Who Really Wins at the Olympics? Economics of the Olympic Games
It’s widely discussed that the final cost of this winter’s Olympics is expected to exceed $50 billion (though the initial estimates were nearly ten times lower), but what exactly does this cost mean? To address the various issues at play in the economics the Olympics, we’ve gathered a list of relevant articles for you to peruse. Many people have tackled the subject of how some cities have seen certain benefits from hosting the games, while others have run up massive debt without ever glimpsing the promised ROI. This article from Harvard’s Kennedy School cites academic studies on the subject, offering diverse insight from a number of perspectives. This Economist article delves into the economics of bidding to host the Olympic games and why cities compete for this burdensome privilege. The author of the article on NBC online argues that no host city has ever made it into the black, but cites the exorbitant kickbacks and heightened security as the main monetary sinkholes in Sochi. This piece on Salon.com notes that while economics may have something to do with it, it’s the intangibles that entice a country into hosting an event like the Winter Games. The author of this Time online article details the difficulty of simply getting to Sochi, arguing that the hurdles fans must jump through will keep this year’s numbers low and profit marginal. This short article on bezinga.com notes that while an overall boost in infrastructure might not happen this year, telecommunications companies are profiting widely. This piece in the Financial Times highlights the parallels (and lack thereof) between Beijing and Moscow in the lead up to the Olympics in each country. In this research paper, the authors use trade models to examine boosts in national exports in cities that host mega-sports events such as the World Cup or the Olympics. They argue that its not really the event itself, but the signal that is sent that creates a lasting positive effect. Another interesting aspect of the Olympics is the correlation between athletic performance and the economic progress of a given country. This article on Business Insider notes the shifts in podium representation by countries such as Japan, South Korea and China as each of them gained economic standing.
As the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi enter their second week, the talk of who is bringing home the gold centers not just on the athletes, but also on the cities, countries and corporations who have invested in these games. In this post we’d like to focus on the economics of the Olympics, this year and in general.
As shown earlier in our post “How Much Econ Professors Earn? Salaries in Academia by Country”, the UK is on the list of countries that remunerate their economists quite well. As can be seen in the graph above, entry-level academic positions, such as PhD Candidate, Researcher or Post Doc, tend to pay less than 50,000 US$ per year, though this number is still significantly higher than in many other countries and regions. Salaries for Professors start, on average, with 61,000 US$ per year for Assistant positions, and go above 95,000 US$ per year for Full Professorship positions. However, there are of course many factors influencing the salary an economist might earn, including years of experience, the highest degree obtained and so on. Our findings show that salaries are strongly correlated with one’s highest degree, and having a PhD determines a stable increase in the average pay. More details on the findings and methodology of the survey can be found in the full version of the report, which is available for free download on the INOMICS site.
On Wednesday, January 29, INOMICS released the Economics Job Market Report 2013 (UK and Ireland). This report, based on the findings of the Economics Job Market Survey conducted in 2013, introduces the reader to various aspects of the job market in economics, business and finance, concentrating primarily on the academic field.
Academic Conferences: how to get x5 Applicants & Papers
The reason for such an exceptional traffic is the number of conferences online (on average 7-10 conferences per category get published on INOMICS every day), the international focus and the general quality of the content. In such an ocean of conference listings it makes a major difference how the conference is presented, as just being listed does not guarantee that a sufficient amount of visitors will ever see it – with every new conference appearing online, every Basic Announcement naturally gets shifted to the bottom. With this in mind, we decided to conduct a small experiment. A number of selected conferences were placed on INOMICS for about two weeks as Basic Announcements, and then just for two weeks they were upgraded to Standard Announcements. The results, when compared, were astonishing (see the graph). On average, Standard Conference Announcements received 100% - 400% more views than Basic Announcements within the same two-week time period, and 3-4 times more visitors expressed interest in applying by visiting the original link of the conference. According to our customers, even two weeks of increased visibility brought a record number of good quality papers. Featured Announcements have the power to even double the outcome compared to the Standard option. If you have any questions about the different levels of announcements specifically for conferences, contact our team (info@inomics.com). Or just see the details on our portfolio pages.
INOMICS is probably the best-known and most reputable tool for finding academic conferences, especially for events focusing on economics and finance-related disciplines. While the majority of new users still find out about INOMICS through word of mouth, a much faster growing part of users lands on INOMICS when searching for specific conferences on Google.
