Economics Newsletter Department of Economics Rutgers University Number 46 New Series Summer 2007 R UTGERS A Message from the Chairman U NIVERSITY Barry Sopher D EPARTMENT OF E CONOMICS Phone 732-932-7363 Fax 732-932-7416 http://economics.rutgers.edu Construction noise? In spite of tight state and university budgets, the Editors department has been improving its physical plant. The home of much of our Eugene White social and intellectual activity, the Sidney Simon Departmental Library [email protected] received a major facelift. The space on the third floor was renovated this Dorothy Rinaldi summer, from top to bottom, and all the furniture has been replaced. As soon [email protected] as the graduate student computer room, adjoining the library, is completed, the Debra Holman library will be open again, just in time for Fall Semester 2007. The [email protected] department has also embarked on an expansion. Work on a new experimental economics laboratory, located in Scott Hall, has been completed and should be open for experiments at the start of the Fall Semester. This new facility was I NSIDE made possible by a generous donation in the name of a former alumnus. We A Message from the Chair….…….1 anticipate a dedication ceremony for the lab sometime in the fall, pending final Report From the Graduate Director approval for naming the laboratory in memory of the alumnus. ………………………………………2 The new capital campaign for Rutgers is gearing up now, and the Report from the Director of Department of Economics has a number of projects that we anticipate will be Undergraduate Studies…………..4 the focus of fundraising efforts over the next several years. Proposals to fund an endowed professorship, to establish a center for global studies (joint with Rutgers Fed Challenge…………..6 Political Science), to establish an endowed fund for the new experimental Undergraduate Notes……………6. economics laboratory, and to fund a graduate fellowship are among these Faculty Research Activities….….7 projects. Look for more information on these efforts over the coming year. Among new initiatives underway in the department is a prospective New Faculty………….……….…..9 exchange agreement between our department and the department of economics Graduate Alumni News….………9 at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. With strong groups in Birth Announcements……..……13 microeconomic theory, economic history and econometrics at both institutions, In Memoriam…………………….14 we are working on an arrangement whereby faculty and graduate students at either institution will be able to make extended visits to the other institution. Contributions….…………………14 Economics Newsletter 1 to great job market opportunities and productive PhD lives! All comments and suggestions, both small and big, should be channeled to Norm, who is always excited to hear from everyone. The Graduate Economics Student Association (GESA) recently elected a new president, Emel Yildirim. Congratulations! GESA held it’s September get- together to welcome new students and faculty. Report of The Graduate Director Additionally, GESA continues to hold informal lunch Norman R. Swanson talks to introduce faculty to students. Recent participants included Colin Campbell and Rosanne This year, I took the reigns as Graduate Director from Altshuler. All students are strongly encouraged to Richard McLean. Our program bears the imprint of attend these events and find dissertation directors and Rich’s tireless efforts on behalf of the graduate committee members! program; and his advice and experience have greatly eased my transition. We are happy to announce that we have a new faculty member in the graduate program, Carolyn Moehling. The program has begun some major changes that will Carolyn comes to us from Yale University. We enable students to devote more time towards the anticipate she will be teaching in the graduate program research and writing of their second year papers, as shortly. Her fields are economic history and labor. well as their dissertations. Specifically, the graduate Carolyn promises to be an important part of the faculty voted to eliminate the two written field graduate program at Rutgers, and we encourage new examinations, thereby, freeing up valuable time to students to seek out her advice and collaboration. allow the students to focus on their second year paper. Our goal is raise the quality of these papers and This year’s first year class of 14 who began Fall 2006 increase the possibility of ultimately publishing them are hard at work. They are a lively and enthusiastic in refereed academic periodicals. We have also group. We have three students each from Turkey, changed the timing of various second and third year Korea, and China, and one from Italy, Vietnam, requirements tied to dissertation work, in order to Thailand, Japan and the Dominican Republic. Four further spur research productivity of our graduate were awarded fellowships. Once again we were students. fortunate that two continuing students, John Bowblis and Yoko Ibuka, were awarded research assistantships One