How To Pick A Topic For Your Economics Research Project Or Master's Thesis
<a class="button" href="https://inomics.com/search?program=master-program&economics=agriculturalenvironmentaleconomics,businesseconomics,econometricsstatisticsquantitative,economicdevelopmentgrowth,economichistory,economicsystems,economicthoughtmethodology,financialeconomics,generaleconomics,healtheducationwelfareeconomics,industrialorganization,internationaleconomics,labordemographiceconomics,laweconomics,macroeconomicsmonetary,microeconomics,othereconomics,publiceconomicspolicy,urbanruraltransportationeconomics">Browse our course listings for economics Master's degrees 1. Make sure it's something you're interested in This sounds obvious, but you should make sure that the project you choose is of interest to you. If you're going to be working on a project for months or even longer, then it has to be something which you are engaged with. The best way to keep engaged is to pose a question for your project to which you want to know the answer. Think back over the lectures you've attended and the books you've read, and consider what issues you enjoyed discussing and thinking about. If there was ever a topic which you came across and enjoyed studying, but didn't have the time or resources to investigate more, this is your chance to dive deep and become an expert. 2. Get inspired by previous students' projects If you're unsure where to start, or don't know what sort of project would be appropriate for your course, it's a great idea to look at previous students' projects. In most universities you'll be able to access previous student theses in the library, so you should take advantage of this resource. While you should never copy someone else's idea, you can use it as inspiration. For example, perhaps someone has done a project on the economic implications of an international policy within a certain country. Your project could look at the implications of that same policy in a different country. Or you could look at a similar policy in a different period of history. Additionally, many alumni will still have links with your university, so it may be possible to get in contact with them directly. If someone has written about a topic you are interested in, do not hesitate to request a meet up to pick their brains. Most academics relish the opportunity to discuss their own research, so there is no reason to be shy. In any case, it is always fascinating meeting those more experienced than yourself who have remained in the field. 3. Ask your lecturers or supervisor for advice Once you have one or more ideas about thesis topics, you'll want to ask for advice from people who have experience in assessing projects. You don't want to do a lot of work on a project idea, only to hear much later that your supervisor thinks your topic is not a good choice. Do some basic preparation before meeting with a supervisor or lecturer. Make sure you understand the basic facts of the topic area in which you're interested, and that you have some ideas about what your research question will be and what methods you'll use to study it. Further, make sure that you get feedback on your idea early in the process. This advice extends to the rest of the research project too. It is your supervisor's job to guide you, so keep in regular contact with them throughout the course of your research. 4. Pick something original, but not too obscure It’s common to struggle to come up with new economics research topic ideas, but you don't want to do the same project which has been done by a million students before. Not only will this be uninteresting to you, but it will be uninteresting to the person marking your thesis. Try to come up with a novel approach or a new topic to study. Perhaps there is a new type of data analysis you could use to study an old problem from a new angle. Perhaps new data has been made available, and an older study could be challenged or reaffirmed by studying the new data. However, be wary of anything too obscure – you don't want to be stuck with no materials or resources to work from. To reiterate the above, definitely run your more ambitious topic ideas by your supervisor to help avoid the pitfall of going too niche and really falling down the rabbit hole. <11an>limit:3;categories:Master's Programs;disciplines:Economics</11an> 5. Choose a small and specific topic One general tip when coming up with a project or research question is to think smaller. If you don't know a lot about a topic, you won't yet appreciate all the subtleties and complexities it contains. You might think that you can produce a great project on the impact of the introduction of the Euro in Ireland, for example, but this topic is way too broad to cover in a Master's project. Choosing a topic that is far too broad like the above example is a common mistake that new students make when they are unfamiliar with academic research. Get more specific, and your project will not only be more manageable, but you will actually get to the crux of something. It may seem counterintuitive, or scary - it can seem impossible to write 50 or more pages about an obscure question. But, it’s much better for your final evaluation to maintain a small scope and conduct very high-quality research about that small topic, rather than attempt to explain a large phenomenon alone and fill up an entire paper with surface-level analysis. 6. Consider an interdisciplinary topic If you're thinking of economics Master's thesis ideas but find yourself interested in another academic subject, you may have the opportunity to learn about that field as a part of your research project. You could consider a project which touches on a subject like history, sociology, business, politics, or psychology, for example. The advantage of this is that you can try out learning information and methods from another field to see if studying it further would interest you. It will also help you to create a unique and memorable project, as most of your fellow students will likely study a topic which is based purely in economics. However, this might also make your project a little harder, as you will have more new information to grasp than others – but it can also be very rewarding for ambitious and engaged students. If you wish to take this route, strongly consider finding a secondary supervisor within the interdisciplinary field who can guide you along with your more economics-focused supervisor. This can even be beneficial for your career, as you become well-versed in a niche set of skills that employers or PhD programs would find attractive. 7. Check for available data If you’re doing an empirical project, the success or failure of your thesis may very well come down to data availability. It’s very important to have an idea of what data to use for your study before you commit to a topic. If you have the world’s greatest research idea, but the data to study it just isn’t available, you’re out of luck. To avoid this heartbreaking situation, search for usable data as early in the process as possible. This search can even help you narrow down your topic area of focus, and pick a specific, small-scope research question within your field of interest. Perhaps you’re interested in the effect of malaria prevention programs on children’s economic outcomes in the future, but panel studies haven’t yet been completed in your region of interest. If you search for data, you might find a completed panel dataset that studied a similar disease, or one that studied malaria in a different country. These types of searches can help you pick a related, doable, and properly-scoped research question without wasting time racing towards a dead end. 8. Meticulously plan your experiment Of course, if you’re running an experiment, you can create your own dataset. This situation presents its own, equally important challenges. A poorly designed experiment can render your data biased or unusable even after months of work. To avoid this type of catastrophe, spend as much time as you can designing the experiment, checking over all your assumptions meticulously, and seeking feedback and approval from your supervisor to ensure that the experiment is designed well. Studying examples of experimental designs that led to published studies in prominent journals is highly recommended. Modeling your experiment on successful ones in the past is a great way to ensure your experiment runs smoothly. Header Image Credit: Ilena93 via Shutterstock (licensed image - copyright)
One of the biggest and most exciting challenges of a young academic's career is coming up with that first economics research topic. Knowing how much is riding on the decision, it can also be pretty stressful. With so much to consider, we thought it would be easier to break the decision-making process down into some key points. Consideration of each will give you the best chance possible to make sure the topic of your economics Master's thesis is the right one - both for you personally and for your future career. Without further ado, read on for our advice on how to pick a topic for your economics thesis.
When consumer demand for a good follows the expected price behavior, we call it a normal good. Normal goods include most items and services that are sold. They have an income elasticity of demand greater than zero. We further subdivide normal goods into two categories; normal necessity goods that have an income elasticity between 0 and 1, and luxury goods, which have an income elasticity greater than 1. Most types of normal goods have a price elasticity of demand that is negative, because people usually demand less of a normal good as its price rises. Examples of normal necessity goods include commonly purchased items like food, everyday clothing, etc., as well as many entertainment and leisure items like concert tickets. If people’s income falls, then they will buy less of these goods. And, if the prices of these goods rise, people will buy less of them. Luxury goods are slightly different. Like a normal necessity good, when a consumer’s income rises, they will typically purchase more of a given luxury item (income elasticity is positive). But when income rises, the proportion of income consumers spend on luxury goods increases more rapidly than for necessity goods. Likewise, when consumer’s income falls, luxury goods are often the first items to be cut out of the budget. Thus, luxury goods are more sensitive to changes in income than necessity goods. Reflecting this, the income elasticity of luxury goods is greater than 1 – they are highly elastic. Luxury goods are typically very expensive, high-end items that may signal a certain social status to others, or give pride to the owner. Rolex watches, high-end sports cars, and Louis Vuitton handbags are all examples of luxury goods. They are not necessary to have, but are highly desirable, which leads to their very elastic demand. Further reading For more on normal, normal necessity, and luxury goods as they relate to the income elasticity of demand, see the article on that topic. As opposed to normal necessity and luxury goods, inferior and Giffen goods exhibit decreasing consumer demand as consumers’ incomes rise. However, Giffen goods, similar to luxury goods, experience increasing relative consumer demand as prices rise. For more on inferior and Giffen goods, see the linked article. Good to Know Another potential difference between luxury and necessity goods is that demand for some luxury goods respond uniquely to price changes. This subtype of luxury good is known as a Veblen good. When the price of a Veblen good falls, consumers may actually buy less of it. When the price rises, consumers may buy more of the Veblen good, ceteris paribus. This is because the high price of these items is a signal of high quality and exclusiveness that is important to consumers. Thus, lowering the price can make the item feel less appealing, even if the product hasn’t changed. Conversely, raising the price can make the item feel more exclusive and special for consumers who can afford it. The high price also serves to prevent many average consumers from affording the item, which lends to Veblen goods’ exclusive appeal.
The laws of supply and demand are basic economic theories that are often among the first things new students of economics learn. The law of demand states that, ceteris paribus, consumers choose to buy less of a good when its price rises (possibly by buying available substitutes), and more of the good when its price falls (price elasticity). Alternatively, consumers will usually buy more of a good when their income increases and, by extension, less of a good when their income decreases (income elasticity).
An inferior good is an item that consumers buy less of as their income rises; they have a negative income elasticity of demand. These goods are usually of cheaper, lower quality than comparable items that a consumer might want to buy, but can’t afford. For most inferior goods, though, price elasticity of demand behaves similarly to normal goods; when the price increases, consumers buy less of these goods. Thus, inferior goods do not violate the basic law of demand. Examples of inferior goods include cheap but unhealthy food items like instant noodles. Imagine that a consumer really likes noodles, but has a tight budget. Because of this, they eat instant noodles fairly often. As usual for most goods, when the price of instant noodles rises, the consumer will be able to afford less of them. But, when this consumer’s income rises, the consumer may be able to afford a trip to a ramen restaurant or a purchase of hand-made noodles instead of buying more instant noodles. This brings them an increase in utility, since they only eat instant noodles when they cannot afford a better noodle experience. Thus, instant noodles are an inferior good for this consumer. Although it does bring them some utility, other experiences are more preferable. As soon as the consumer has the means to get a better experience, they will demand less of the inferior one. This is just one example; most inferior goods follow this pattern, but not all. Giffen goods are one subtype of inferior goods that behave differently. They are named after Scottish statistician Sir Robert Giffen, who is credited with first describing them. Consumers buy less of Giffen goods as their income rises, as usual for inferior goods. The difference is that consumers will buy more of a Giffen good (proportionally to their income) as its price rises. Therefore, Giffen goods exhibit a negative income elasticity of demand – like inferior goods – but a positive price elasticity of demand, like certain luxury goods (specifically Veblen goods). Giffen goods are usually staple food products that people rely on to survive, like rice and wheat. This confusing behavior is best illustrated by an example. Consider a poor laborer in a low-income region whose diet mainly consists of rice. When the price of rice rises, the laborer has little choice but to spend more of their income buying it, because they need the same amount of rice to survive regardless of the price. Thus, their consumption of rice increases as a proportion of their total income. Meanwhile, their consumption of other goods falls, as they have less cash left to buy non-essentials. But, when the laborer’s income rises - perhaps from a pay raise - they have an increased budget and can afford other things. The portion of their income spent on rice falls (like a regular inferior good). They may buy less rice in absolute terms too, perhaps if some of the new goods they can afford include more nutritional types of food. Further reading For more on inferior goods as they relate to the income elasticity of demand, see the article on that topic. To compare inferior and Giffen goods to normal goods and luxury goods, see the linked article. Most goods in the real world fall into one of these four categories – normal, inferior, luxury, or Giffen goods – so it’s helpful to be familiar with each of them. Good to Know Inferior and Giffen goods tend to be purchased more frequently by low-income consumers who have little choice given their budget. In general, goods are more likely to be a Giffen good when there is a lack of close substitute goods in the market. Normally, if a good’s price increases (for example, butter), consumers can substitute away from that good into something similar but cheaper (like margarine). Lack of a close substitute, or lack of income, may mean that consumers can’t do this. Instead, they are forced to either give up on the utility that the good would have provided, or pay more for it and reduce their consumption of other goods.