In 2013, our Blog Post Top Economics Summer Schools was the most visited article of the year, which confirms that interest in this kind of program is enormous, with the peak starting at the end of January each year. Many of the INOMICS summer school visitors are returning visitors, which means that annually students and professionals are searching and comparing their options, and eagerly waiting for new summer school opportunities. Unfortunately, if a summer school promotion is not timed properly, for example if there is too little time before the application deadline or not enough time for the applicant to apply for funding, many participants who would otherwise apply can be lost. That is why it is important to make sure that your summer schools are published on the INOMICS website well in advance. Institutions that post two or more months in advance typically receive several times more views and, hence, qualified applications than those posting last minute. So, now is the time to post your summer schools – and the earlier your summer school appears online, the more chance you have to find qualified and motivated participants! Contact our sales team, or just post your announcement here. Photo Credit: taichi_nishida
It is no secret that Summer Schools are among the most visited types of Announcement on INOMICS. As many PhD and Masters students aim to be awarded external funding or need to go through complex bureaucratic procedures inside their own institutions before they can attend, their decision about which Summer School(s) to attend often needs to be made several months ahead.
UK & Ireland: Salaries of Professors & Recruiting Strategies
Today INOMICS released the new regional Economics Job Market Report, with detailed data about the Econ Job Market in the UK & Ireland. Which positions in academia are the most competitive in the UK? What recruiting strategies are used? How open are candidates for relocation? What kind of jobs are recent Economics Graduates after? To answer these and other questions about the Econ Job Market in the UK & Ireland, download the report now, which is available for all INOMICS users for free here (login required). All Regional Reports 2013 are part of the Worldwide Economics Job Market Report 2013. You can download the Worldwide Report as well as reports for Latin America, US & Canada and Australia & New Zealand here. If you want to be notified when reports for Spain, France and Germany are available, please fell free to subscribe for notification at the bottom of the reports page.
Econ Job Market in the UK & Ireland: the new INOMICS Report is available for free download.
Based on Top 12,5% Europe – December 2013, the following list highlights European economic institutions registered in RePEc according to the number of affiliates in the RePEc network, number of publications and popularity of their authors. No. Institution Country Scores Authors Author share 1 London School of Economics (LSE) United Kingdom 1.06 251 177.63 2 Department of Economics, Oxford University United Kingdom 1.96 168 130.69 3 Barcelona Graduate School of Economics (Barcelona GSE) Spain 4.55 152 115.83 4 Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) France 4.72 147 122.9 5 Paris School of Economics France 4.79 211 131.72 6 Department of Economics, University College London (UCL) United Kingdom 6.32 73 56.65 7 Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Germany 8.14 638 97.26 8 Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) United Kingdom 10.46 283 27.17 9 European Central Bank Germany 10.5 151 130.6 10 Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Information Technology – University of Zurich Switzerland 12.94 109 97.24 The ranking is based on information registered in the RePEc Authors service. The data is the result of the compilation of different reports: Authors and bibliography of RePEc, registered institutions in EDIR, citation analysis performed by CITEC and popularity of data collected by LogEc​. For more information about the methodology please click here. Image Credit: moacirpdsp
One year ago, we published information about the Top 10 economics departments in Europe to support the educational choices of new professionals. Now we want to direct the attention of our readers to an overview of European institutions from a research approach. The purpose of the following list is to guide people who are interested in developing their careers as economics researchers in Europe in collaboration with top economics authors.
1. “Game Theory 101 MOOC” by ‪William Spaniel with videos no more than ten minutes in length on all the important aspects of this discipline. These online lectures can serve as a very good introduction. 2. “What is Game Theory?” by David K. Levine, Department of Economics, UCLA provides definitions of basic concepts and supplies reviews of Game Theory texts. 3. A very useful set of flash cards with key definitions used in Game Theory. 4. “Game Theory II” (a little more advanced than the first course for beginners) started on Coursera on 13 January. Offered by professors from Stanford University and the University of British Columbia, it covers such topics as Mechanism Design and Auctions. 5. Modern game theory dates back to 1944, when John von Neumann published his “Theory of Games and Economic Behavior”, but Prof. Chwe from University of California, Los Angeles believes “Jane Austen Had It First” 6. The video in Greg Mankiw’s blog post “An Exercise in Game Theory” shows an unexpected real-life application of the Prisoners’ dilemma. 7. Another real-world application is depicted in the post “Game theory works for football tournaments“ by VOX. For those already on a more advanced level looking to share their knowledge with the world of microeconomists we can recommend checking out the following conferences: 1. Industrial Organization: Theory, Empirics and Experiments organized by the University of Salento (Italy) 2. Auctions, Competition, Regulation, and Public Policy organized by the Management School at Lancaster University (UK) 3. Norms, Actions, Games (NAG 2014) organised at the University of Nottingham (UK) 4. Risk Theory Society 2014 Meeting held at Ludwig-Maximilians University (Germany)
There are a number of disciplines one cannot avoid when purusing a degree in economics. In earlier articles we have looked at resources for econometrics, statistics and other quantitative subjects, so now it is high time to cover fields related to microeconomics. Below we have gathered a list of useful links and resources for those interested in game theory – the starting point for students focusing on auctions, organization theory, strategic management and so on.
