Kevin Lang and Jee-Yeon K. Lehmann

We review theories of race discrimination in the labor market. Taste-based models can generate wage and unemployment duration differentials when combined with either random or directed search even when strong prejudice is not widespread, but no existing model explains the unemployment rate differential. Models of statistical discrimination based on differential observability of productivity across races can explain the pattern and magnitudes of wage differentials but do not address employment and unemployment. At their current state of development, models of statistical discrimination based on rational stereotypes have little empirical content. It is plausible that models combining elements of the search models with statistical discrimination could fit the data. We suggest possible avenues to be pursued and comment briefly on the implication of existing theory for public policy. (JEL J15, J31, J64, J71)
Wonderful synthesis from Kevin and Lehmann, a recent BU Ph.D. alum.
Full-Text Access | Supplementary Materials 

Psychologists at the Gate: A Review of Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow

Andrei Shleifer
The publication of Daniel Kahneman's book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, is a major intellectual event. The book summarizes, but also integrates, the research that Kahneman has done over the past forty years, beginning with his path-breaking work with the late Amos Tversky. The broad theme of this research is that human beings are intuitive thinkers and that human intuition is imperfect, with the result that judgments and choices often deviate substantially from the predictions of normative statistical and economic models. In this review, I discuss some broad ideas and themes of the book, describe some economic applications, and suggest future directions for research that the book points to, especially in decision theory. (JEL A12, D03, D80, D87) 

Nice short summary of key themes from the extraordinary Kahneman book.

Full-Text Access | Supplementary Materials

BU ranked 17th in world, 7th in US by “Most employable students”

BU, General Economics, Jobs

Graduates from Boston University were  ranked 17th most employable in the world and 7th most employable in the US by the 2012 Global Employability Survey, published by the New York Times and International Herald Tribune. It was discussed in BU Today on November 1, 2012. Here is the results in table form from the NY Times.

This represents a huge improvement from their ranking 51st in the US by the same newspaper in 2011.  Is this big change believable, and why the big change? The biggest factor is that for the 2011 study, (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/10/20/education/20iht-SReducEmploy20-graphic.html?ref=education) the NYT Survey polled only business executives and board chairs, and only surveyed them from the ten countries, while for the 2012 the international survey included 20 countries from all over the world, including Asia and Latin America. The new survey also explicitly included 1200 top business recruiters as well as 1500 chief executives and business managers, as in the past.

It makes a big difference whether you ask recruiters as well as than chief executives, since recruiters will care more about a very large number of potential candidates before they visit or give attention to candidates from a particular university.  Plus this new survey included Australian and Asian countries for the first time.

Boston University is not only one of the largest (28,000+) private universities but has also had a large number of international, and particularly, Asian students and alumni, for decades. It also has a rich set of graduate degrees with high proportions international.

The following table was generated from the US News and World reports using the 50 universities with the highest % international undergraduate students. It shows that Boston University had the ninth highest number of international students among all these universities. Moreover some of the other surprises also have much higher numbers than the ivies and other top schools. Hence these ratings from recruiters make sense, once one takes this into account.

Ranking of 50 Universities  with high international student percentages by number of international students.

Source: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/most-international/spp+50
Columns
A = ranking by largest number of international undergraduate students
B = University name
C = % internat.
D = # of Undergrads
E = Number of Internat. students
F = rank by # % Internat