Usually, consumers will buy more of an item when it becomes cheaper or when their income increases. This basic fact of economics stems from the laws of supply and demand. When demand for a good follows this typical price and income behavior, we refer to it as a normal good. But not every good follows this intuitive behavior.
So, it’s no surprise that there are many films that can be thought of as economics movies. Some of them might not even be explicitly movies about economics, but nevertheless discuss themes that some economists study, like strategic behavior. As a follow-up to our popular article 10 Movies All Economists Will Love, we’ve collected 10 more movies that will surely give the economist in your life something to talk about. Next time you sit down for a movie night, be sure to give the following options a try! INOMICS is a member of the Amazon Associates affiliate program and the Apple affiliate program. This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn money through any qualifying purchases made after you click through. However, this is not a sponsored post. 1. Up in the Air Up in the Air follows a corporate downsizer and motivational speaker (named Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney) who specializes in helping companies lay off their employees. Although Ryan does this, he wants to do so in a sensitive way, and is against a new remote termination program that the company decides to implement. The movie explores some difficult emotions that may resonate with our own careers, and challenges the philosophies of life that several characters have. For those who enjoy a more personal movie that explores the human side of the economy and ends on a hopeful note, this is a good choice. 2. The Hunger Games The Hunger Games is a popular book and movie series from the mid-2010s that follows the story of a group of teens as they fight for survival. But under its surface the movie has surprising economic depth. The entire concept of the titular Games is something of a commentary on capitalism shown by the staggering system of wealth inequality between the glitzy Capitol and each of the Districts (which specialize in producing specific goods). Moreover, the characters attempt to secure sponsors before the Games begin to improve their chances of surviving, and their actions during the Games showcase the strategic decision-making that Game Theory teaches – and how concepts like honor and altruism can break theory’s expectations. This movie is a fun choice to touch on economics concepts in a thrilling, action-filled way. 3. Equity Described as a financial thriller, Equity follows an investment banker trying to work her way up the corporate ladder. Unfortunately, she gets tangled up in a web of corruption as an old friend investigates the shady practices of a company whose IPO she is tasked with promoting. She must find the truth of the matter to save her career. This movie makes a great choice for economists who love both drama and finance in equal measure. 4. High Flying Bird A sports-focused movie, High Flying Bird is a fictional story that nevertheless seems inspired by the real-life 2011 NBA lockout. It follows a sports agent, Ray Burke, whose company is at risk of bankruptcy following failed negotiations that led to the lockout. Ray must pitch an intriguing new business plan to his star rookie talent – including streaming games on social media platforms – that might help them both keep their jobs. Among many themes, the movie touches on the principal/agent problem, which is a known phenomenon in game theory. Moreover, besides delving into the business behind the game, the movie also features interviews with real NBA players about their own rookie years. This one’s sure to please any fan of economics and sports. 5. Boiler Room Boiler Room is a drama similar to the more recent The Wolf of Wall Street that shows how pump-and-dump stock market schemes work and how they ruin the people caught up in them – except those running the scheme. The movie follows a college dropout named Seth who is hired at one of these firms, targeted by the FBI to become their informant, and who tries to right some of his wrongs in the process of taking the company down. 6. Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room Enron’s bankruptcy and fraud is a famous true story. This dramatic documentary explores the doomed venture and how they cooked the books, abused the stock market, and more to stay afloat for as long as possible before eventually collapsing. It’s an especially good watch for economic historians and those interested in policy. 7. The Wizard of Lies Amidst the 2008 financial crisis, Bernie Madoff was arrested for running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. The news story made waves when it became public knowledge, and showed how fraudulent activity can ruin well-intentioned, average people victimized by financial crimes like this one. This movie is a documentary set in the aftermath of Madoff’s arrest, and flashes back frequently to show how Bernie’s business lies affected his family members, too. For a drama that explores one of the most famous financial crimes in history, give this movie a go. 8. Dune: Part One (2021) A well-known sci-fi movie based on a book, Dune: Part One is another film that is undergirded by economic themes throughout. Amidst a backdrop of political intrigue, House Atreides is given charge of a planet producing the most valuable substance in the galaxy – spice that is necessary for space travel. But the House that formerly controlled the spice trade doesn’t take the Atreides’ ascension lightly, and the ensuing conflict leaves the fate of the planet and many of the characters uncertain. For a movie where politics and the flow of valuable resources are crucial to the plot, look no further. 9. The Lorax Based on a book of the same name written by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax shows the story of a town with an environmental problem. All of the trees were cut down to produce garments, and this history has been hidden from the town until a young boy goes on a journey to find a real tree. This is a family-friendly movie option that touches on themes of sustainable development, tragedy of the commons, and resource exploitation. 10. The Corporation The Corporation is a 2003 documentary film that concentrates on the history of corporations and the behavior of the modern corporate entity. It analyzes and criticizes this behavior, especially with regard to how corporations’ rights are perceived as similar to humans’ in the legal system. Although clearly not an unbiased film, the movie was praised for avoiding overly partisan rhetoric and received positive reviews. It’s worth watching for those who wish to think critically about one of the main vehicles our economies use to conduct business. Still hungering for more top movies in economics? Do you have a favorite option that we’re missing? Share your favorite choices in the comments below! Whatever your movie choice, we wish you a happy viewing.
Economics touches every aspect of our lives, whether we know it or not. Game theory, statistics and econometrics, politics, government policy, and of course finance are all aspects of economics that affect our daily lives.
The Glass Ceiling and the “Leaky Pipeline” in Economics
In the INOMICS Salary Report, we collected and analyzed survey data about economists’ careers worldwide. You can download the full report and examine the economics gender gap information in detail by downloading the Report. One key feature of gender inequality in the workplace is that equally-skilled women may be passed over for career advancements (like promotions) in favor of men. The term “glass ceiling” is a metaphor for this artificial barrier that impedes women in the workforce. This effect has been well-documented in many industries, and may explain some of the gender pay gap. Quantifying the Glass Ceiling in Economics In order to examine the following figures fairly, we must take into account the overall number of women in economics. IDEAS/RePEc estimates that 26.2% of economists are women; meanwhile, 28% of our survey respondents were women. For more information on the gender ratio in economics, see The Gender Ratio in Economics in 2022. Proportion of Women in Academic Roles in Economics In academia, women make up larger relative proportions of people in less prestigious positions. There are more women than men in Postdoc, Research Assistant and Student Assistant roles relative to their sample sizes in our data. There are a roughly representative number of women in the PhD Candidate, Associate Professor and Lecturer/Assistant Professor roles. However, proportionally fewer women than men are full Professors of Economics. Proportion of Women in Industry Roles in Economics Industry roles exhibit a similar but more pronounced pattern. Although women make up only 27% of our sample, they account for a large proportion of entry or lower-level roles, particularly traineeships and internships. Meanwhile, the amount of women who are researchers/analysts or middle managers is slightly below what would be expected if there was no gender inequality. Finally, the number of women in executive positions is a mere 7%, far below what would be expected with equality. Research by French economist Dr. Emmanuelle Auriol and colleagues reaches a similar conclusion. Dr. Auriol and her team found that women account for 32% of all economics positions and that women’s representation falls as seniority increases. They find that women make up about 40% of entry-level positions but only 27% of senior positions. They additionally found that the disparity is greater in the US than in Europe. What is the “Leaky Pipeline”? The above discussion has highlighted a phenomenon of women disappearing towards the upper ranks of economics. This phenomenon has been dubbed the leaky pipeline. It partially explains why there are fewer women in more senior positions; more women than men drop out of the field, or stop getting promoted, as their career progresses. It’s not perfectly clear why this occurs, but it is likely due to a combination of gender-based discrimination, lack of support networks, and other hindrances (such as unequal pay) within the field of economics, which are explored below. Moreover, in certain regions childcare expectations, cultural pressure, or lack of parental leave may prevent women from advancing in their careers after having children. It’s possible that more women than men choose to work part-time after starting a family (whether due to personal choices, these cultural expectations, lack of affordable childcare, etc.). Further, within economics itself, women may face barriers entirely unrelated to their personal situation. An IMF article reveals some of these additional discriminatory factors. They include a look at stereotype-promoting comments on referee reports, the fact that women are more highly underrepresented in macroeconomics, finance and international economics, and the childbirth penalty to earnings that women face across their entire careers. Their article corroborates earlier findings in this article as well, and includes more data that is worth reading. The European Student Think Tank, drawing from other research, describes the state of women in STEM fields this way: “...the majority of Master’s students in science are women, but they tend to leave the sector at higher rates than their male counterparts (Thornton 2019). This may be explained by a gender pay gap and the lack of women in senior positions in the digital sector (European Commission 2019), which could discourage younger women from pursuing a career in STEM.” Moving forward: how to address gender inequality in economics? One of the best ways to address any problem is to recognize it and make it known. Therefore, we invite all of our readers to study your professional surroundings. Examine if there are ways in which your university, economics department, workplace, etc. discriminates against women in economics. Engage in conversation about the issues. Check if there is equal pay in your workplace, and advocate for it if not. Be an ally – do not doubt reports of sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination, and take them seriously. Together, we can build a more egalitarian field where all economists are equally valued.
The 2022 INOMICS Salary Report allowed us to examine the field of economics across employer types, job positions, and regions. This article continues with our look at gender (in)equality in economics by examining the glass ceiling. Below, we examine this effect in academia (economists employed by universities) and industry (other employer types).