American Economic Association Meeting 2014: Blogs, Papers & Sessions
Traditionally, every year we post interesting materials from and about ASSA meetings. With the extreme weather conditions making attendance difficult this year for many, we hope that this collection of materials will prove even more popular! So, what was happening at ASSA? Here is our list of blogs, papers and videos to check out: 1. A good overview of what was happening at ASSA 2014 was published on Economic Principals by David Warsh and in the post ASSA 2014 Highlights by Parag Waknis, Professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 2. The Economist’s interpretation of the discussions in Philadelphia in This Time is Worse. 3. Jon Hinselrath gathered a more than curious collection of “papers with conclusions that were intriguing, offbeat, counterintuitive, head-scratching and sometimes downright kooky”. 4. Vox launched several new columns written by PhD Candidates about their Job Market Papers. 5. A humor session lead by Noah Smith is covered in his post Econotrolls of Academia The Science and Art of Economics. 6. On a humor note, check out a Bingo game for Job Market Candidates. 7. In Job Flexibility Seen as Key to Equal Pay Brenda Cronin presents suggestions how to narrow the gender gap by Harvard Professor Claudia Goldin. 8. Employment Outcomes for Economics PhDs since 1997 in a study conducted by Wendy Stock, Professor at Montana State University, and John Siegfried, Professor at Vanderbilt University. 9. A list of presented papers on behavioral economics, mostly with a preview available for download. 10. A summary of a session on research transparency held by the Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences. 11. Five Takeaways from the American Economic Association Meeting on WSJ Blogs by Brenda Cronin can be a useful guide for those planning to attend future events. 12. Selected Webcasts of the ASSA 2014 are also available now online. If you know more articles and materials to share, please do so in the comments! Photo Credit: Peter Miller
The annual American Economic Association Meeting is a well-known event bringing together some of the brightest minds in economics and probably counting as one of the largest gatherings of young academics in one place. Here at INOMICS we are delighted to have been a part of this annual gathering for the second year in a row, as besides attendance of exceptional academic sessions, it is also a rare opportunity to meet and greet our users and readers personally.
What Economists Are REALLY Interested In: Readers’ Favorites 2013
Naturally, some topics proved to be especially popular among our readers: in this post we would like to share with you the most read posts on the INOMICS blog in 2013 and hence evidence of which topics really move economists! 1. Most economists seem to be wondering How Much Econ Professors Earn and want to know exact salaries by country, including Salaries for Economists in Latin America. 2. The popularity of Top Economics Summer Schools 2013 proves that economists are really keen on learning, especially when a course is short and takes place next to the seaside. 3. The surprising popularity of Would You Date an Economist maybe raises some concerns about truly important matters for economists. 4. Quite predictable given the spark in popularity of MOOCs, Free Online Courses in Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics & Data Analysis and Top YouTube Channels to Learn Econometrics & Economics were the top shared posts in 2013. 5. Economists really want to know what the Top Economics Blogs out there are, but before diving into these kinds of lists, it can make sense to understand how and by whom the top economics blogs are determined. 6. It is not just Economics Blogs, however, where economists search for excellence. University Rankings for Economics and Econ Department Directories together with the lists of the Top Econ Departments in Latin America, Europe and Asia sparked a discussion about different methodologies of existing rankings systems. 7. Interest in deepening the knowledge of econometrics is obvious, given the number of readers of Introduction to Econometrics and Econometrics Conferences 2014 8. Young economists, who are just now deciding the course of their career, made an extraordinary amount of visits to the articles: Should You Get a PhD in Economics? Links and Resources and MBA vs PhD in Economics 9. Those who are mentoring students themselves already, are very keen to find out How to Teach Economics 10. Chinese PhDs vs US PhDs, a post that reveals a skyrocketing number of PhDs in China, is closing the list of the top ten trending topics on INOMICS blog 2013. What were your favorite posts from Econ blogs this year? Share them with us in the comments and, of course, Happy New Year!