Source: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/most-international/spp+50
A B C D E F
% internat. Undergrads Internat. students Rank by  % Internat
1 Purdue University--West Lafayette 15% 30,776 4616.4 8
2 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign 13% 32,256 4193.28 12
3 Michigan State University 9% 36,675 3300.75 36
4 University at Buffalo--SUNY 16% 19,334 3093.44 7
5 Indiana University--Bloomington 9% 32,543 2928.87 39
6 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities 8% 34,812 2784.96 50
7 University of California--Berkeley 9% 25,885 2329.65 35
8 New York University 10% 22,280 2228 29
9 Boston University 12% 18,140 2176.8 16
10 University of Southern California 12% 17,414 2089.68 15
11 University of California--San Diego 9% 23,046 2074.14 33
12 New School 27% 7,081 1911.87 1
13 Northeastern University 14% 12,913 1807.82 9
14 University of Iowa 8% 21,564 1725.12 48
15 University of Oregon 8% 20,623 1649.84 43
16 Cornell University 9% 14,167 1275.03 38
17 Stony Brook University--SUNY 8% 15,926 1274.08 44
18 Drexel University 10% 11,899 1189.9 31
19 Binghamton University--SUNY 10% 11,861 1186.1 28
20 Syracuse University 8% 14,671 1173.68 46
21 University of Miami 11% 10,509 1155.99 21
22 University of Pennsylvania 11% 9,779 1075.69 20
23 Carnegie Mellon University 17% 6,281 1067.77 6
24 University of Colorado--Denver 8% 12,674 1013.92 45
25 Emory University 11% 7,441 818.51 22
26 University of San Francisco 13% 6,051 786.63 10
27 Harvard University 11% 6,657 732.27 23
28 Florida Institute of Technology 26% 2,724 708.24 2
29 Brown University 11% 6,380 701.8 25
30 St. Louis University 8% 8,670 693.6 42
31 Columbia University 11% 6,027 662.97 19
32 University of Rochester 11% 5,643 620.73 18
33 Georgetown University 8% 7,590 607.2 47
34 Princeton University 11% 5,249 577.39 26
35 Illinois Institute of Technology 21% 2,714 569.94 3
36 University of Tulsa 18% 3,004 540.72 5
37 Johns Hopkins University 9% 5,980 538.2 37
38 Yale University 10% 5,349 534.9 27
39 Duke University 8% 6,680 534.4 49
40 University of Chicago 9% 5,388 484.92 34
41 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 10% 4,384 438.4 30
42 University of Denver 8% 5,453 436.24 41
43 Worcester Polytechnic Institute 11% 3,849 423.39 17
44 Brandeis University 12% 3,504 420.48 14
45 Rice University 10% 3,755 375.5 32
46 Lynn University 18% 1,619 291.42 4
47 Andrews University 13% 1,929 250.77 11
48 Polytechnic Institute of New York University 11% 1,939 213.29 24
49 Clark University 9% 2,311 207.99 40
50 California Institute of Technology 12% 978 117.36 13

The big jump in the ranking of Boston University's rating by international recruiters into the "seventh most employable students" from last years ranking of 51 by mostly US business executives is probably mostly real.

Lisa Iezzoni’s new book on Risk Adjustment****

BU, BUHealth, EC 581, EC 782

I just received and have scanned through Lisa Iezzoni's fourth book (as editor and major contributor) entitled

Risk Adjustment for Measuring Health Care Outcomes (Fourth Edition), Lisa I Iezzoni (ed) (2013)

Even though Lisa is a physician, not an economist or statistician, this book provides an excellent overview of risk adjustment (population-based), and severity or case mix adjustment (episode or event based), and includes discussion of available datasets, model comparisons, propensity score matching, lists of information potentially useful, clinical classification, variables  clinical, social and statistical issues. Contributions on statistical methodology by Michael Swartz and Arlene Ash, as well as separate chapters on mental health, long term care, managing healthcare organizations, and provider profiling are excellent. Its main weakness is in not capturing international developments at all, not discussing the commercial market for risk adjustment models, and not covering most nonlinear and econometric (as distinct from statistical) issues well. Still, it should be required reading for anyone planning to do work in this area.

I have put it on my list of all time favorite books, but acknowledge that only a limited subset of people will be interested in it.

 

Five Questions for Health Economists

BU, BUHealth, Conferences, EC 581, EC 782

My presidential address to the American Society of Health Economists is now available to download and scheduled for publication in the International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics. Here is the link.