In the INOMICS Salary Report, we collected and analyzed survey data about economists’ careers worldwide. You can download the full report and examine the economics gender gap information in detail by downloading the Report. The Gender Ratio in Economics Compared to STEM fields Historically, economics has been a male-dominated field. IDEAS/RePEc estimates that 26.2% of economists are women. Meanwhile, 28% of our survey respondents were women. This is worth comparing to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, which are notorious for being historically underrepresented by women: In the UK, according to UCAS data from 2022, 35% of STEM students in higher education are women. Computer science and engineering have the lowest proportions: in both fields only 19% of students are women. In mathematics and physical sciences, this percentage is in the 35-40% range. In our survey data, 29.7% of economists in the UK were women. According to the Pew Research Center in 2021, in the US women make up half (50%) of workers in STEM fields. However, this varies wildly by discipline; women made up 74% of workers in health-related jobs, but only 25% in computer-related jobs and 15% in engineering jobs. Among our survey respondents from the US, 32% are women. In the EU, 34% of STEM graduates were women in 2022. Out of the 27 EU countries, 22 have more male scientists than female. Eurostat data from 2021 shows that 41% of scientists and engineers in the EU are women, up from 32% in 2008. Our survey suggests there are fewer female economists in the EU: 31.3% of economists who responded to our survey from the EU were women. According to UNESCO Bangkok in 2020, in East Asia women made up 23.4% of research positions in STEM, while in South and West Asia women made up only 18.5% of these. The Brookings Institute reports (based on UNESCO data) that in sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 women made up 18-31% of science researchers. In our survey data of economists, 16.1% of respondents from Africa are women. According to a UNESCO interview in 2020, women made up 36% of STEM researchers in Latin America. In our survey data, 23.2% of economist respondents in Latin America were women. Economics thus appears to have a comparable amount of women as STEM fields on average, though slightly more than engineering and computer science and likely somewhat less than mathematics and physical sciences. It is possible that women choose to become economists at lower rates than men simply due to diverging interests. However, when examining the gender ratio in light of other research, this explanation appears unlikely to be true. A Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) article found that economics scores lower than other STEM fields across gender diversity metrics. Their article only considers university employment; it corroborates our findings that there are proportionally fewer women in more senior positions at universities. The Women in Economics Index publishes reports that track gender inequality in economics, as well. Their most recent report from 2020 corroborates many of our findings, and features additional insight on the lack of female economists in leadership positions in the field. Further Reading Our Blog includes further information on the gender disparity in economics. The 2022 INOMICS Salary Report data allowed us to examine gender differences in economics such as the glass ceiling and leaky pipeline as well as the gender pay gap. Both phenomena suggest that women may be choosing fields other than economics due to unequal treatment rather than a lack of interest. How should we work towards a more representative field of economics? A recent post on INOMICS discusses the ways that one economics department is aiming to increase diversity (in both gender and racial equality) in their program, with some early success. These types of initiatives can highlight the issues and the need for change while working towards that change. At INOMICS, we value contributions from economists of all genders equally. We look forward to a future where the same can be said of our entire field.
In late 2022, the field of economics came under additional scrutiny for its unequal treatment of women. This article will examine the relative share of women in the field of economics, complementing the analysis of our survey data in the INOMICS Salary Report. This is helpful context for other discussions of gender discrimination in economics, as many statistics can be better understood after learning about the distribution of men and women in economics.
Two quick notes before diving in – first, 99.8% of our 1,316 survey respondents identified as either male or female, so we will only consider these two genders in this article. Second, the numbers in this article have been adjusted with 2021 purchasing power parity data taken from the OECD, so some numbers in this article may not match their counterparts in the full Report. In the INOMICS Salary Report, we collected and analyzed survey data about economists’ careers worldwide. You can download the full report and examine the economics gender gap information in detail by downloading the Report. Overall Economics Pay Gap According to our survey data, male economists are paid 23.1% more than female economists on average. This broad figure is a worldwide average for economists at a wide variety of career stages and levels of education. How does the gender wage gap vary when we take a closer look? Gender Pay Gap by Highest Degree Held For PhD economists, men earn 20.4% more than women. For economists with a Master’s degree, this figure is 20.8%. Average Economist Wage by Gender and Degree Gender Pay Gap by Employer The gender pay gap varies substantially by the type of employer. Research institutions feature average pay that is higher for female economists on average. Unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the rule. Most employers exhibit a pay gap in favor of men. The worst offenders are private companies, governments, and universities, which show gaps of more than 20% each. Private businesses have the largest pay gap by gender, at almost 35% in favor of men. Wage Gap by Employer Type All of the preceding figures are worldwide averages. How does the pay gap change when examining specific regions? Average Regional Economist Wages by Gender and Degree The above graph shows a clear trend in most regions. Male economists with PhDs are paid the most, followed by female economists with PhDs, male economists with Master’s degrees, and female economists with Master’s degrees. Economists whose highest degree held is a Bachelor’s are not shown. There are some visible exceptions to the general trend that men are paid more. In two regions – the Caribbean, South & Central America and East Asia & Australasia – average pay for PhDs appears to be roughly at parity, though gender pay gaps still exist at the Master’s level. Moreover, in Africa and South Asia, average pay for women appears higher than for men on average. Our findings suggest that there are fewer women economists in these regions (as we had many more male respondents than female respondents in them), but that they tend to do quite well if they are among the few women to pursue the field in their region. Other Research A Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) article found, like our survey, that the gender pay gap is worse in North America than in Europe. Figure 27 in the INOMICS Salary Report (below) shows that the gender pay gap is worse in both percentage and absolute terms in North America than in Western Europe & Scandinavia. Average Economist Pay by Gender in Select Regions Meanwhile, a 2019 IZA paper found that among academic economists in the UK, the gender pay gap was prevalent and that its size was persistent. The paper also found that men were more likely to have higher-paid, more prestigious positions (this was accounted for when examining the pay gap). They also found that women were 11 percentage points less likely than men to be promoted to full professor, which is in line with our survey data in 2022. Concluding thoughts The INOMICS Salary Report 2022 devotes several pages to examining the gender gap in economics in detail; download the Report for free and turn to the Gender Pay Gap in Economics section for more. We at INOMICS believe that every economist, regardless of gender or background, should be treated equally. Clearly, new action must be taken to eliminate the pay gap in economics. This will help the field to utilize its human capital to the fullest, and to ensure fair treatment for all who contribute to it.
That gaps exist in economists’ pay and career attainment due to gender discrimination is not news. This article will discuss the findings of the 2022 INOMICS Salary Report as they relate to the gender pay gap in economics. Unless stated otherwise, the facts and figures in this article are taken from our 2022 survey data. INOMICS has previously published reports on the gender pay gap, but this is our deepest dive into the topic yet.
How to Recruit Economics Students Over Christmas
Because many department budgets are cut off at the end of the year, there is also additional pressure to spend all of your allotted funds while maintaining value for money. When you consider that eight in ten people are influenced by web content before making a purchase over the holiday season, it's clear that keeping up your marketing in December is vital. What lessons can we learn from adopting festive marketing approaches in other fields to recruiting economics students - be it for full study programs or online courses or professional training for those about to leap into the job market? To help you in your quest for increased engagement, here we explore the tips, tactics and strategies to help increase your presence over the holidays. Move Your Promotion Forward Don’t hold off advertising your program, course, scholarship, or whatever opportunity you want to promote. If you are not visible online, how do you expect people to find you? With students starting earlier and earlier each year to find their next step, posting during the holidays is vital. Especially as the winter break often gives people enough time and mental energy to research future opportunities. TIP: Sign up for our Customer Newsletter and get sent our exclusive December Offer with significant discounts on a post on INOMICS. Create engaging Christmas content Without a doubt, by creating engaging, inspiring and valuable content aimed at a specific target audience, you stand to increase student engagement exponentially. Through researching current seasonal trends, exploring your data, developing student personas and developing content ideas in a collaborative environment, you’ll create the kind of festive content that will drive students to your university’s website and offerings. Creating informational blog posts, infographics, or whitepapers and humorous, inspirational or nostalgic video content (and sharing it at optimum times during the holiday season) will help spark the interest of potential students and increase your levels of Christmas engagement. Here are some Christmas content ideas for your inspiration: The modern student’s 2023 survival guide. A glimpse behind the scenes of various departments within your university. A year in review: the highlights of your university throughout the year. A festive wish video featuring current content and faculty including a ‘join the family’ call to action. Host an event At this point in the game, it may be too late to host a physical event, but you could create a webinar and schedule it to take place between Christmas and New Year. Think about what your prospective students might be interested in or want to know, conduct extensive research, and develop a theme that you feel will drive engagement. You could incentivize people to join the webinar and ask live questions through social media by offering festive prizes for attendance and referrals and create a supporting blog post to help promote the event. Launch a Competition A swift, simple and effective means of expanding your reach, boosting institutional awareness, and driving masses of engagement, a fully-fledged festive competition is a powerful promotional force. By running a competition, you will grab the attention of your prospective students, build a buzz and encourage virality. But, to gain maximum traction and engagement, you should encourage all potential entrants to answer a question, join a conversation, or share a piece of themed content. In doing so, you’ll be able to expand your reach organically, encouraging people to follow the competition from start to finish and in turn, increasing the likelihood of your competition content being shared amongst wider audiences. Students love an incentive, especially around Christmas - and by offering one in a fun, entertaining and actionable way, you stand an excellent chance of growing your audience. We hope these student engagement tips will help you to connect with a valuable new audience over the holiday season. This article is based on a guest post for INOMICS by Dan Hughes on "How to Increase Student Engagement to Your University Over Christmas", first published in December 2019. The INOMICS Team updated the article in December 2022 to include fresh information such that the current text differs significantly from the original. However, we still want to credit Dan for authoring parts of this article.
While there is a slight slowdown in the immediate period surrounding Christmas and New Year, December is still prime recruitment season and it would be a mistake to wind down your campaigns too early
The Tragedy of the Commons is similar to the Prisoner’s Dilemma. In both scenarios, individuals could be made better off if they cooperated. However, private incentives prevent them from doing so, because each player’s dominant strategy is not to cooperate. In both cases, this results in a non-cooperative Nash Equilibrium. One key difference between the two is that Prisoner’s Dilemma scenarios usually refer to situations where participants face an all-or-nothing decision, know their “opponent”, and strategize accordingly. Meanwhile, Tragedy of the Commons scenarios usually refer to collective action problems where individuals may not know each other. Further, these participants usually have a much harder time understanding or measuring how their actions affect others. Tragedy of the Commons scenarios also tend to entail longer time periods and include more participants than Prisoner’s Dilemma examples. An example of a Tragedy of the Commons scenario is fishing in the ocean. The ocean is a vast resource that many nations in the world have access to. It holds an abundant but finite supply of fish. Crucially, nobody owns the ocean, and it is very difficult for one nation to prevent another one from fishing. Each (coastal) nation’s fishing industry can freely access the ocean and send out fishing boats, where the only costs it must pay are the cost of its own fishing equipment and labor. Then, if this nation maximizes its profit function from ocean fishing, it will choose a privately optimal level qi. But, if every nation chooses to fish its own qi, the supply of fish in the ocean will be reduced below the replacement level (the point at which the supply of fish in the ocean will naturally replenish itself). This leaves fewer and fewer fish left in the ocean each year, making everyone worse off. Let’s assume in this example that the replacement level is also the socially optimal level of fishing qo. Then, the sum of all qi, q1 + q2 + … + qN > qo, which means that society is overfishing. Each year, the amount of fish in the ocean will be less than the previous year, lowering the utility of all fishing nations. Without an agreement, nations will eventually reduce the stock of fish to near-zero. This will cause the fishing industry to disappear, lowering economic output and reducing the well-being of all nations. But by cooperating, nations can divide qo by a fair amount that ensures the fishing industry will survive (call it qfair). In the long run, this outcome is better for all participants. Unfortunately, each individual nation has an incentive to fish qi > qfair, since that is their private utility-maximizing level of production. Thus each nation has an incentive to cheat, and it is difficult to ensure cooperation. By agreeing to fish only qfair, each nation is making a privately suboptimal choice compared to qi since the profit realized from fishing qfair is less than that realized from fishing qi (as qi > qfair). So, each nation is individually better off not cooperating and hoping that other nations will step up and maintain the oceans on their own. In economics, this tendency to “slack off” is known as a free-rider problem. This situation is similar to the problem of negative externalities in a market. Indeed, in this case, the privately optimal solution for each nation qi fails to take into account the negative externality of overfishing on the nation’s neighbors. If the “cost” of a reduced fish stock was paid for by each nation when it overfished, each nation would be properly incentivized to fish the socially optimal amount. Then, the Tragedy of the Commons problem would disappear. When factoring in the difficulty of tracking how much each nation is fishing, having every nation agree to a fair quota, and then enforcing the quotas, it’s easy to see how a Tragedy of the Commons situation can remain unsolved. Good to Know The Tragedy of the Commons is usually used to describe scenarios where many parties have access to the same rival, non-excludable resource. Rival means that the good in question is made less abundant or enjoyable for others when an individual uses it. Non-excludable means that others cannot be prevented from using the resource. This creates a scenario where each individual is incentivized to consume as much as they can without regard to others. Other common examples of a Tragedy of the Commons scenario include greenhouse gas emissions, usage of public parks, and even community areas like kitchens that are shared between roommates. However, all is not lost in a Tragedy of the Commons scenario. One shining example of such a problem that was overcome: the closing of the hole in the Earth’s ozone layer that was discovered in 1985 by Jonathan Shanklin. Nations of the world, alarmed by this discovery, cooperated and moved to quickly ban the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that were causing the problem. The ozone layer has been steadily recovering since.