At times it is hard to believe how fast time flies – yet another year is over! 2013 was an exciting year for the INOMICS blog: in 12 months, the number of readers quadrupled, the blog was launched in 3 additional languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese), and we got ever more inspiration to share interesting and useful resources, research and stories with the academic community.
Courses, Workshops & Conferences 2014: Should You Advertise During the Christmas Break?
Our customers often ask us “When is a good time to advertise?” and “Does it make sense to advertise during festive seasons?” we gathered a list of arguments for you to help you decide why Christmas break can, in fact, be the right season for you to start promoting your Courses, Workshops and Conferences for the upcoming year. 1. The Geo-Factor matters. Most of the courses and conferences advertised on INOMICS target an international audience. In fact, many advertisers target specific regions. If in your home country Christmas is considered to be “dead season”, in many others it might not even be a public holiday. Good examples include Russia, where Christmas is celebrated only on 07 January, or China, where only 01 January is an official public holiday. 2. Grasping participants’ attention is easier. As a large number of organizations will still close their operations for the festive season, the amount of advertisements during the period will be naturally lower. For those who will nevertheless opt for putting their announcements online it will ultimately mean less competition for the attention of applicants. 3. Get more and better access to personal social media networks. One of the main sources of applicants for our customers is the INOMICS social media network, which reaches out to over 200,000 users through the personal social networks of our followers. With less activity form other institutions, and hence less competition for the display space, the chance to be shown on the maximum number of users’ networks increases significantly. 4. Give seekers more time before the deadline. The longer you postpone a full-force promotion for your courses and events, waiting for the optimal time, the less time is left before the deadline. Less time to prepare for applications can, unfortunately, scare off qualified participants, who give preference to planning ahead. 5. Seekers have more free time. For many busy and ambitious people, into which category most academics fall, the holiday season is not just an opportunity to spend a lot of time with the family, but also to get their hands on the items from their to-do-lists. This especially affects things like applications, where one might need a lot of headspace to work on essays and motivation statement. 6. Be the first on the list. Planning the year, especially related to budget spending, doesn’t start on 01 January, but much earlier. If you haven’t advertised your courses and conferences yet, and especially if the application deadline is in the first half of the year, the end of December might be the last chance still to appear on the top of the list for the year 2014. 7. Users tend to look at things more positively. It is a proven fact that when people are in a more relaxed and rested state, they tend to see things more positively and be more open and accepting. Of course, decisions about course applications do not happen overnight, but a less stressed condition can definitely help motivation! As the season will only be picking up in January, we have special solutions to make sure that your announcement will appear near the top of relevant lists on INOMICS not only during the festive season, but also into the new year as well. To learn more drop us an email at info@inomics.com, or have a look at our Portfolio for Course and Conference Advertisers.
The Christmas break is approaching and all university departments are getting busy finalizing their end-of-year work. For busy marketers and conference organizers a Christmas break might seem not to be the best time of the year to promote their courses and conferences to a wider audience. However, our experience at INOMICS confirms that it is not exactly true. Of course, much depends on your target audience: but while for many December 25th will be almost certainly dedicated to family commitments, for many the days before and after Christmas represent one of the few times of the year that they can actually spend searching more deeply for information in their field of interest, especially with regard to extra training and conferences.
International Economics Job Market Candidates – what do they look for?