Five questions for health economists

Randall P. Ellis

Online First™, 3 September 2012

Here is the direct link to the pdf file.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/7m2668027362x52r/fulltext.pdf

 

Congrats to BU faculty on prominent role at ASSA 2013!

BU, BUHealth, Conferences, General Economics

Congratulations!

BU faculty, graduate students and alumni appear prominently in the program of the Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) meetings (aka the AEA meetings), scheduled to be held in San Diego January 4-6, 2013. Altogether their names appear as presenters, authors, chairs or discussants at least 73 times. Seventeen different economics faculty are listed as participants (up from 12 in 2012). I see many colleagues from SMG and SPH as well.

Names of BU faculty, graduate students and alumni on the preliminary program of the ASSA are shown on the extract below in Bold. (Also shown are the times and rooms in case you have not looked yet.) My apologies for the incompleteness of this listing, since finding alumni in particular is challenging. I am sure I missed many more alumni.

Well done colleagues!

The full ASSA preliminary program is listed here. http://www.aeaweb.org/aea/2013conference/program/preliminary.php

(Also, not too early to begin planning for your presentation at ASSA 2014, which will be in Philadelphia Jan 3-5, 2014, or for 2015 in Boston!)

Be sure to plan on attending the BU reception at the ASSA which will be
Saturday, January 5, 6:00-8:00 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt-Gregory A & B

Here is the full roster of BU participants/coauthors

Jan 04, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Molly A & B
American Economic Association
The Market for Medicines in Developing Countries (O1)
Drug Quality and the Development of Private Retail Pharmacy Markets
Wesley Yin (Boston University)
Dan Bennett (University of Chicago)

Jan 04, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Gibbons
Econometric Society
Product Markets (D4)
Durable Goods Monopoly with Stochastic Costs
Juan Matias Ortner (Princeton University)
Discussants:
Juan Matias Ortner (Princeton University)

Jan 04, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Elizabeth Ballroom A
American Economic Association
The Organizational Economics of Multinational Firms (F2)
Discussants:
Andrew Newman (Boston University)
Stefania Garetto (Boston University)

Jan 04, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Manchester D
American Economic Association
Finance (G1) (Poster Session)
Do Humans Perceive Temporal Order in Asset Returns?
Jasmina Hasanhodzic (Boston University)
Andrew Lo (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Emanuele Viola (Northeastern University)

Jan 04, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Gregory A & B
American Economic Association
Financial Intermediation and Financial Crisis (E5)
Presiding: Jianjun Miao (Boston University)
Banking Bubbles and Financial Crisis
Jianjun Miao (Boston University)
Pengfei Wang (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
Demand Creates its Own Supply
Christophe Chamley (Boston University)
Discussants:
Simon Gilchrist (Boston University)

Jan 04, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Edward A
American Economic Association
Global Production Chains (F1)
Do Prices Determine Vertical Integration? Evidence from Trade Policy
Laura Alfaro (Harvard Business School)
Paola Conconi (Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
Harald Hadinger (University of Vienna)
Andrew Newman (Boston University)

Jan 04, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Elizabeth Ballroom G
American Economic Association
Work on Women's Work is Never Done (J2)
Shocking Female Labor Supply: A Reassessment of the Impact of World War II on U.S. Women's Labor Supply
Claudia Goldin (Harvard University)
Claudia Olivetti (Boston University)

Jan 04, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Ford B
International Health Economics Association
Health Insurance Market Innovations (I1)
Presiding: Wesley Yin (Boston University and NBER)
Discussants:
Dara Lee (University of Missouri)

Jan 04, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Ford C
National Tax Association
Health Care Cost Containment (I1)
Age-Based Heterogeneity and Pricing Regulation on the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange
Keith Marzilli Ericson (Boston University and NBER)