In economics, the Tragedy of the Commons is a scenario in game theory. It’s a situation where a commonly shared resource is over-exploited because the users of the resource do not have a private incentive to maintain it. But, if nobody maintains the resource, everyone is made worse off than if it had been maintained.
Public Economics & Economic Policy (JEL H)
30 Top Twitter Feeds in Economics and Finance
On economics Twitter, anyone can challenge big name economists whom they otherwise wouldn’t have access to, promoting discussion. Many early-career researchers use the platform to share their job market papers, get in front of would-be employers, and advertise conference panels they are attending. Importantly, Twitter has also been a forum to call out abusive behavior against female economists with #EconMeToo. Although Twitter’s issues since Elon Musk took ownership of the platform have been widely publicized, no platform has yet achieved its level of reach and usability. Mastodon is one alternative that is becoming more popular, especially within well-defined niches like economics, but lacks the scale of Twitter. Whether you’ve been Tweeting since the site began or you’ve never sent a tweet, this list of thirty top economics and finance Twitter feeds includes many economists and organizations whose insight might be interesting for you. It includes institutions, individuals and groups from across the political and academic spectrum. In addition to this list (which is offered in no particular order), we of course encourage you to stay up to date with us @INOMICS. 1. @jenniferdoleac - Jennifer Doleac is an economics professor at Texas A&M University, host of the Probable Causation Podcast, and has been at the forefront of documenting #EconMeToo and pushing for meaningful action to stop the wide-scale abuse of female faculty and students. 2. @Mylovanov - Tymofiy Mylovanov is the President of the Kyiv School of Economics and Tweets of his daily experiences of running the school during the war and the daily threat of rocket attacks. 3. @Wootenomics - Econ Educator & UG Director at Virginia Tech who is the author of Parks and Recreation and Economics, which explains the foundations of economics through NBC’s hit TV show Parks and Recreation. 4. @rethinkecon - This Twitter handle shows students coming together to challenge their economic curricula and demand for better in society and in the classrooms. 5. @adam_tooze - Economic Historian Adam Tooze is an economic historian renowned internationally for his insights into the global economy. Read our exclusive interview with Adam Tooze. 6. @Nouriel Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics at NYU Stern School and former advisor to both the US Treasury and the White House, who is credited with predicting the 2008 financial crisis before it happened despite widespread belief that the collapse wasn't coming. 7. @izakaminska Izabella Kaminska, Financial Times Alphaville reporter on energy, central banks, markets and more. 8. @EconomicsinTen - Twitter account for the 'Economics in Ten' Podcast - Voted PodBible's 'OH. MY. POD. Independent Podcast of 2019' & named one of the top 25 Economics Podcasts by the Intelligent Economist. 9. @umairh Umair Haque, economist and contributor to Harvard Business Review. 10. @KhoaVuUmn - Heading out onto the job market in 2022/23, Khoa Vu made a name for themselves Tweeting while a PhD Candidate at U of Minnesota. 11. @RBReich Robert Reich, economist, Berkeley professor and former US Secretary of Labor. 12. @JosephEStiglitz - Joseph Stiglitz is a renowned Nobel laureate based in Columbia University and former chief economist at the World Bank. 13. @katie_martin_FX Katie Martin, Dow Jones currencies editor, and Wall Street Journal contributor. 14. @akibritcioglu - For our Turkish-speaking readers, be sure to follow Aykut Kibritçioğlu. 15. @qmuleconomics - An example of how to run an engaging Twitter profile as an Economics school, check out the feed of the School of Economics & Finance at Queen Mary, London. 16. @economistmeg Megan Greene, Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council, Chief Economist at Maverick Intelligence with focus on Europe. 17. @JustinWolfers Justin Wolfers, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at University of Michigan. 18. @DSchindlerEcon - Associate Professor of Economics at Tilburg University in the Netherlands who regularly posts about issues affecting the economics job market. 19. @delong J. Bradford DeLong, Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley, and blogger. 20. @lindayueh Linda Yueh, BBC Chief Business Correspondent, economist, and professor. 21. @benbernanke Ben Bernanke, former chair of the US Federal Reserve and co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Economics. 22. @UnlearnEcon a behavioral economist who also runs a YouTube channel about economics. 23. @MargRev Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, economics professors at George Mason University run a well-known blog for economists at marginalrevolution.com. 24. @Austan_Goolsbee Austan Goolsbee, Professor of Economics at Chicago Booth School of Business. 25. @agaviriau Alejandro Gaviria, economist and current Minister of National Education of Colombia (Twitter feed is in Spanish). 26. @ModeledBehavior Adam Ozimek, economist and blogger. 27. @MatinaStevis Matina Stevis, Wall Street Journal economics reporter in Europe. 28. @cullenroche Cullen Roche, Orcam Financial Group and Pragmatic Capitalism. 29. @garyseconomics - Former trader turned inequality economist gives a critical and alternative perspective on the economy and how it's rigged in the favor of the rich. 30. @BrianCAlbrecht - Applied economic theorist on competition and information with active Twitter feed and a newsletter. Did we mention that INOMICS is also on Twitter? Follow us to get updates about the latest opportunities in economics, as well as news and insights. Happy scrolling! Header image picture credit: Naturelady on Pixabay (Free for use under the Pixabay Content License)
Over the years, Twitter has become a useful and prominent tool within the social media fabric, particularly for professionals looking to network and make connections. Many renowned economists use Twitter, and economics researchers often post research updates using the #EconTwitter hashtag.
In an earlier post we showed which countries spend the most and on what. This article will concentrate more on the economic arguments for and against the Christmas season. Without further ado, read on for our list of interesting economics articles and arguments about Christmas. 1. The paper “Present values: The Economics of Christmas” by Frontier Economics describes how game theoretical concepts such as signalling, sequencing and reciprocity can be applied to Christmas and what deadweight loss is caused while buying presents. 2. “Commerce Claus” tells the reader how Christmas gift-giving helps commit a major sin in economic theory – destroying value. Nevertheless, we’ve compiled our list of gift ideas for the economist in your life; ‘tis the season, after all! 3. Learn about fake vs. real Christmas trees and the whole industry behind it in the Economist’s article “Christmas tree wars: Making fir fly”. 4. “The economics of Christmas presents” describes how one can model the utility function of agents giving and getting gifts. It argues that gift-giving is not a waste by accounting for the surprise factor and how different people react to receiving gifts. 5. Chris Snowdon from the Adam Smith Institute gives an opposite opinion on the above topic in his post “The economics of Christmas”. He suggests that market failure in gift-giving can not be avoided due to asymmetric information. 6. The “goods” and the “bads” of consumer spending are covered in the musical Christmas economics video “Deck the Halls with Macro Follies“ by EconStories. Made at the end of 2012, this delightful video presents the ideas of several renowned economists about savings, spending and growth. 7. Marginal Revolution University has posted their own take on the Christmas gifts debate in an informative and light-hearted video. They eventually settle on giving cash to charity as an efficient gift that also supports the holiday spirit of giving. You can watch it on their channel here. 8. The consulting firm Deloitte frequently conducts a United States-focused holiday spending survey, to project economic outcomes from holiday shopping. For the 2022 holiday season, they have published a report that includes Black Friday and Cyber Monday trends, the effect of inflation on holiday shopping, travel expectations, and more. 9. David Kyle Johnson writes in the London School of Economics blog, attempting to debunk the myth that Christmas spending is good for the economy. He argues that consumer spending at Christmas time, while healthy for the economy, is probably only being shifted from other times of the year. That is, Christmas merely concentrates consumer spending at the end of the year, and doesn’t create additional spending on its own. Give the article a read at LSE’s blog. 10. For a balanced article that discusses the positive and negative sides of the economics of Christmas gift-giving, check out Wired’s “Economists want you to have the most boring Christmas possible”. This article details the deadweight loss argument for why gift giving is inefficient, as well as the counter-arguments for why that idea is too narrow-minded – including the fact that 54% of surveyed economists disagreed that gift giving during the holidays is inefficient. 11. Finally, for a semi-academic look at the economics of Christmas, see Laura Birg and Anna Goeddeke’s spirited article “Christmas economics: a sleigh ride”. In it, they find insufficient evidence to support the welfare gain or loss theories of Christmas. But, they do discuss the pre-holiday effect, gas prices, employment, the Christmas tree market, and more – all from the perspective of Santa and his reindeer. Plus, they even provide a holiday soundtrack to accompany your reading! No matter which theory appeals to you and what attitude you have about Christmas presents, we wish you happy holidays and best of luck with all your shopping and celebrating endeavors! Header image picture credit: Pexels via Pixabay (Free to use under the Pixabay content license)
Christmas is approaching. For many people this is a magical season, filled with songs and decorations, when you hope that all your wishes come true. Others consider Christmas to be a stressful time when you need to rush around to get presents for all your friends and family.