Qualified job candidates in different regional markets have different preferences and priorities when choosing a new job, and understanding these differences can be valuable for a recruiter, especially for those targeting both international and domestic audiences. With the high season for interviews for academic positions around the corner, we thought it timely to share some insights about candidates’ preferences in the job market, which are based on the findings from the INOMICS regional reports released earlier this year. Even though certain trends were distinct worldwide, some obvious differences still prevailed. Thus, in all countries older applicants ranked the importance of long-term contracts and salary much higher than their younger colleagues. On the other hand, the importance of remuneration, reputation of the institution and time for conducting own research were not ranked equally across all the regions. Respondents to the INOMICS questionnaire were given a list of factors and asked to rate the importance of these when choosing a job. The factors were rated between 1 and for, where 4 meant extremely important, and 1 not important at all. Australia & New Zealand. Economists in Australia and New Zealand consider having time to conduct their own research (3.29 out of 4) to be of the greatest importance when choosing a job, followed by a friendly working environment (3.24 out of 4). Salary (3.07 out of 4) was rated the third among the priorities, which made Australia and New Zealand one of the few regions in the world where salary is among the top-3 priorities. At the same time candidates in this region tend to care the least about teaching opportunities (2.27 out of 4), extra benefits (2.04 out of 4) and job opportunities outside their home countries (1.85 out of 4). USA & Canada. Economists in North America (USA and Canada) had slightly different preferences than those in Australia and New Zealand. Thus, a friendly working environment (3.20 out of 4) was rated as by far the most important factor when choosing a job. Reputation of the institution was also rated among the most important factors in position 2 (3.13 out of 4), followed by flexible working hours and salary (3.01 and 3 out of 4 respectively). Extra benefits (2.44 out of 4), teaching opportunities (2.34 out of 4) and geographical location (1.52 out of 4), similarly to economists in Australia and New Zealand, were rated as least important. Latin America. South American economists tended to rank every factor as important, demonstrating small difference in the priority of the factors when choosing a job. Like in North America, a friendly working environment (3.25 out of 4) and reputation of the institution (3.22 out of 4) were rated the highest, with flexible working hours (3.11 out of 4) rated third. Similarly to other countries, geographical location of the job was rated as the least important factor (2.27 out of 4). All data used in this article is based on the findings from the Regional Economics Job Market Reports 2013. You can download the reports for free and subscribe for future regional reports here.
Even though many (especially young and less experienced) job candidates attend interviews with an anticipation of being assessed, in reality the assessment always happens in both directions. And the more that a talented applicant has to offer, the pickier he or she can be when making a final decision.
For those of you who already feel comfortable enough with at least basic econometrics and see the discipline as a vital tool for any research project and an indispensable part of any empirical study, participating in a conference might be the next step. To help you to take a decision which event to attend, we collected a number of econometrics conferences and workshops worldwide published on INOMICS, where researchers and econometricians gather to exchange experiences and discuss advances in the field (in chronological order): 1. Advances in Econometrics Conference at University of California, US (February 22-23, 2014) focuses on Bayesian Model Comparison. Deadline for paper submission: January 10, 2014 2. 3rd PhD Student Conference in International Macroeconomics and Financial Econometrics in Nanterre, France (March 19, 2014) covers such topics as exchange rates and exchange rate regimes, contagion mechanisms and systemic risk and financial and commodity markets. Deadline for paper submission: December 20, 2013 (!) 3. 13th International Workshop on Spatial Econometrics and Statistics in Toulon, France (April 15-16, 2014) gives emphasis to particular issues and applications in the fields of urban economics, land use and climate or environmental change. Deadline for paper submission: January 15, 2014 4. 11th International Conference Forecasting Financial Markets and Economic Decision-Making in Lodz, Poland (May 15-16, 2014) focuses on macro- and micro economic modelling, business cycles analyses and advances in financial econometrics. Deadline for paper submission: February 1, 2014 5. IWcee14 – International Workshop on Computational Economics and Econometrics in Rome, Italy (June 26-27, 2014) is organized by the Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth and focuses on socio economics of networks. Deadline for paper submission: May 1, 2014 6. IAAE 2014 Annual Conference of International Association for Applied Econometrics in London, UK (June 26-28, 2014) brings together leading researchers in the field to discuss theoretical and practical aspects. Deadline for paper submission: February 1, 2014 Image Credit: asadal
Econometrics is a thorough discipline that demands time and effort to be mastered. For many people who want to pursue a degree in economics it serves as an obstacle, but as we’ve shown before, there are many resources you can use to your advantage to become proficient in it: blogs and podcasts can introduce you to the topic and give practical advice, free online courses will incentivize you to learn systematically and increase your ability to perform a research using different econometrics and statistical software like “R” or “Stata”, and YouTube channels can greatly support your studies by giving access to lectures and tutorials of great professors at any time convenient for you.
Econometrics, Statistics and Quantitative Methods (JEL C)
Jobs for Economists in Australia: What Recruiters are Looking For?