Jan 04, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Elizabeth Ballroom C
American Economic Association
Markups, Customer Base and Business cycles (E2)
Presiding: Leena Rudanko (Boston University)
Inflation Dynamics during the Financial Crisis: Microeconomic Evidence on the Linkages between Price-Setting and Balance Sheet Conditions
Simon Gilchrist (Boston University)
Egon Zakrajsek (Federal Reserve Board)
Raphael Schoenle (Brandeis University)
Customer Capital and Business Cycles
Francois Gourio (Boston University)
Leena Rudanko (Boston University)
Discussants:
Christopher House (University of Michigan)

Jan 04, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Cunningham A & B
Econometric Society
Nature of Labor Income Risk (E2)
Reconciling Estimates of Income Processes in Growth Rates and Levels
Moira Daly (Copenhagen Business School)
Dmytro Hryshko (University of Alberta)
Iourii Manovskii (University of Pennsylvania)

Jan 04, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Manchester F
American Economic Association
The Political Economics of Momentum, Persistence and Information (D8)
The Persistence of Political Partisanship: Evidence from 9/11
Sharun Mukand (University of Warwick)
Ethan Kaplan (University of Maryland)

Jan 04, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Randle B
American Economic Association
Developments in Health and Population Economics (I1)
Explaining the Birth Order Effect: The Role of Prenatal and Early Postnatal Conditions
Jee-Yeon K. Lehmann (University of Houston)
Ana Nuevo-Chiquero (University of Barcelona)
Marian Vidal-Fernandez (University of New South Wales)
The Impact of Childhood Health on Adult Educational Attainment: Evidence from Mandatory School Vaccination Laws
Dara N. Lee (University of Missouri)

Jan 04, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Edward C
American Economic Association
Medical Treatment (I1)
Presiding: Kathleen Carey (Boston University)
Technology Diffusion and Learning Spillovers in Health Care: Evidence from New Cancer Drugs
Leila Agha (Boston University)
David Molitor (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Negative Tests and the Efficiency of Medical Care: Investigating the Determinants of Imaging Overuse
Jason Abaluck (Yale University)
Leila Agha (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 7:45 am, Marriott Marquis & Marina, Santa Rosa
Association for Social Economics
Presidential Breakfast
Martha Starr (President, ASE) (American University) The Social Responsibility of Business Through a Social-Economics Lens

Jan 05, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Ford A
American Economic Association
Economic History (N0)
The Persistence of the Inquisitorial Mind: Long-Run Effects of the Spanish Inquisition
Jordi Vidal-Robert (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Molly A & B
American Economic Association
Discussants:
Daniele Paserman (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Edward C
American Economic Association
Recent Developments in Consumer Bankruptcy Research (K3)
Social Networks and Personal Bankruptcy
Michelle Miller (Rutgers University)

Jan 05, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Cunningham C
Econometric Society
Incentive Pay and Competition (G3)
Rising Through the Ranks: The Evolution of the Market for Corporate Executives, 1936-2003
Carola Frydman (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Elizabeth Ballroom B
American Economic Association
Default Risk and Aggregate Fluctuations (E3)
Presiding: Francois Gourio (Boston University)
Default Risk Premia and Investment in a DSGE model
Francois Gourio (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Edward A & B
American Economic Association
Youth Behavior (J1)
No Pass No Drive: Education and Allocation of Time
Rashmi Barua (Singapore Management University)
Marian Vidal Fernandez (UNSW)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Randle D
American Economic Association
Economic Analysis of Environmental Policy (Q5)
Climate Change and U.S. Electric Power
Ian Sue Wing (Boston University)
Karina Veliz Roja (Boston University)
Tim Fuerst (University of Notre Dame)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Manchester F
American Economic Association
Financial Policies: Lessons from Historical and Long Run Perspectives (G1)
Economic Effects of Runs on Early "Shadow Banks": Trust Companies and the Impact of the Panic of 1907
Carola Frydman (Boston University)
Eric Hilt (Wellesley College)
Lily Zhou (Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Edward C
American Economic Association
Gender, Trade and Productivity Shocks (J1)
Presiding: Claudia Olivetti (Boston University)
Discussants:
Claudia Olivetti (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Gibbons
Econometric Society
Testing (C1)
Discussants:
Hiroaki Kaido (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 10:15 am, Marriott Marquis & Marina, La Costa
Health Economics Research Organization
Medical Interventions and Patient Offsetting Behavior (I1)
Does Statin Use Adversely Affect Health Behaviors?
Robert Kaestner (University of Illinois and NBER)
Michael Darden (Tulane University)
Darius Lakdawalla (University of Southern California and NBER)
Wesley Yin (Boston University and NBER)