Student Debt Relief Applications Now Available for US Citizens
To qualify for the debt relief, applicants must have an annual income less than $125,000. Borrowers who received a Pell Grant are additionally eligible for another $10,000, for a total possible relief amount of $20,000 (Pell Grants are a type of need-based aid reserved for low-income students in the US). The applications are available in English and Spanish, and are notably simple and easy to complete. The information required to apply for the forgiveness is mainly simple demographic information, and takes only a few minutes. Applicants will not have to dig up obscure documents, find original certificates, or even provide banking information. As such, we recommend that any readers from the United States with outstanding student loan debt complete the application. It can be found at the US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office’s website (StudentAid.gov), until applications close on December 31, 2023. Eligible borrowers living abroad have reported difficulty submitting the application, as the official government website appears to deny access to the application on devices outside the United States. If you are experiencing similar issues, using a VPN to submit the application appears to work. Alternatively, the application is simple enough to allow a friend or relative in the US to submit the application in your stead, though you must provide valid contact information. Student loan repayments were originally suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the economic uncertainty that the pandemic wrought. This suspension has been repeatedly extended by the federal government in the time since. It is unclear if the debt relief will be available for borrowers by the time payments are scheduled to resume. Arguments for and against the debt relief Sentiments about the student loan forgiveness are mixed. Proponents of the plan say that it is a step in the right direction to alleviate the massive amounts of federal student loan debt that plague US consumers. According to Forbes, there is roughly $1.75 trillion in outstanding US student loan debt, of which 92% is from federal loan sources. The average amount of debt stands at $28,950. Thus, Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan would alleviate much of the burden on individuals. Supporters of the plan argue that this relief will allow consumers to spend their money on items that can boost the economy. Meanwhile, critics of Biden’s plan argue that the relief will damage the economy by worsening the inflationary pressures that already exist. Many also argue that the debt relief is unfair to those who already paid off their loans, and people who did not take out loans to finance their education. Ultimately, the debt relief burden will be on the shoulders of taxpayers, and people may be unhappy with their tax dollars being used to reduce others’ debt instead of serving the public more broadly. Legal Status of the Student Loan Debt Forgiveness as of November 24th, 2022 After the announcement of Biden’s forgiveness plan, a lawsuit filed jointly by six state legislatures (those of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and South Carolina) stymied the progress of the debt relief. On November 14th, 2022, a federal court extended the decision to block the US Department of Education from erasing the debt. However, this ruling came after the US Supreme Court declined to accept a separate legal challenge regarding the debt relief on November 4th, so it is unclear whether or not the plan will be blocked permanently. Other similar legal challenges have been filed, mostly by right-wing politicians who claim that the relief is unconstitutional or would harm the economy. Although these legal challenges have pushed back the initial release of the application and have left the fate of the debt relief uncertain, the Biden administration still recommends that borrowers submit the application. Header image credit: QuinceCreative on Pixabay (Free for use under the Pixabay content license).
In late August 2022, US President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise by announcing that the government would be providing US citizens with student loan debt-relief. US citizens can apply for up to $10,000 in debt cancellation via this loan forgiveness program. On October 17th, 2022, the US Department of Education opened up applications on StudentAid.gov.
How to improve diversity in an economics department - a reflection
It is important to have a diverse classroom in economics, because it brings richness in intellectual exchange, and because economics deals with contemporary policy issues that affect everyone – not just the visible majority. In the economics department at St. Lawrence University, a small liberal arts college in upstate New York, we considered ways to increase the diversity of our majors while improving the professional climate in our department. We developed our diversity plan in the academic year 2021-2022 and immediately started work on implementation. This brief reflection on our comprehensive approach to diversity offers some advice to academic departments who are looking to make a difference. 1. Acknowledge the problem but highlight existing strengths Before investing in diversity initiatives, it is important to conduct an honest assessment of the status quo. Using institutional data from 2011 to 2015 curated by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, we took a critical look at the demographics of our majors and found that women tend to major in economics at lower rates, both at St. Lawrence and in our “New York 6” liberal arts college peer group. However, 21.7% of African American men at St. Lawrence major in economics, more than twice the rate of any other school in the peer group. St. Lawrence also has much higher rates for Asian American men (31.3%) and Asian American women (14.8%) than similar schools. While women remain underrepresented among our majors (5.6% of white women and 3.9% of minority women study economics at St. Lawrence), racial minorities tend to choose economics as their major at relatively higher rates and this is something to be recognized. Economics is a global profession. According to the 2020 NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates, 56.6% of US doctoral recipients in economics were temporary visa holders. Likewise, our department contains economics professors from six different countries. To capitalize on this strength, we developed a learning goal centered around understanding inequities in both the United States and abroad, a focus that will expose students to international perspectives on economic issues. We also found that faculty in our department teach diversity or equity content in 10 regularly offered courses, including topics related to discrimination, income inequality, and how macroeconomic policy impacts different demographic groups. This provides a strong starting point for integrating these issues more broadly into our curriculum. 2. Start small The lack of diversity in economics can seem overwhelming, but starting small helped our department build momentum. We first focused on things we could do right away, such as updating our website imagery and building a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion tab that provides our department’s diversity statement and resources for both faculty and students. We also expanded our elective course offerings to include the economics of gender, immigration, and the Chinese economy to attract students from a variety of backgrounds and better utilize faculty expertise. Further, by using our existing research seminar series, we invited a speaker to discuss gender pay disparities. We were also able to support the founding of the Women in Economics Club, a student organization that focuses on professional development, financial literacy, and creating an inclusive environment for students of all genders. These simple efforts garnered support from across the university, encouraging us to continue working towards larger aspirations. 3. Approach the issues from different angles Diversity issues that impact our students are inherently linked with issues that affect faculty, and vice versa. In recent years, the economics profession has faced a reckoning in response to a long-standing culture of bias and discrimination. We recognize that these issues in the broader profession affect all departments and understand the importance of proactively maintaining an environment that is welcoming to all. Specifically, we considered the challenges faced by international faculty and are exploring ways to improve tenure-track faculty mentoring across diverse cultural backgrounds. In fact, foreign-born faculty in our department may play an important role in improving the diversity of our undergraduate majors as they include both women and people of color. Recent research suggests that students are more likely to select economics as their major if they learn from a faculty member who looks like them. Therefore, fostering an inclusive environment for existing diverse faculty can also improve student outcomes, especially for students from underrepresented backgrounds. 4. Expect challenges There are many challenges with promoting diversity initiatives. We learned to expect resistance and to respond, not with discouragement, but with careful reflection and improved communication. Resource limitations can be difficult to overcome, and that is why it is useful to take advantage of outside programs. We developed a relationship with the University of Chicago’s Expanding Diversity in Economics Summer Institute, a workshop for undergraduate students aimed at increasing diversity in the profession. Last summer, two St. Lawrence students participated in this competitive and prestigious opportunity, where they engaged in skill developing coursework taught by top scholars in the field. Diversity and inclusion work also includes taking risks, because not every effort will be effective. For example, a recent study indicates that “light-touch” interventions or “nudges” such as e-mail messages with basic information on the economics major do not increase the probability that female students will go on to study economics. Our knowledge about what works continues to evolve, but if we expand our efforts across many dimensions, we are more likely to be successful. 5. Document your efforts We found it important to outline our diversity initiatives in writing to encourage commitment, to foster transparency, and to think tangibly about our efforts. We developed a comprehensive strategic plan that contains concrete steps, responsibilities, and timelines for putting the department’s goals into practice. Documenting efforts can also make it easier to apply for external funding or to prioritize existing resources. It also helps ensure that goals are feasible, assessable, and forward-looking. Importantly, we should recognize and codify diversity work as a valued service in the economics profession. We have already observed student interest in diversity issues in response to our plan of action. A course on the economics of gender, offered in spring 2022, filled on the second day of registration with several students requesting a spot on the waitlist. At our university’s student activities fair, 80 students signed up to receive information about our Women in Economics Club. While this is promising, it will take time for the benefits of our efforts to be fully realized. We need to be comfortable with the fact that diversity work will be ongoing and requires persistence, resilience, and pragmatic solutions. Header image picture credit: Pixabay.com
Economics is a popular major in the US, but relatively few women and historically underrepresented minority students choose it as their field of study. This reality is reflected in stagnant US graduation trends; women earn approximately 30% of bachelor’s degrees in economics, and Black, Hispanic, and Native American students earn less than 15%.
Causes of a Recession Recessions are natural phases of the business cycle that can “cause” significant economic damage (the underlying cause of any given recession is what affects economic outcomes, not the label “recession” itself). Almost always during a recession, productivity and employment fall. Lower output and lower employment translate to lower economic growth and less overall utility. Usually, consumer spending falls as well, especially as demand for non-essential goods and services declines. Recessions are often caused by a mixture of exogenous and endogenous factors. When different factors in an economy create a negative feedback loop, these factors may feed into each other and lead to a full-blown recession. In this case, the causes are endogenous, because they occur due to interactions of market forces and market participants. An example is the Great Recession of 2008, which began due to moral hazard-induced risky lending behavior (among other market-related factors). In short, banks packaged high-risk loans together and sold them, leading to a market with over-valued assets. Once people began to default on their loans, many of these assets were revealed as worthless as the housing bubble burst. This led to a series of bank crises that crashed the world economy. Other times, a recession can be prompted by an external, or exogenous, event that isn’t caused by market forces – like a drought. These events can cripple the economy’s ability to function normally, and are often depicted in economic models as negative shifts of aggregate demand or supply. Regardless of its cause, the welfare impact of a recession is not evenly distributed. People who lose their jobs due to a recession will find their well-being severely reduced, while some individuals may even benefit. For example, wealthy individuals can sometimes utilize a recession to buy property or capital at cheaper rates than during normal economic times. Identifying a Recession One often-touted method to identify a recession is the idea that two consecutive quarters of reduced economic activity signals one. However, this is not an official definition. It is merely a rule of thumb. In practice, an official government body may declare when a recession is or has occurred. For example, in the United States, this is the National Bureau of Economic Research’s “Business Cycle Dating Committee”. Other times, a recession may be recognized when a majority of economists believe the time period qualifies as one. Regardless of who recognizes them, most recessions are not labeled immediately. Macroeconomic variables used to detect recessions, such as the unemployment rate, take some time to be measured. For this reason, policy responses to recessions tend to lag behind as well. One useful tool to help identify a likely recession is the yield curve. The yield curve is a graph that shows the relationship between time to maturity and the yield (i.e., payout) for various debt instruments like government bonds. This tool is one of few that can be used in an up-to-date fashion, because debt instruments for sale on the market can be measured now. But, yields are still in anticipation of the future, so this curve still relies on the market’s predictions about the future and as such is not perfectly accurate. During ordinary times, the yield curve is upward-sloping, i.e. yield increases for bonds with longer time-to-maturity. But during a recession this yield curve often becomes inverted, meaning that short-term bonds have higher rates of return than long-term bonds. This happens when the risk of default in the short term is high, so rates of return must be increased to make those investments attractive. Alternatively, this might signal that lenders expect interest rates to fall in the future. This is one indication that the economy is performing poorly at present and can help identify a recessionary period, though it is not a foolproof method. Despite the uncertainty, some telltale signs of a recession include increasing unemployment and falling productivity (perhaps as measured by GDP or GDP growth). Further Reading COVID-19 is one example of an exogenous shock that caused a recession in recent times. In his 2021 book, Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy, Adam Tooze recounts the tumultuous year 2020. He examines the pandemic through the lenses of finance, business, and politics to explain how the exogenous shock caused the world’s economy to fracture, and reveals the vulnerabilities in the ways people typically conduct commerce. Good to Know Although we hear about recessions often in the news and in politics, the IMF has estimated that the countries of the world from 1960-2007 were only in recession 10% of the time. Moreover, they find that recessions lasted about one year on average and decreased GDP by 2% on average. A recession that is severe enough may be labeled a depression instead. Economic depressions are extreme recessions that damage the economy more and last longer than a recession, like the Great Depression that began in 1929. In comparison to the rule of thumb for labeling a recession, economists usually label one a depression when there is at least a 10% drop in GDP. Unlike recessions, depressions usually last for multiple years1. Sources: 1: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/recess.htm
In economics, a recession is a period of time with a prolonged or significant decline in economic activity. This can involve high levels of unemployment and inflation, and cause many people to experience economic distress. Although this term is used by politicians and laypeople frequently, economists may disagree about when a recession is occurring.
Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics (JEL E)
Each Announcement level includes different levels of promotion that alters how it is listed on the website, included in emails to our subscribers and on our social media channels. Higher Announcement levels also offer more media options (videos, images) as well as improved appearance and layout. Which Announcement level should I book? Basic A Basic Level Announcement is for recruiters, administrators or faculty with limited budgets who just need to get an upcoming job, conference, workshop, or scholarship online. The listing will include your logo, be searchable on our website and feature in one Email Alert (sent to over 70,000 economists) and one automated post on Facebook and Twitter. But the clue is in the name, this is our Basic tier. Your Announcement will include no additional images and it will typically appear below Standard, Featured and Premium Announcements. It will also drop in visibility more quickly than the higher options. We therefore recommend that all customers consider one of the higher levels. Standard We would encourage all job, conference, workshop, or scholarship posters in particular to take the step up and pick the Standard Level Announcement. On top of your logo inclusion, email alert and social media posts, you can also include an image gallery which significantly increases engagement and search-engine visibility. Additionally, your listing will be seen across our website in our Mini (sidebar) Banners and users can enable Deadline Reminders for your opportunity, giving a visibility boost on the website and in the email alert in the final week before your deadline. On average, a Standard Announcement generates three times more views than a Basic Announcement. However, if you are posting a study program or professional training course where branding and media is important in your communication, or if you have a position that is difficult to fill and need a wider reach, then our Featured and Premium Levels help your Announcement reach as many economists and economics students as possible. Featured If you are promoting a study program, be it a Master’s, PhD or Online Course, Featured is the minimum Announcement suggested for you. For all other customers meanwhile, it’s a great way to get seen ahead of your competitors. Featured Announcements allow an image gallery, a header image and video that really makes your Announcement stand out. Your level of promotion on the website is also greatly increased with your Announcement visible on our homepage and in featured boxes around the site. Your Announcement will get a boost in search-results half-way through the campaign, and will also be promoted one more time in our Email Alert to subscribers and once more on Facebook and Twitter. In addition, Featured and Premium levels include Reposts. With a Repost, your Announcement will be refreshed and brought back to the top of search results. On average your Announcement will generate five times more views than just a Basic Announcement. However, if you want our total package, you should look at our Premium option. Premium Premium is our top tier and will receive the most promotion, including with geo-targeting. With Premium, you can choose up to 10 priority countries to increase the visibility of your Announcement. With Geo-Targeting, your Announcement receives better visibility in your selected countries' website search results, home pages and email alerts. Additionally, the Announcement is positioned more aggressively on the INOMICS homepage and in search results. Finally, it is boosted twice more during the campaign, which means that if you want your Announcement to stay at or near the top of search-results on INOMICS, this is the option for you. How long do my Announcements stay online? When you book a Single Announcement or a Pack, Announcements are designed to stay online and promoted until the application deadline (max. 90 days from posting/ online date). If you post a study program, the announcement stays online and is searchable but not promoted after the application deadline. Exceptions apply depending on the campaign booked and can be extended upon request. Extensions prices vary according to the Announcement level you booked. For more information, please contact info@inomics.com. What will my Announcement look like? Images and video massively increase engagement with your Announcement. While all Announcement levels from Basic up include your logo, Standard additionally allows an image gallery, and Featured/Premium Announcements are displayed with a header image behind the logo on the page, and in search results. This really helps your Announcement to stand out and means that your institution’s branding is communicated too. Learn more about how to publish an Announcement on INOMICS. Can I add specific add-ons to increase exposure? If you know a certain type of promotion will work for your Announcement, we can work with you to build a custom campaign with additional visibility. For example you can add banners to appear on the INOMICS website, book additional email alert inclusions or custom emails that we send on your behalf to a section of our audience. We can level up your social media exposure with targeted mentions on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or a mixture via our Multi-Channel Promotion. 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Studying in Europe - a US American Student's Experience in Berlin, Germany
1) What is your degree in/what are you studying? Masters of Science in Business Administration. I will write my thesis with the Management chair. 2) What has been your favorite economics course and why? I have a couple favorite economics courses; namely, Game Theory, European Economic History 1 and 2, and Geography and Growth. What I like about all these courses is that they are challenging and relate directly to human behavior. All of these courses provide one with a new lens to view and understand the world. I particularly liked the European Economic History courses, because it helped me to understand how we came to our current (European) world. This is particularly interesting for a native US-American, as I grew up with history focused around the USA. Meaning, I had a basic knowledge of European history, and of other continents for that matter. It is interesting to learn about history from not only another continent/country’s perspective, but also from an economic perspective. <11an>limit:3;categories:Programs;disciplines:Economics</11an> 3) Were you surprised by anything? What was unexpected about studying in Germany or Europe? Naturally, there are differences between studying in Germany (or Europe) compared to the USA. However, I am always curious and open to experiencing something new; so I seldom feel surprised, rather fascinated, when I am met with a new experience. I guess, besides the differences in tuition, I was most intrigued to experience the difference in how universities are organized. In the USA, every student is assigned an advisor who recommends classes based on your interests and who emails you reminders for class enrollment deadlines. In Germany, perhaps because tuition is less expensive and, therefore, may have fewer resources to provide such extra assistance, every student is in charge of their own studies. I love it. Every student takes on the responsibility of choosing their own classes, finding out their own deadlines, etc. There is a feeling of more freedom in choosing the direction of your program here. Plus, this creates a community (or during the Covid shutdowns, a WhatsApp group) in which students are very willing to help each other out in navigating university structure and sharing experiences of different classes and professors. 4) What were the cultural differences you experienced (in schooling and academic life)? How is education different here? Failing. In Germany, students are typically allotted three attempts to pass an exam. This is unheard of in the USA university system. Further, my personal attitude about failing has changed since arriving in Germany. Rather than viewing failure of an exam as being synonymous with unintelligence or inability, I view failing as simply meaning that one has not learned the required material yet. Nothing more. Additionally, in Germany, professors usually do not provide students with a clear-cut catalog of which material will be on an exam. In the USA, I often had professors who would tell us to ignore certain chapters and to focus on others for the exams; whereas the professors in Germany seldom give such hints. I think this ties into students having more responsibility, and being expected to acquire the skills to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information, and how to prioritize certain topics. 5) What cultural differences did you experience in non-academic life? There are many cultural differences between the USA and Germany that I don’t think are easy to spot on the surface. The countries can seem similar but they can differ in the smallest of details that I still notice with time. I have listed a few more obvious cultural differences, because I find it hard to explain the smaller ones without writing what sounds like a generalization. I think generalizations are difficult, especially, since these small differences could simply be differences between me and a German friend, rather than a larger trend within Germany. Recycling & Pfand - trash must be separated into the appropriate bins, whereas in the US all trash usually goes into the same bin. Pfand incentivizes recycling by adding a “tax” to plastic and glass bottles that individuals receive back upon recycling the bottle. Germany is incredibly well-organized and efficient (but sometimes the bureaucracy also takes longer than expected). Even the smallest process is made to be efficient, such as registering to take a Covid-19 rapid test with a QR-code or finding available doctors in all of Berlin via DoctoLib. When people move apartments/homes in Germany, they uninstall and move the entire kitchen and all the light fixtures. Sometimes even the flooring. That rarely, if ever, happens in the USA Small talk and smiling to strangers on the street happens less often in Germany compared to the Midwest USA Public transport is widespread, relatively cheap, and reliable in Germany, whereas I rarely utilized public transportation in the midwest USA. There are student discounts for many, many things and stores in Germany Traditional dancing – I have the feeling most people take ballroom dance classes as children/teenagers in Germany; whereas in the USA, I hardly know anyone in my age group who can do a traditional dance 6) What was the process for applying to school and moving to Germany like? For me, I bought a one-way ticket to Germany without much planning. After that decision, I started contacting German companies while I was still in the US to organize internship interviews. I regularly ran into the problem that my German language level wasn’t high enough yet (A1 at the time) or that I didn’t have student status. However, there were companies that were interested and set up interviews with me. As backup, I had organized interviews with families for Au Pairing. My intention was to find an internship in order to get some work experience leading up to applying and then attending a Master’s program here in Germany. However, COVID-19 started just a week after my arrival, subsequently delaying my internship and, at the time, potentially canceling it. Therefore, the immigration office gave me a “Fiktionsbeschieinigung” (translating as a “fictional certificate”, a kind of temporary residence permit) to allow me to stay while attending the online intensive language courses at the Goethe Institut. When it was clear that my internship would still take place, the immigration office attached “Arbeitserlaubnis” (work permit) to my visa, meaning I was allowed to work. My initial situation was rather unique given the circumstances, but the rest of the process for obtaining a student visa was standard. I assume many other international students will have to complete these following steps as well. First, I required an address in order to get my visa and that added a bit of stress. When one does find an apartment in Germany, it’s important to ensure that “Anmeldung” is permitted. Anmeldung means that one registers themselves with the local government at a specified address. I needed this address to get a visa. Further, for the first year of studying in Germany, one will need to prove financial stability, or rather, the ability to finance one’s stay for a whole year. This can be done by showing historical financial statements or by setting up a “Sperrkonto”. A Sperrkonto is a type of bank account where one must deposit a substantial amount of money up front and then, like a monthly allowance, this bank account makes a fraction of the original deposit available to the person every month. It’s to ensure that one can afford their first year's stay and can be a bit overwhelming for students as it’s typically over €10.000. While the process entails many steps, it was straightforward. The Ausländerbehörde (department for foreign residents) website clearly outlined what one needs to prepare and bring to an appointment. I would suggest making the appointment ASAP, as they are typically booked quite far in advance. Also, in my experience, all of the application documents were in German. Back then, I required help from a friend to translate both the documents and the conversation at my appointments. Lastly, paying for the visa requires one to pay in cash, although this may hopefully change as card payments are becoming increasingly accepted. 7) What were the best resources to help you in your econ courses? Other students. Making friends with other students is important simply for the social factor of having friends, but also for learning. I, personally, find it much easier to grasp a concept when I am discussing or trying to explain it to someone else. Plus, the camaraderie helps the pre-exam stress. 8) What other advice do you have for Americans who might want to study in Germany or Europe? DO IT. I say, try it out and if you don’t like it, you can always change it. We all only have one life, and we have the ability to change it drastically. If you do officially decide to study and/or move to Germany/Europe, then I suggest stressing less about the move in the last weeks before your flight and enjoy the time with your friends and family. I moved to Germany just weeks before the COVID-19 shut down and I was very grateful that I had dedicated my last month in the USA to spending quality time with my friends and family, even though it meant I sent fewer job/internship applications. Everything works out how it should. 9) What are your plans after graduation? I will find a job and stay in Germany long term. Since I am open to settling down in a variety of German cities, I will determine where I go next based on where I find a job. To work in Germany, I will need a work visa, meaning I’ll need to find a company willing to sponsor me. As a graduate from a German university, I can apply for a job-seeker type visa directly after graduation that would provide me time to find a company that I really like. This interview was conducted remotely by Sean McClung for INOMICS in October 2022. All picture credits: Alexis - with kind permission. Are you a student of economics, econometrics, or related fields, or have you studied abroad for at least one year? Would you like to share your advice with other curious students? You can contact us at submissions@inomics.com and we may be able to interview you as well.
INOMICS has had the opportunity to interview several international students and learn about their experiences studying abroad. For this article, we interviewed Alexis. She's from the US-Midwest and moved to Germany in February 2020. She is currently finishing up her Master’s program in business administration at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, and will then be looking for a job to stay in the country. Below we’ll share her advice for other international students, experiences about studying in Germany, and more! If you’re from the US - or anywhere else - and curious what it’s like to study in Europe, read on.