Source: Economics Job Market Report 2013 (Australia) Australia is known for being an attractive destination for both students and professionals from all over the world. Relatively friendly immigration policies, demand for skilled professionals (the number of places in the immigration program almost doubled in the last 10 years), high salaries and a stable economy, especially in the light of the European crises, all contribute to an appeal of the Australian job market for highly skilled candidates. For academics, Australia is a particularly attractive destination too. As our latest research shows, Australia offers the highest salaries for Professors, not to mention extra benefits and lucrative living conditions. Moreover, the Australian job market is especially open for international applicants for economics professor positions: 0% of recruiters indicated that they would prefer a national candidate, and 30% said they would give preference to an international applicant, with 70% having no preference. However, the downside of attractive conditions is a fierce competition for the open positions. According to INOMICS Australia Econ job Market Report, the results of which were released yesterday on the INOMICS website, the number of applications for Professor positions at the mid-level is enormous, with 500 applications per position on average. Entry-Level jobs, however, as well as Full Professor positions have much less competition and receive 20 applications per position on average. It is important to note though that the survey was conducted during the “low season” for entry-level positions, which might explain such a comparatively low number of applications for PostDoc positions. So, what are the important characteristics recruiters are looking for in their candidates for academic economics positions in Australia? A relevant degree, as well as research experience, have the highest importance for recruiters when choosing a candidate for an academic position at a university, with recommendations rated third. While the worldwide trend shows that recruiters of economists value communication skills over quantitative skills, it is not the case in Australia. To read about the Economics Job Market in Australia, you can download the full version of the INOMICS Report (Australia) for free here.
Figure 1. Average number of applications per position
NEW! First Regional Job Market Reports are out and available for free download:
USA & Canada Latin America Australia & New Zealand
INOMICS Releases Economics Job Market Report 2013 (Worldwide Overview)
Key findings include: The highest salaries for Professorship positions are offered in Australia and the US. On average, salaries offered in European Universities are 30% lower PhD holders in Economics are in high demand and have on average double the income of those with Master’s degrees only The US offers the highest salaries to Master’s graduates in economics, among the countries surveyed Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK and Switzerland host the highest number of foreign professionals and students. In general, the economics job market is highly international and mobile: 35% of economists work or study outside their home countries and the majority of recruiters have no preference over nationality of the candidates Competition for entry-level Professorship positions can be up to 400 candidates per position. PhD openings have the lowest competition with 15 applications per available position The most desired employer types for economics graduates include Universities, Think Tanks and International Organizations/NGOs. Only 6% of graduates would like to work in Private Companies. Communications skills of economists are valued higher than quantitative skills by recruiters The full report with detailed findings and empirical evidence is available for free download here: http://www.inomics.com/reports The focus of the report is on the academic job market with the majority of respondents representing universities, research institutes or think tanks and possessing high academic qualifications. Other findings include salary breakdowns by countries, positions and seniority, skills and specializations most in demand, candidates’ preferences, types of selection process and geographical factors. Later this year, regional reports for the following regions and countries will be published: North America (United States & Canada), Australia & New Zealand, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Latin America.
The Report is based on a survey between April and June 2013, in which 2,380 professionals and recruiters in the academic job market for economists answered questions about salaries, international professional mobility, the value of different levels of academic degree, and other issues related to economics and finance careers.
Salaries of Economists in Latin America: Where Do Economists Earn the Most?
The decision to move to a new country requires detailed information to justify such a drastic life change, where potential income level plays a central role. For economists who are considering work in a different country in Latin America or just for professionals interested in labor mobility, we have compiled a brief regional comparison of wages by academic degree for Latin American economists in academic jobs. This short summary is based on our latest report. As is seen in the global trend, the graph above indicates that income level of economists rises as they advance in their professional development. Generally economists with doctoral degrees have better chances of achieving high salary ranges, with the exception of Mexico, where salaries of PhD holders were reported not to exceed those of Master’s holders. Brazil can be identified as the country that offers the best salaries in the region. Analysts, economists and researchers with a PhD title in Brazil receive salaries up to 30% greater than those professions in countries such as Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. However, in the case of professionals with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, Mexico achieves equal salaries or surpasses the offers made by Brazil. Please note: the wages shown in the graph are not adjusted to real income; the cost of living is not included in the analysis, so it is important to consider other factors in further judgements. To see a detailed methodology and profile of the respondents, please see the Economics Job Market Report 2013 (Latin America), which is available for free download. The report contains valuable information about wages, employment preferences, international mobility and education, the value of academic qualifications and work experience when looking for a new job, and other matters related to professional development.