of my greatest desires as graduate director is to get from the Institute for Health. We are delighted to more students involved with a wider variety of faculty. report that Chetan Mannige and Sharad Bhasker In particular, there are many faculty who have not received RAs from the Bloustein School; Jeff Birchby recently taught in the graduate program, but who are has an RA working with Barry Sopher on his NSF leaders in their fields. I encourage students to seek out grant; and Yue Li has an internship with the World all faculty when considering research topics for their Bank. dissertations, not just those who have taught in the core and existing fields. To increase exposure to faculty, We will soon be welcoming the new class for Fall the program aims to increase the number of field 2007 and expect approximately 12 students. courses offered; and we have recently added Development, Public, Experimental, and Labor ****************************** Economics courses to the schedule for 2007-2008. Needless to say, courses can only be offered if there is In 2006-2007, two students successfully defended their enough student demand, and hence I encourage doctoral dissertations. We are proud of the following students to broadly sample and enjoy the course latest additions to the Rutgers PhD alumni. offerings in their graduate program! Shaolin Chen, “Self-Destructive Cost Reduction and We continue to consider any and all changes to the Pseudo-Declining Industries” Supervisor: Colin graduate program, with the ultimate goal of providing Campbell. His research focuses on concentrated absolutely first class education to our students, leading industries where cost reduction across the board may Economics Newsletter 2 have negative impact on a representative firms’ profit. Sidney I. Simon Prize for Outstanding Second Shaolin is working at Key Bank. year Research Paper This award is given in recognition of a second year student’s achievement in Leah Traub, “Empirical Essays in International writing the best second year research paper that Financial Markets” Supervisor: Roberto Chang. In her contributes to economics and has a potential for dissertation, Leah analyses two main functions of publication. The winner was Demet Tunali for her international financial markets; the efficient paper, “Revisiting the Role of Monetary Aggregates in distribution of capital and risk and the aggregation and U.S.” In her research she makes a new empirical case transmission of information. Leah has accepted a for the argument about the redundancy of money position at Lord Abbott, a mutual fund company in aggregates in explaining the dynamics of output and New Jersey. inflation. Demet is conducting her research under the supervision of Norman Swanson. Other important news: Sidney I. Simon Prize for Outstanding Graduate Bodhi Ganguli and Faisal Rabby, who expect to Student Teaching Award This award is given to a complete their PhDs in the near future, also had graduate student for outstanding teaching in our success in the job market. Bodhi has joined Moody’s department’s courses who has also completed their and Faisal has a visiting position at Muhlenberg third year in the Ph.D. program. The award is based on College starting this fall. student’s evaluations, syllalbi and a faculty review. This year the winner is Levent Ulku. Andres Fernandez and Zhihua He received their Master’s Degree and will continue in the Ph.D. Peter Asch Memorial Scholarship This award was program. established in 1991 by family and friends of Peter Asch. The prize is given to the student who has ******************************* performed to the highest standards and is writing a dissertation in the area of applied microeconomics. The prize was shared this year by Nii Ayi Armah and We held our graduate awards ceremony in May. Our John Bowblis. Nii Ayi was cited for his paper distinguished faculty whose names grace our prizes “Modern Methods for Prediction: New Theory, were recalled by Professor Douglas Blair, who spoke Methods and Empirical Results,” in which he discusses of the continuing relevance of Peter Asch’s research modern methods for model selection and and Professor Leonard Goodman from the Accounting macroeconomic time series prediction. John was Department, who recalled many stories and fond recognized for two papers, “Parametric and semi- memories of the days when Sidney Simon taught at parametric approaches to demand for antidepressants Rutgers University. We were pleased that Mrs. Rita in the elderly Medicare population,” and “The Decline Asch joined our festivities. in Infant Mortality, 1878-1913: Effects of Early Sickness Insurance Programs.” In his first paper he The following awards were presented – describes how to model highly skewed medical costs. Congratulations to all! In the second paper he uses the adoption of nationalize health insurance plans in Europe between 1878 and Rie Ashizawa Memorial Award This award was 1913 to determine if health insurance accelerated the established in 2002 by the family of Rie Ashizawa in decline in infant mortality.