2022 Nobel Prize in Economics - The Winners
This article gives an overview of the work that won these economists the Prize, and a brief bio for each economist. You can read more about the reasoning behind the awarding of the Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ press release page. The Research that Won This Year’s Prize Diamond and Dybvig conducted research that illuminated the role of banks as intermediaries. Their groundbreaking paper published in the Journal of Political Economy in 1983 develops the Diamond-Dybvig model, which is widely cited and still in use today. Banks have a unique role in the economy; consumers save their money in banks for safekeeping, and to grow their wealth. At the same time, borrowers want to use this money to build, invest, and otherwise fuel their economic activity. Banks use consumers’ savings to become lenders to these borrowers. Diamond and Dybvig’s research showed that banks are the optimal way for the economy to carefully balance the needs of savers (or lenders) and borrowers. Diamond additionally argued that this position makes banks the best entity in the economy to assess creditworthiness of borrowers, and thus to make decisions about which investments are good enough to invest society’s money into. Problems for a bank can arise when savings are demanded back by the lenders who need their money for an unexpected circumstance; banks do not actually hold all of their reserves in liquid form. A bank run occurs when too many consumers demand their money back from the bank than it is currently holding. This can cause a bank to fail. Ben Bernanke, in his analysis of the Great Depression of the 1930s, showed that bank runs were an important reason that the Depression grew so severe. One key reason for this is that when banks fail, the information they contain about consumers’ creditworthiness can be lost. This information loss makes it more difficult for society to allocate savings to the best investment opportunities, limiting opportunities for economic growth. Although not a reason why he was selected for this award, Bernanke additionally served as the Chairman for the United States Federal Reserve during the financial crisis and Great Recession in 2006 - 2010. INOMICS has previously assessed how economists lost clout for failing to recognize the danger to the financial system, and how the discipline’s reputation has been recovering. Tore Ellingsen, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, notes that “The laureates’ insights have improved our ability to avoid both serious crises and expensive bailouts.” This is one of the key reasons for awarding this year’s Prize to these economists. Ben S. Bernanke: Bio Ben Bernanke was born in the state of Georgia in the United States. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1975 from Harvard and his PhD in economics in 1979 from MIT. In 1985, Bernanke was made a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University. He later became the chair of the Economics Department at Princeton from 1996 to 2002. Bernanke became a member of the Board of Governors at the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2002, and later the Chairman in 2006. As chairman, Bernanke led the Federal Reserve’s response to the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2006 to 2010. During this time, Bernanke led the Federal Reserve to take unprecedented action, including the implementation of quantitative easing. This is a process where the central bank purchases securities and long-term treasuries on the open market to stimulate economic growth. Bernanke also began holding quarterly press conferences to explain the decisions of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee, which helped improve the organization’s transparency. Bernanke is the author of several books and textbooks, and has also published articles on monetary policy, macroeconomics, and other economic issues. His other accolades include holding a Guggenheim and Sloan Fellowship, being a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society, and serving as the director of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee. Douglas W. Diamond: Bio Douglas Diamond is an expert specializing in the study of financial intermediaries and financial crises who grew up in Chicago in the United States. He earned his economics bachelor's degree in 1975 from Brown University. He later earned his Master's degrees in 1976 and 1977, and went on to earn a PhD in economics from Yale University in 1980. He has won numerous awards, including the Morgan Stanley-American Finance Association Award for Excellence in Finance in 2012. In 2013 he received an honorary degree, Doctor Honoris Causa, from the University of Zurich. In 2016 he received the CME Group- Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Prize in Innovative Quantitative Applications. Diamond is the Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago. He has additionally taught at Yale, and was a visiting professor at MIT, the University of Bonn in Germany, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is a National Bureau of Economic Research research associate, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, president of the American Finance Association and the Western Finance Association, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Diamond is also a fellow of the Econometric Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Finance Association. Philip H. Dybvig: Bio Philip Dybvig grew up in Dayton, Ohio. He received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Indiana University, and his PhD in economics from Yale University in 1979. He taught at Princeton University and then later Yale in 1981. Dybvig left Yale in 1989 to join the faculty of Washington University, where he became the Boatmens Bancshares Professor of Banking and Finance. He served as President of the Western Finance Association in 2002-2003, on Washington University's Investments Committee, and on the National Endowment Survey Advisory Committee of the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Dybvig has earned several awards in China, including Changjiang Scholar, Thousand-person plan, Chengdu Jinsha Friendship Award, Sichuan Golden Pinnacle Award, and the Chinese Central Government Friendship Award. He runs a research program each summer in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, where he is the Director of the Institute of Financial Studies at the Southwest University of Finance and Economics. You can read the full Prize in Economic Sciences press release at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ webpage. Header image picture credit: Pixabay.com References 1: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/people/ben-s-bernanke 2: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/d/douglas-w-diamond 3: https://dybfin.wustl.edu/misc/about.html 4: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2022/press-release/ 5: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Thu. 13 Oct 2022. <https: 2022="" economic-sciences="" prizes="" summary="" www.nobelprize.org=""></https:>
The prestigious 2022 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, better known as the Nobel Prize for Economics, has been awarded to three American economists: Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond, and Philip H. Dybvig. The prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, was given to these economists for their contributions to “research on banks and financial crises”. The Prize notes that these three economists laid the groundwork for this research in the early 1980s.
Studying in the USA - Two (European) Student Experiences in Charlotte, North Carolina
If you want to know what it’s like to study in the US - in terms of academic structure, culture, and life in general - then read on. 1) What is your degree? Why did you choose to study in the US? Lenka: I am pursuing a Master's degree in Data Science and Business Analytics. I always wanted to study abroad, and the US seemed like a good opportunity. I decided based on language (I wanted to go to an English speaking country) and major (I wanted to study Data Science; a similar program was opened in the Czech Republic at that time, but I wanted to study a program that already had some tradition). The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) was a good fit for all my requirements. Adam: MA in communication - it was not a decision about going to the USA or not going to the USA, it was more about going anywhere, about studying abroad. The USA won against other countries because of the student-athlete opportunities, and the work experiences you can get there. <11an>limit:3;disciplines:Economics;countries:United States</11an> 2) What were the cultural differences you experienced in schooling? How is education different in the US vs. back home? Lenka: Cultural Differences Students are not helping each other - in the US they do not speak with each other in the classes. I was really surprised by this. Another cultural difference was in clothing - many students wear clothes similar to pajamas in class. Back at home, people dress more business casual at universities. Also in the USA, university campuses are bigger and nicer compared to in the Czech Republic and student life in the USA is better. Education Differences Grading is more strict in the Czech Republic compared to the USA (only a few students from classes get an A, and the rest get B or C). Because of that, nobody cares about GPA in Czechia - students only try to pass exams. There we do not have many assignments during the school year. If so, we have only a few. The main focus is on midterms and the final exam. The final exam is around 80% of the grade, and it covers material from the whole school semester and is closed book. Here at UNCC, classes are more practical, whereas back at home in Czechia, classes are mainly about theory and memorizing. In the Czech Republic after the regular semester ends, we have one month of exam period - it is up to students to choose when they are going to take exams (students pick from dates that are published by professors). I studied approximately one week for each exam. We have to be very respectful towards professors - we CAN NOT say “hi” or “hey” to them. Moreover, we have to use their highest achieved title when we address them (this may be very tricky - some professors have four different titles, and you have to pick the correct one, otherwise, it is a faux pas. As a quick test for you, this is the example of the real professor’s name with titles from my Czech University - prof. RNDr. Ing. Petr Fiala, CSc., MBA. So, how would you address him?* Adam: When speaking about schooling, there are many differences - for example, here in the US you usually call your teacher by their name and say “hi” not “hello”. In the Czech Republic, you have to say “Hello” and always say, “ma'am” or “mister”. I would say that there are fewer classes in the US, and there are no oral exams. I also think that in the US there is a focus on applying what you have learned to your real-life scenarios. Back in the Czech Republic, the schooling is more about theories, diving deep into the “academic” field, and understanding the topic from the academic perspective. Here in the US, the stress is on applying some general information, and sometimes not knowing the “behind scenes” of it. 3) What was the process for applying and moving over like? Was it difficult to pay for tuition or other necessary school expenses? Lenka: The process of applying was stressful. In the beginning, I selected a few universities based on my requirements, tuition, etc. Then I started the application process - I needed 3 recommendations, a GRE score, an English exam score (TOEFL, Duolingo), a motivation letter, GPA (in Czech we have the opposite scale to the USA, 1 is the best and 4 the worst), a transcript of all courses taken, and a CV. The worst thing was that I was getting all these necessary papers during the covid time. All institutions had delays or were canceling appointments. Or I was in lockdown in my city. The application fee was not that bad, though the tuition is really high. As an international student, I am paying twice more than local USA students (plus I can not apply for FAFSA, and UNCC is offering only one scholarship for international graduate students). On-campus job opportunities are helping me reduce school expenses (I am able to get back ⅓ of tuition per semester). Adam: I sent around 150 emails for scholarships - I received 15 responses, 5 positive, and 10 negative. After that, it was easy to choose from these schools. The high tuition was expected, however, the insurance I have to pay at Queens University is the biggest expense - the biggest issue I would say. 4) Were you surprised by anything? What was unexpected about studying in the US? Lenka: I did not expect that I would be very busy during the semester. Generally, I think that it is better to practice to have more assignments (continuously learning) compared to a one-month exam period (one moment of memorizing). Also, I was surprised by the number of regulations for international students. Adam: I think I was surprised with how few classes you need to take - in my program at Queens they recommend that you take 2 classes per semester. Back home, you can take 8, 9 or even 12 classes if you want. 5) What were the main cultural differences you experienced in non-academic life? Lenka: Car culture (without a car you are nobody in the USA) Very poor recycling knowledge; nobody recycles! And if you really want to, you do not have a place to go do it. Insufficient public transportation, at least in Charlotte! The “How are you doing” question (at the beginning, I thought that people cared how I was feeling!). Tipping a lot. Working culture (you have to spend a lot of time at work). University culture - how you are part of the university, and they have sports teams, clubs, etc. that you can be a part of.....I love this about US universities. Networking - I hate this, but it is important to network and have contacts here. Adam: Tipping in the restaurants, and basically everywhere. 6) Is there anything you wish you had known about studying in the US, or the US in general, before you got there? Lenka: I would have appreciated any guidance about buying a car! More seriously… if US students are describing what they have achieved - it almost always sounds better than it is. If you realize this, you do not have to feel guilty that you are not enough. Plus, you have to speak highly about yourself. Otherwise, you will get nowhere. And finally: you have to be careful with picking teammates in group projects. Adam: That not everything is always as people promise or say, and that you have to really fight for the things you want. For example: if someone promises that you can have an internship, ask them a few more times and tell them all the information about your status in the US, otherwise, you could end up like me without an opportunity to work outside the campus. 7) What other advice do you have for European students looking to study in the US? Lenka: Do your research properly (mainly with immigration stuff)! Much information is described on the web pages, discussion forums, blogs… Be prepared that things for immigrants are harder. But, remember that the USA is a country of opportunities and you can achieve your dreams. Life in the USA is more expensive than in Europe. And the last valuable message is that people here are very friendly - approach them and become friends with them! Adam: Email all universities by yourself, email everyone, and then choose the best option. Do not close your doors by saying “I will go only to California” - in Europe we know about New York, California, etc. However, the US is bigger and there are many great opportunities. You can get a better scholarship and better work opportunities (for example) when you go to a smaller city like Charlotte. *The correct answer to Lenka's "quiz": prof. Petr Fiala. But, this can get very complicated very quickly when the highest title isn't obvious! This interview was conducted remotely by Sean McClung for INOMICS in October 2022. All picture credits: Lenka and Adam. Are you a student of economics, econometrics, or related fields, or have you studied abroad for at least one year? Would you like to share your advice with other curious students? You can contact us at submissions@inomics.com and we may be able to interview you as well.