As previously mentioned in our articles about Spanish professionals moving to South America and Brazil as a new destination for skilled migration, Latin America is becoming ever more attractive in terms of professional development for people from all over the world. Latin American migration trends are undoubtedly connected to demographic and economic indicators for the region. In some cases, countries like Brazil stand out thanks to promising conditions for foreign employees, or increasing living standards and wages for the higher-educated workforce.
How Much Econ Professors Earn? Salaries in Academia by Country
Even though salary was not mentioned by economists among the top factors for a job choice, potential earnings do inevitably affect decisions about future career paths. More than that, given the high mobility of the academic job market, where institutions compete for top talent globally, it is natural for candidates to weight their financial gains before relocating to a different country. The highest salaries were reported by Economics Professors who are employed in universities in Australia & New Zealand (105,000 $US on average), followed by US-based Professors (102,000 $US on average). In Europe, UK Professors earn the most, whereas wages in Italian Universities are on average 40% lower than their British counterparts. The numbers presented in the graph above represent the average income of Full Professors from a given country, based on the responses from our survey, without any adjustments. Of course, when comparing salaries in different countries, a lot of factors should be taken into consideration, including living costs, social security and salary differentials. Nevertheless, these numbers serve as a fair indication of the wage level for academics in each given country. In the following weeks INOMICS will release a series of Regional Economics Job Market Reports, which will include more detailed information about salaries for different positions and career levels. You can subscribe to receive a notification when reports are released on INOMICS. Information in the graphs is based on the Economics Job Market Report 2013 (Worldwide Overview). To see more information about methodology download the full report here.
Yesterday INOMICS released the Economics Job Market Report 2013 (Worldwide Overview). The report contains insights about the academic job market, compiled from answers from almost 2,500 economists and recruiters from all over the world who completed a survey earlier this year. The findings of the report include salaries, recruiters’ and candidates’ employment preferences, regional disparities, skills & specializations most in demand and other general trends in the economics job market.
Everything You Need to Know on How to Apply to a Summer School
Perhaps you’re unsure of how to choose a program that’s right for you, or more importantly, how to get into a summer school at all. In order to keep the application process from being another item on your list of winter woes, we’ve put together a basic guide on how to apply for summer schools in either economics and finance or business and management. Here are some key things to consider: 1. Timing Courses taking place earlier in the summer often have correspondingly earlier application deadlines, so think about when is best for you and scan through offers that work with your schedule. 2. Specialization What are you hoping to get out of summer school? If you know precisely which course/s you need, then searching for a program based on its strengths in that area is your best option. As you peruse possible schools, you will notice a wide range of offerings, from advanced modeling to chinese economy to economics education. Knowing where you’d like to focus will help you find the best fit for you, and making your motivation clear in your application will help secure your spot. 3. Location and reputation If you’re not looking for a specific course but rather a boost to your CV or your academic repertoire, choosing a program based on location or reputation might be more appropriate. If it’s a top school you’re seeking, a quick look through various rankings from around the world can help hone your list of choices. Be sure to plan ahead though, as programs at schools such as Harvard, LSE or Cambridge are guaranteed to fill up quickly. 4. Cost and funding When it comes to cost, summer schools often come with a hefty price tag. If your home institution can’t offer you funding, there are many possibilities for securing outside stipends. For North Americans, here’s a list of options put together by the American Economic Association. For those looking to take courses in Europe, the many scholarships offered through sources such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) or Erasmus can be quite helpful. Otherwise, don’t forget to look outside your own department for institutional grants or scholarships offered university wide. 5. The application itself When it comes to tackling the application itself, first think about what you want from the program, then what you can offer them. Treat each application individually, making sure to avoid any silly copy and paste mistakes. Be clear, concise and don’t hesitate to talk yourself up. Familiarize yourself with the professors or theorists you’d like to work with, and show how well your work fits with theirs, and how you can mutually benefit from your attendance in their program. Finally, if you feel you need a reminder about why you’re slogging through the summer school application process in the first place, head to The Thesis Whisperer for a post on how summer school can boost productivity, offer unique opportunities for interdisciplinary crossover and stimulate great discussion.
