DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER Department of Economics Newsletter June 2020 (R.Moffitt, Editor) GENERAL DEPARTMENT NEWS They say that every year is unique, but this Wright gave a Zoom Lecture on “The The Department was well represented at the one has been more “unique” than most. The Macroeconomics of COVID-19.” AEA Meetings in January, 2020 in San Diego. University has been under lockdown since Among the faculty, Greg Duffee, Olivier mid-March, with only essential personnel Before the March shutdown, the Department Jeanne, Yingyao Hu, Matthew Kahn, allowed on campus. All classes went online enjoyed its normal research, instructional, Robert Moffitt, and Richard Spady were on and almost all undergraduates returned and social activity. In September, we the program and Nick Papageorge and home, often to their countries of origin. The welcomed two new faculty members: Jonathan Wright were in attendance. The State of Maryland enacted a stay-at-home Lixiong Li, Assistant Professor coming from traditional cocktail party and alumni order which has only recently been modified Penn State, and Matthew Kahn, arriving reception also drew more than 50 current to a safer-at-home order, although not in from USC as a Bloomberg Distinguished and former graduate students and faculty, Baltimore City. The University Professor. Professor Kahn was also with those attending having the opportunity undergraduate Commencement as well as appointed as Director of the 21st Century City to say hello to old friends and to make new the Ph.D. award ceremony were both held Initiative, a JHU-wide effort to bring the ones. We will be having another in January, virtually. The University is facing a major expertise of JHU faculty to the problems of 2021 in Chicago (inshallah). Mark it on your financial crisis and does not know what form cities in general and Baltimore in particular. calendars. the Fall semester will take. Of particular Also joining us in September was Brendan concern for our graduate students who will Daley as the Ralph S. O’Connor Associate Our annual Richard T. Ely Lecture this year be on the market next year is whether there Professor, arriving from the University of was given in February by Susan Athey will be many universities doing any hiring, Colorado. New Assistant Professor Yujung (poster below) from Stanford University, who since many are facing revenue shortfalls. Hwang arrived in the Department in January, gave three stimulating lectures on “Machine from Yale. Learning in Economics: Methods and Closer to home, the Economics Department Applications.” For more details, including has had to cancel several conferences that A goodbye reception was held at the Faculty the Lectures themselves, see are ordinarily held in the Spring. All visiting Club in September for our retiring IT https://econ.jhu.edu/research-areas/ely- speaker seminars were cancelled. However, administrator, Nina Agopian, with many lectures/. graduate student presentations continued in testimonials and happy memories recited. virtual format. Graduate courses were all conducted online. Below: Nina with Donna and former JHU faculty member Joe Harrington. Several of the faculty have contributed to writing on the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic crisis, including Professors Barbera, Kahn, Moffitt, Norris, Papageorge, and Wright. Their writings can be found on the Economics website at https://econ.jhu.edu/2020/04/23/economics- A new development in our undergraduate faculty-offer-expertise-on-the-economic- program was the formation of an Economics implications-of-covid-19-pandemic/. The Club, supervised by faculty coordinator Economics Department also co-sponsored a Somasree Dasgupta. Here is a photo of their lecture on Triage Protocol Design by Tayfun first meeting in March, a networking session Sonmez, which was held in virtual format in with Economics graduate students: early May. Professor Papageorge engaged with a JHU epidemiologist, David Dowdy, on the different perspectives each brought to the COVID-19 crisis as well. Jonathan DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER 2 his first year at Johns Hopkins. In addition to World Economy at Peking University in his research, he developed new courses on Beijing last May. the economics of real estate (undergraduate) and on information in large markets Edi Karni, the Scott and Barbara Black (graduate). Professor of Economics, presented “Probabilistic Sophistication without Somasree Dasgupta was promoted from Completeness” at two conferences last Lecturer to Senior Lecturer this year. She summer, the D-TEA 2019 conference in Paris taught International Trade as well as courses and the Inaugural Conference on Behavioral, on “Rich Countries, Poor Countries” and “The Biological and