BULLETIN NEWS Nº 17 School of and Finance September 2014

2 Pg Editorial

4 Pg Special Events

7 Pg Invited experts

10 Pg Scientific publications

14 Pg Articles in the popular press

15 Pg Participation in conferences and events Contacts: Dean of School of Economics and Finance Juan Felipe Mejía 19 Pg Achievements and awards Coordinators Vanessa Agudelo Department of Finance Oscar William Caicedo Pg Future events Department of Economics 20 Monitors Alejandro Arboleda Marcela Gutiérrez Pg Observations of an alumnus Students of Social Communication 21 EDITORIAL

EAFIT´s economists In the middle of the 20th century, the rapid expansion of financial markets led confront the challenges to the development of the now famous of a new society theories related to asset valuation and the composition of portfolios. Recently, the interaction of economics with other social sciences has resulted in the extension of the study of economics to an array of additional subjects, including such diverse themes as how a family determines its optimal number of children, the economic roots of crime, and the behavior of criminals, or the best way to allocate goods that are not exchanged in markets, such as human organs for transplanting, Alejandro Torres Garcia or votes in democratic institutions. Behind Chair Department of Economics each of these examples is a Nobel prize- EAFIT winner in economics, which illustrates the importance of these new applications “Economics is the study of human of economics to the understanding of behavior”. (A. Marshall). This simple modern societies. definition provides an apt description of the vast field of study currently encompassed The economist investigates all of these by economics, whose evolution has not aspects of society. He is by definition and stopped during the last 200 years. Initially, training a scientist. Beyond just having its focus was limited to themes directly a mechanistic vision, from the moment related to national production, economic he begins to practice his profession, growth, and economic aspects of politics, his principal virtue is the capacity to composing what was known then as understand the roots of the phenomena political economy, now more associated encountered in society from different with macroeconomics. Subsequently, points of view and to convert this the study of the market price formation understanding into actions that benefit process and the functioning of markets a country, a society, or a business. This led to another branch of the science, could occur in the public arena, where his which became known as microeconomics. mission is oriented toward formulating, Bulletin News No. 17 September 2014 3

implementing, and evaluating public of Economics is relatively young in journal, Ecos de Economia, is indexed in policies, or in the private arena, where his comparison to the with the category A2 in Publindex. mission is more linked to the generation of oldest departments, the commitment All of these elements enable us to ensure wealth through the optimal management to providing training at the highest our students the physical and human of the firm’s resources or through level, at the undergraduate as well as resources that guarantee them a first- recommendations on how to respond to at the graduate level, has inspired the class education, characterized by rigor market forces. Regardless of the arena, university to make great efforts in all and academic excellence, a diversity of economists have a particular and an aspects of the programs, which have viewpoints, and a high level of practical exclusive perspective on the world. resulted in accomplishments for the whole content, resulting from the strong community. Currently, the undergraduate Precisely because of the recognition of interaction between our university and economics program is accredited for the impor