Ever thought about studying abroad in the US? INOMICS has had the opportunity to interview two international students at two US universities and learn about their experiences doing just that. For this article, we interviewed Adam at Queens University and Lenka at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, two students from the Czech Republic who moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in the US to study their Master’s degrees. Below we’ll share their advice for other international students, experiences about studying in the US, and more!
Succeeding in the European Job Market for Economists
These institutions include European universities and research institutes in academia, but also many consulting firms, tech companies, think tanks, governments, and government agencies (such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and central banks). The EJME can appear chaotic with applicants and recruiters constantly in a frenzy of interviews, offers, rejections, ambitions, hopes and disappointments. But by coordinating the timing of recruitment activities, there is more opportunity for candidates and institutions to meet each other and to make the most advantageous matches. Finding the right job can be a life-defining moment for individuals, and the performance of institutions depends crucially on the people they employ. Each year, around 1000 candidates and 200 institutions from Europe and beyond join the EJME, devoting enormous amounts of time and energy to get these matches right. The EJME calendar The EJME recruiting season starts in September/October when recruiters advertise their job openings for the next academic year. At the same time, candidates put together their job market ‘packages’ including their CV, research output (usually in the form of a specific job market paper [JMP]), reference letters and, increasingly, a personal website. Candidates apply for (usually many) posts throughout the autumn and, having reviewed their documentation, recruiters invite candidates for first-round interviews. In pre-Covid times, these were face-to-face and took place in a European city, but they have been online over the last couple of years. This will be the case again in 2022. Whether online or face-to-face, the first round of interviews takes place over a few days in mid-December so that there is some coordination in the timing of decisions being made by candidates and recruiters. A typical university department might interview as many as 30-40 candidates in this first round. Around seven or eight of these candidates might then be invited for “fly-outs” where they give seminars in the host institutions, meet with the local faculty in one-to-one conversations and, sometimes, have formal interviews. The fly-outs are nearly always in person and take place between January and March. The final stage of the EJME is often the most stressful. This is when institutions make job offers to their preferred candidate(s) from the fly-outs, while holding others in a ranked reserve list. At this stage, the preferred candidate(s) might already have other job offers in hand and/or might have been invited for a later fly-out elsewhere. Institutions press for an early answer, partly to persuade their first-choice candidate to take their offer and partly so that they can move rapidly to their second-choice candidate if their first choice turns them down. Some institutions are tempted to make “exploding offers” (offers with very short deadlines or deadlines that pre-date the end of scheduled fly-outs) but these create enormous stress on candidates and undermine the purpose of the coordinated market. On the other hand, having devoted considerable time and energy to the EJME process, institutions are faced with the prospect of their reserve list gradually evaporating if their first-choice candidate takes too long negotiating the best deal possible or simply delays making a decision. Relationships between candidates and recruiters can become quite strained at this point and many on both sides of the EJME suffer sleepless nights as bargains are struck and decisions are made. Top tips for EJME candidates Putting your best foot forward. Your job market package should show you in your best light as recruiters are looking at hundreds of candidates. Create a personal webpage that is easy to read and navigate, with links to your CV and JMP, a three-line bio and information on your research interests. Your CV should be easy to read too: take a look at other CVs to get the format right; specify your research interests (primary and secondary); include the abstracts of your papers (including your JMP); include teaching evaluations; and include a list of referees. Post a polished version of your JMP early (but make sure it is polished) and continually update it to improve it. Make sure the whole document is carefully proofread and well formatted, and pay particular attention to the abstract and introduction. Post other papers if you have them (this shows a broader range of interests), but only if they are as polished as the JMP. Take advice from your supervisors on where to apply. Apply for as wide a range of jobs as is practical (since there is a lot of randomness in the job market), but do not go for jobs that you know you would not take. Tell them about yourself. You should be comfortable talking about your research so get in the habit of doing this by practising. Take every opportunity to talk about your work with your fellow PhD students, faculty members and visiting seminar speakers. Present your JMP at every seminar and conference possible. The more often you pitch your paper, the more questions you will have heard and the better prepared you’ll be in an interview. For the first round of EJME interviews, prepare a five minute summary overview of your JMP, stating clearly and concisely its original contribution and importance. Prepare a ten minute extension describing the important elements of the paper. Practice these presentations with your fellow students and supervisors. Prepare two to three minute summaries of any of your other projects. Dress professionally for interviews and find a quiet place with a reliable internet connection if they take place online. Make sure you have looked at the interviewer’s webpages, know who they are (their research centres, areas of expertise, etc.) and prepare a good reason for applying there. The fly-outs. The first round of EJME interviews only exist as the necessary hurdle to reaching the fly-out interviews. This is where the practice of your hour-long seminar comes into its own. Remember that the fly-out seminar is to a generalist audience. A series of short small group or one-to-one interviews can be quite intense – everyone will have seen your seminar presentation and will have an opinion to share. They can also be disorientating, as you try to remember whether you have already said something in this meeting or whether it was in the last meeting ten minutes ago. At this stage, recruiters want to go beyond the JMP, looking to see the range of skills you have, what you will offer in the future (your five year plan), your teaching preferences, and generally how you will fit into the department. Do your homework so that you know the place well before you arrive. You also get an impression of the institution, and should consider questions, including: what is the research environment like (seminar programmes, research centres, research budgets)? What is the teaching like (teaching loads, make-up of the student body, the sort of teaching required)? What is it like to live here? A shrewd institution will know that this is its opportunity to sell itself to you as well as vice versa, so be interested. Making a decision. If you are given an offer, the dynamics of the EJME are turned upside down. This will be one of the few instances where you can have real leverage over your prospective employer. There might be some flexibility on teaching loads, what you are asked to teach, and research funds, so it is worth talking about this. Salaries are not always negotiable if there are rigid pay scales, but there might be flexibility on where you are placed on the scale. There are occasionally ‘golden hellos’ and time-limited or permanent market premia that can be negotiated. Keep institutions informed of your job market position as far as you can – future fly-outs, competitors’ offers, etc. This may enable you to get extensions on decision deadlines. In any case, the recruiter’s reaction tells you something about how keen they are to have you. Having said all this, keep in mind that the recruiter is working hard to land the best people for their institution too. So be fair in driving for a bargain and in making your mind up as quickly as you can. Finding the right match. An institution will often have preferences on the sort of person that they want to recruit, even if they do not specify this in their job adverts. Institutions may be looking broadly for someone to bolster existing research teams, to develop a new area of strength or to fill various teaching needs. Depending on the institution’s existing skills mix, it might have vague preferences for a technical theorist or econometrician or a broad-based applied economist. It is not usually possible to know this from the institution’s webpages. All you can do is present an honest picture of yourself, showcasing your skills and what you can bring to the institution. If you do not get a job offer, you should not take it personally. The 2022/23 EJME The 2022/23 EJME builds from the beginning of September when recruiters begin to advertise jobs on INOMICS, as well as various other outlets. Candidates should upload their job market packages with their applications and pursue opportunities, following the information and instructions for the job application on each job posting carefully as they arise through the autumn. Candidates are encouraged to register early for the EJME as a first step to organising interviews with recruiters and for access to events organised for candidates. Details are available through the EJME website. The EJME offers a further opportunity to enhance your profile by uploading your job market package to the EJME Candidate Directory. This provides another forum through which recruiters can search (both during the regular season and in the post-season clearing market) for candidates who can enter up to three research fields and their PhD-granting institution. For the clearing market, candidates can remove themselves from the directory after they get a job. But, if you are unsuccessful at first, this provides an opportunity for recruiters to see who still is available. The first round of interviews in 2022/23 EJME will be online and are scheduled to take place on 12-14 December. Fly-outs will take place between January and March and recruiters are being encouraged to make offers with deadlines no earlier than 1 February 2023. More advice and further tips are available on the Royal Economic Society website. Good luck with your job search! This article was produced in cooperation with the Economics Network, the largest and longest-established academic organisation devoted to improving the teaching and learning of economics in higher education. Learn more about the Economics Network here. Header and article image credits: WebTechExperts/Joseph Mucira via Pixabay (free for use under the Pixabay Content License)
The European Job Market for Economists (EJME) takes place annually. It aims to ensure that economics students who are about to complete (or have recently completed) their PhD make the best possible job match with institutions recruiting research economists.
The Top Free Online Econometrics Courses
The courses listed here don't require enrollment in an institution, and are all free of charge for at least a limited time. Many of the Coursera courses allow free enrollment, but may require a fee after a certain amount of time has passed. So, no matter where you are (in your home) - at your kitchen table, armchair, or even in bed - you can have econometrics taught to you by some of the top professors, hailing from some of the world's leading universities. The courses here are all econometrics related, though some cover introductory statistics, which is a necessary prerequisite to understand econometrics. All the courses are available in English and are targeted at various different levels of study. So, no matter where you are in your studies, whether you are doing a Bachelor's or a PhD, you should find something of interest. While some are open tutorials available at any time of the year, others have opening and closing dates for participation. 1. Econometrics: Methods and Applications Course Provider: Erasmus University Rotterdam/Coursera Duration: 8 weeks Background needed: The course is suitable for (advanced undergraduate) students in economics, finance, business, engineering, and data analysis, as well as for those who work in these fields. 2. The Classical Linear Regression Model Course Provider: Queen Mary University of London / Coursera Duration: Approx. 22 hours Background needed: Introductory course, no experience required. This is the first in a series of 4 courses: Econometrics of Economists and Finance Practitioners 3. Basic Statistics Course Provider: University of Amsterdam / Coursera Duration: 8 weeks Background needed: None; this is a beginner course that will help students get familiar with statistics. This and its following course are necessary background for econometrics coursework. 4. Inferential Statistics Course Provider: University of Amsterdam / Coursera Duration: 7 weeks Background needed: Basic Statistics, the course listed just above, is the prerequisite for this course. 5. Econometrics Course Provider: MIT Duration: Self Paced Background needed: Completed introductory course to statistics in economics. Students should be familiar with basic concepts in probability theory and statistical inference (courses #3 and #4 on this list can help you get started with that, if you need it!). 6. Econometrics MOOC Course Provider: Econometrics Academy Duration: Self-paced Background needed: Bachelor's-level knowledge of linear regression models and economic statistics will help you get started, as courses begin at a Master’s level. 7. Bayesian Statistics: From Concept to Data Analysis Course Provider: University of California at Santa Cruz / Coursera Duration: 4 weeks Background needed: Basic background in frequentist (i.e., “regular”) statistics, which courses #3 and #4 on this list can help with. 8. Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation Course Provider: Berkeley Duration: 12 weeks Background needed: Knowledge of statistical methods and software such as MATLAB.
Although the shift toward online learning pre-dated the coronavirus, the pandemic caused a great proliferation in the availability and acceptance of online learning. More and more courses can now be found online, allowing students to continue with their studies or even get credit for some courses from the comfort of their own home.
Econometrics, Statistics and Quantitative Methods (JEL C)