Experimental Economics in Economics of the BRIC Countries.” Soma also Chengdu, China. He also presented joint organized the first undergraduate Economics work with graduate student Yen-lin (Eric) Club for the Department this year. Chiu, “Competitive Equilibrium Fraud in the For the second year, the Department Markets for Credence Goods,” at the Paris sponsored a series of lunch seminars for Greg Duffee, the Carl Christ Professor of Game Theory seminar and at SHUFE in undergraduates introducing them to the Economics, gave talks at American Shanghai. world of economic research. The seminars University and the University of Guelph this were given by faculty and graduate students, year. Matthew Kahn, the Bloomberg speaking about their research, and the series Distinguished Professor of Economics and Marcelo Fernandez gave talks at the Match- is coordinated by Barbara Morgan and Nick Business, gave a keynote address at the Up conference in Switzerland, the Papageorge. World Bank in September and the Rice Conference on Economic Design in Hungary, Lecture at the NYU Wagner School in In other news, I was honored to assume the and the North American Summer Meetings October. He also published an Amazon Chairmanship of the Department this of the Econometric Society. Kindle Book, Price Theory Problems, in academic year, which has been a rewarding January. Yingyao Hu gave talks at Ohio State experience. University and University of Southern Ali Khan was a plenary speaker at the To keep up with developments in the California, and particularly enjoyed coaching Positivity X conference in Pretoria where he Department as they happen, keep track on his daughter in the annual North America reported results obtained by Niccolo Urbinati the department website, Table Tennis Teams Tournament during the and JHU grad Metin Uyanik. He also http://www.econ.jhu.edu/. Thanksgiving weekend. participated in the 19th Annual SAET Conference last summer and introduced John Muhammad Husain was promoted from Geanakopolos for his "Lionel McKenzie Lecturer to Senior Lecturer this year. He Lecture." FACULTY NEWS taught Microeconomic Theory, Econometrics and Labor Economics to over 200 Lixiong Li gave talks last Fall at UW- undergraduate students and also advised 30 Madison, University of Pennsylvania, juniors and worked as co-supervisor on a University of Maryland, and at the Greater Larry Ball was the Wim Duisenberg Fellow at senior thesis. One of his working papers, New York Metropolitan Area Econometrics the European Central Bank in the Fall of collaborating with the CDC and the WHO, Colloquium. 2019. received a R&R in Tobacco Control. And his second child, Saheem Husain, was born on Robert Moffitt, the Krieger-Eisenhower Bob Barbera wrote a blog on the oil market, December 6. Professor of Economics, published a paper in OPEC, and related issues. Quantitative Economics in November with https://cfe.econ.jhu.edu/saudis-russians- Yujung Hwang did a post-doc at the Yingyao Hu and Yuya Sasaki. He is co- chineseand-greens-four-dimensional-chess- University of Geneva and was awarded a organizing a virtual conference in June in time-corona/ HCEO dissertation prize from the University Berlin for the Society of Labor Economists. of Chicago. She gave talks at Chicago, UCL, Filipe Campante, Bloomberg Distinguished University of Lausanne, ASREC European Barbara Morgan continued as faculty advisor Associate Professor joint with SAIS, has been Conference, HCEO Conference, and the for the popular EPIC (Economic Policy Issues appointed Vice Dean for Education and OECD Annual Conference on Immigration. Colloquium), an undergraduate policy Academic Affairs at SAIS. She is scheduled to give virtual talks at the workshop that introduces students to diverse SOLE meeting and Econometric Society Chris Carroll gave the keynote address at the perspectives in the discipline. Topics World Congress this summer. She was 6th Conference on Household Finance and presented this year included mechanisms for awarded two research grants from the Consumption in Dublin in December. allocating public school slots, incentives in Hopkins HBHI initiative and the Hopkins U.S. Welfare programs, perspectives on Ying Chen presented her work on vote Population Center to conduct research on Medicare for All, and the urban economics of buying at the Wallis Conference in Political anti-Asian racism. Baltimore. Economy at University of Rochester and at a Olivier Jeanne organized a visit of the Columbia University Political Economy Nicholas Papageorge, the Broadus Mitchell Conference. She became an Associate Editor International Monetary Fund for graduate Associate Professor of Economics, will students in October. He also presented at at Journal of Mathematical Economics. deliver a plenary address at the virtual World paper, “Currency