Jan 05, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Randle D
American Economic Association
Intangible Capital and Asset Prices (G1)
Customer Capital
Francois Gourio (Boston University)
Leena Rudanko (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Molly A & B
American Economic Association
Plan Choice and Switching Costs in Health Insurance Market (I1)
Dynamic Plan Choice in Medicare Part D - Quantifying Switching Costs
Chao Zhou (University of Pittsburgh)
Yuting Zhang (University of Pittsburgh)

Jan 05, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Manchester A
American Economic Association
Labor Market Networks (J2)
Discussants:
Kevin Lang (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Emma A & B
American Economic Association
The Impacts of Great Society Programs (N3)
Discussants:
Robert Margo (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 2:30 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Cunningham C
Econometric Society
New Developments in Empirical Modeling of Games (C5)
Random Coefficients in Static Games of Complete Information
fabian dunker (University of Goettingen)
Stefan Hoderlein (Boston College)
Hiroaki Kaido (Boston University)

Jan 05, 2013 2:30 pm, Marriott Marquis & Marina, Torrey Pines 1
Society for Computational Economics
Inference in DSGE-type models (C3)
Frequency Domain Analysis of Medium Scale DSGE Models with Application to Smets and Wouters (2007)
Zhongjun Qu (Boston University)
Denis Tkachenko (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Windsor B & C
American Economic Association
Family Formation (J1)
Why Have Divorce Rates Fallen? The Role of Women's Age at Marriage
Dana Rotz (Mathematica Policy Research)

Jan 06, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Molly A & B
American Economic Association
Health Care Labor Markets (J4)
Presiding: Patricia Cortes (Boston University)
The Relative Quality of Foreign Nurses in the US
Patricia Cortes (Boston University)
Jessica Pan (National University of Singapore)
Discussants:
Wes Yin (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 8:00 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Manchester G
American Economic Association
Woman and Labor Markets (J1)
Sexual Violence against Women and Labor Market Outcomes
Joseph J. Sabia (San Diego State University)
Angela Dills (Providence College)
Jeffrey DeSimone (University of Maryland)
Discussants:
Kevin Lang (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Gregory A & B
American Economic Association
Assessing the Impacts of Job Loss (J6)
The Long-Term Impact of Job Displacement in Germany during the 1982 Recession on Earnings, Income, and Employment
Johannes Schmieder (Boston University)
Till Von Wachter (Columbia University)
Stefan Bender (Institute for Employment Research)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Edward A
American Economic Association
Information, Health, and Insurance (I1)
Presiding: Keith Ericson (Boston University)
How Product Standardization Affects Choice: Evidence from the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange
Keith Marzilli Ericson (Boston University)
Amanda Starc (University of Pennsylvania)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Elizabeth Ballroom A
American Economic Association
Measurement Issues in the National Accounts
Price Indexes for Clinical Trial Research: A Feasibility Study
Ernst R. Berndt (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER)
Iain M. Cockburn (Boston University and NBER)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Marriott Marquis & Marina, Cardiff & Carlsbad
American Finance Association
Compensation and Incentives (G3)
Discussants:
Carola Frydman (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, America's Cup A & B
Econometric Society
Labor Markets and the Aggregate Economy (J6)
Unions in a Frictional Labor Market
Per Krusell (Stockholm University)
Leena Rudanko (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Gibbons
Econometric Society
Weakly Identified Models (C2)
Presiding: Zhongjun Qu (Boston University)
Bonferroni-Based Size-Correction for Nonstandard Testing Problems
Adam McCloskey (Brown University)
Local and Global Parameter Identification in DSGE Models Allowing for Indeterminacy
Zhongjun Qu (Boston University)
Denis Tkachenko (National University of Singapore)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Marriott Marquis & Marina, Laguna
Labor & Employment Relations Association
Unionization and Occupational Licensing: Similarities and Differences (J5)
Discussants:
David Weil (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 10:15 am, Marriott Marquis & Marina, Torrey Pines 3
National Economic Association
The Legacy of the War on Poverty (H3)
Discussants:
Robert Margo (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 1:00 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Elizabeth Ballroom F
American Economic Association
Causes and Consequences of Credit Default Swap Trading (G1)
The Anatomy of the CDS Market
Martin Oehmke (Columbia University)
Adam Zawadowski (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 1:00 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Randle E
American Economic Association
Impacts of Unilateral Climate Change Policy (Q5)
Discussants:
Ian Sue Wing (Boston University)