There are many great summer programs our there, but wading through the sea of options might leave you feeling a little overwhelmed.
How Economists [in Academia] Use Facebook
When Facebook started its rapid invasion into the everyday lives of millions of people all over the globe, the social network was often seen as a form of entertainment and a time-eater, rather than a potentially helpful tool for educational and professional purposes. However, over the past years this trend has changed: with new social networks popping up every year, users have started realizing the benefits of these digital tools, as have many professionals in academia. Last year we surveyed 340 economists, most of whom were employed in academia or doing advanced studies. We asked which social networks [not created specifically for academics] they prefer to use and for which purposes: Facebook proved to be used by the majority of economists (75 %), with 60 % of those respondents using it exclusively for personal purposes, and 40% for both private and professional purposes. However, watching the dynamics of users’ behavior on Facebook shows that there is a thin line between a professional and personal life online, especially for academics, where research interests occupy ones thoughts outside office hours too. To illustrate with a real-life case, drawing examples of users’ behavior from our company Facebook page: Currently, the INOMICS Facebook page has a growing pool of almost 8,000 fans. The majority of our followers are professionals and students in economics aged between 18 and 54 years old. As INOMICS conveys mostly professionally related information, if one assumes that Facebook is a social, non-professional platform, one wouldn’t expect much interaction from users. However, this is not the case. In fact, the reality shows the opposite: social media content is all about sharing. Within minutes of going online, conferences, jobs and courses get shared by the Facebook economics community, very often accompanied by comments and sometimes developing into topic-related discussions. Additionally, regional economics associations, research institutes and even professors use their own Facebook pages to communicate interesting information to their members, followers or students. One of the main challenges of using social networks like Facebook for official institutions is finding a relevant audience. While it doesn’t take a lot of effort to build a trusted group of friends or employees within a research project, it is not always easy to expand into a broader network of the professional community, and the potential of global networks stays untapped. Professional, niche-oriented networks could solve this problem, but whether this turns out to be the case can only be tested with time.
We asked 340 economists [in academia] which social networks they prefer to use and how. Based on our observations and years of experience with social media, we outline how institutions can use social networks for better communication.
Social Media for Conference Organizers: a Handbook
Here we would like to share several tips on the best use of social media by conference organizers. We believe that their use can contribute to the overall success of your event. Before the conference: - Set up a Twitter account and use it to tell future attendees about you news, including reminders about relevant deadlines - Use your twitter account to answer the questions of delegates – it will save you time dealing with emails later! - Set up a Google+ profile to be found on google and let participants follow your updates - Create a Facebook group for delegates to interact with each other, prior to the event - Similarly to Twitter, use your Facebook group for “customer” support – it will make it possible for delegates to see answers to the similar questions that they have - Use Quora to answer the most commonly asked questions and make it visible for all participants - Make a simple blog page (for example on Blogspot or Tumblr) to share important announcements. Make sure that interested professionals can subscribe and receive your updates in their inbox. - Use LinkedIn groups to share information about your conference During the conference: - Use a #hashtag for your conference on Twitter and encourage all participants to do so. It will make it easier for delegates to interact with each other or find tweets about your conference, and for organizers to answer questions and gather feedback - Use Twitter for live streaming of the conference events - Use Flickr, Pinterest or Instragram to share photos with participants and invite everyone to do the same. This will provide you with a source of valuable material for the promotion of future events. - Record key speeches and presentations using video and audio recordings when possible After the conference: - Gather and analyse feedback from participants on the social media channels that you used, including searching #hashtags on Twitter - Setup a YouTube profile and share videos of sessions and speakers - Share audio recordings as podcasts on your blog page - Initiate post-conference discussions on your Facebook and LinkedIn groups - Engage the audience that was built during the conference on your social media channels in discussions and information sharing. They will be the main ambassadors for your future events. - Use the information collected smartly, to inform your marketing decisions for your next conference!
For conference organizers, the benefits of a smart use of social media channels stretches far beyond just the promotion of their event. The challenge of tight budgets for (especially) academic events is well-known, and the process of building proper online platforms and hiring additional administrative staff is often difficult to afford. By allowing some strategic thought and investing a little time, however, social media can become an extremely cost- and time-effective way to build online presence, ease the registration process, communicate with participants, gather feedback, attract speakers and sponsors and collect and store digital materials for future use.