Jan 06, 2013 1:00 pm, Manchester Grand Hyatt, Manchester H & I
American Economic Association

Economic Analysis of Subjective Well-being

Aggregating Subjective Well-being for Marginal Policy Adjustments

Daniel Benjamin (Cornell University)
Ori Heffetz (Cornell University)
Miles Kimball (University of Michigan)
Nichole Szembrot (Cornell University)

 

--
_________________________________________
Randall P. Ellis, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Economics, Boston University
270 Bay State Road, Boston MA 02215 USA
tel: 617-353-2741    ellisrp@bu.edu    http://blogs.bu.edu/ellisrp/

Wolfram site for Mathematica calculations and data

BU, BUHealth, General Economics

This is from an 2010 BUHealth post, but I am reposting it now since the alpha site is still live and useful.

I thank BU alum Veronica Vargas for sending me the following link to a Wolfram alpha web site. It can be a waste of time, but it also can provide scientific, numeric, and demographic information that is calculated specific to your interests at remarkable speed.  Visit it when you have time to kill. It seems to do most simple Mathematica can do without requiring any  license.

Overview with lots of examples

http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/

Medical test examples useful for benchmarks.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/MedicalTests.html

county level info
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=suffolk+county+ma

Math results, of course, which is their traditional strength. http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=x^2+sin%28x%29

Behavioral Economics: Toward a New Paradigm by Amitai Etzioni

BU, BUHealth, General Economics

I happened upon an interesting article in the American Behavioral Scientist which gave me new insights. I recommend it highly to you.

Behavioral Economics: Toward a New Paradigm

by Amitai Etzioni (George Washington University)

http://icps.gwu.edu/files/2011/09/Beh-Ec-New-Paradigm.pdf

American Behavioral Scientist 55(8) 1099–1119

Abstract
This article discusses the challenges behavioral economics poses for neoclassical economics
and the ways in which the young field may move forward. After reviewing some of
behavioral economics’ accomplishments and the responses to these accomplishments,
the article asks whether its findings can be incorporated into the neoclassical paradigm
and suggests additional steps behavioral economics may consider undertaking in order
to expand its reach.

17-Month Extension of OPT for Econometrics etc.

BU, BUHealth, General Economics, Jobs,

UPDATE: On May 11, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security added several fields of study to the list of CIP codes that now qualify for the 17-month extension of initial 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT). The new list of  majors - and their corresponding CIP codes - that qualify for the extension (updated in May 2012) include:

45.0603 Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
51.2007 Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics

For more info visit:
http://www.bu.edu/isso/students/current/f1/employment/off-campus/17MonthExt.html

The list of fields included is shown here.
http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/stem-list.pdf

Unfortunately the BU Economics program majors do not fit exactly into these areas, so this extension does NOT immediately apply to BU graduates. BU ISSO is working on it though. I apologize that my earlier post was more encouraging.