Global Job Market: Spanish Professionals Move to South America
Patterns in immigration around the world naturally ebb and flow with time. In South America however, the trend in recent decades has been distinctly for more individuals to take their leave of the continent than to move to it. But now in the context of the global economic crisis and the problems in the euro zone, the migration patterns in this region are notably changing, and the destination of migrants is now shifting from well-known countries in the developed world to countries with emerging economies, especially in South America. The United States and Europe are no longer the only favored destinations for skilled migrants. Instead, many European residents, both foreign and national, are now looking to attain a better economic status for their families in South America. One of the most notable cases involves Mexican immigrants in the United States. In recent years the number of Mexicans who left their homeland to continue the dream of a better future in the USA is 50% lower than in 2010. Possible causes of the phenomenon are the decline in the U.S. economy, exhausting paperwork to gain residence in the US, and the decreasing birth rate in Mexico. Moving to the south of the continent, the situation appears to be even more striking: the flow of migration to Latin America shows that the southern tip of the continent is a major destination for foreign workers. Particularly Argentina, Chile and Brazil are seen as highly attractive for skilled immigrants both from neighboring countries and Europe. Some of the reasons for this include job market opportunities, a common language and the cultural similarities with Europe in the case of immigrants from the old continent. Spanish nationals represent the largest group of migrants to this region. In the last two years approximately 110,000 Spanish people left their home to move abroad, about two-thirds of which preferred developed countries, such as United States, France, Germany or Switzerland, while about 33,540 Spanish migrated to a South American country. Due to the euro zone crisis, Spain is a less attractive environment for business and economic development than it used to be, with recovery prospects manageable only in the long term. This has been enough to cause migration of thousands of highly skilled Spanish professionals in search of employment and progress in countries like Argentina, which has become one of the favourite destinations. Furthermore, due to the difficult economic situation, many Argentinians who had previously lived in European countries decided to return to their home country. Between 2004 and 2012 the applications for residence permits in the country exceeded 1.5 million, according to the Department of Immigration. Most of the migrant population are Spanish young professionals aged between 25 and 35, whose priorities are based on professional autonomy and development prospects of a career in a company. Such migration profiles result in bringing an increased competitive level in the labour market of the region. The migration trends within South America and between European countries and Latin America represent an encouraging surprise for the developing continent. The European case registers strong criticism due to the immense loss of Spanish talent, and the process of a “brain drain” to the new world. The projections in the level of economic growth for Latin American regions have increased considerably thanks to the flow of young professionals from Europe and the regional talent who had moved to other places and are now returning home. No one knows for sure if the current migration to developed countries will return to the same levels it was at some years ago. In the time of crisis nothing is certain, and what remains for Latin America is to adapt to changes in society on the political, social and economic levels, with the shifting demographic and labour market trends in focus.
Source: Estadística de Variaciones Residenciales y Estimaciones de la Población Actual, INE.
University Rankings: Top 10 Economics Departments in Europe
As we described in our previous post, both rankings use significantly different methodologies: QS Rankings – Economics and Econometrics The QS Ranking is based on a survey among academics, which asks them to rate universities by research output, a survey among employers, which asks these to rate universities on the quality of graduates, and then additionally faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, and ratios of international students and faculty.” RePEc – Top 25% Economics Departments Updated monthly and based on a variety of REPEC data, including number of authors, citations and popularity ratings, the REPEC department listing is in many ways the most complete economics department listing around. It is, however, reliant on authors and institutions registered with REPEC, which although very comprehensive, does not claim to be complete.”
With the application deadlines for PhD and Master’s courses in Europe approaching, we decided to post a list of Top 10 European Economics Departments to support your decision when choosing the right institution. As all university rankings have their flaws and there is an obvious shortage of rankings for specific disciplines, we combined two ranking systems in one table: RePEc, Top 25% Economics Departments (February 2013) and QS World University Rankings by Subject (2012).
As a discipline, economics is well represented. The virtual opening of Marginal Revolution University in September 2012 is just one prime example of this. MR University is an open access site currently offering five MOOCs within economics. It is run by prominent economics bloggers (Marginal Revolution Blog) and George Mason University Professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok. It offers participants the option to simply follow along with the material or to complete the lessons and a final exam for a certificate. One of the front-runners in the MOOC field is Coursera, which has an entire section devoted to Economics and Finance MOOCs. Listed on their site you can find over thirty courses being offered by professors at well known universities in the US, China, Mexico, Canada, and Australia with titles including Model Thinking, Economic Issues, Food & You, and Generating the Wealth of Nations. Similar in style, albeit smaller (400,000 users compared to Coursera’s 2.7 million), Udacity has also started making moves in the field of MOOCs. Their founders all come from computer science and engineering backgrounds, but they are offering some mathematics and statistics courses, although nothing directly in the field of economics. A non-profit project coordinated by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), edX is using the prestige behind its founder’s names to offer university level courses to the masses. The site currently offers courses from the two founding institutes as well as the University of California – Berkley, with additional institutions lined up to start offering their courses later this year and next year, including some international institutions from Canada, Australia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. EdX’s current economics-related courses include: an intro to statistics and a course on development economics. Another major player in the field is the Khan Academy – a non-profit backed by individual donors, as well as high-profile donors including the Melinda & Bill Gates Foundation and Google, but not tied to any universities or university professors. They have made their name by expanding outside of higher education and targeting high-school students as well. Its economics courses include: micro, macro and finance and capital markets. As the examples above show, MOOCs are appearing across a number of platforms ranging from individual professors opening up their courses for the masses, to sites created solely for the purpose of hosting MOOCs, to Universities banding together to offer some of their curriculum in this format. One thing that almost all of these courses have in common (other than being online and catering to audiences in the hundreds of thousands!) is that the information learned is not transferable to a degree program. Some offer completion certificates, but professionals are still up in the air as to the value of such a certificate. This means that for now at least, these free alternatives, while providing useful information from reliable sources, are purely for personal growth.
Last year I wrote a post on whether free education would replace the skyrocketing tuition fees being faced around the world. A year later and this topic has expanded so much that it has a name: MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses – and there are, literally, millions of them and the trend is growing fast, as illustrated by this ‘MOOC Timeline’.
Rankings: Top 10 Economics Institutions in Asia
Following our series of posts about the rankings of economics institutions, we decided to have a look at it in a regional context, starting with Asia. The list presented in this post is based on RePEc data, as it is one of the few rankings available for Economics specifically. Please note that only 887 institutions and 3019 authors, registered with RePEc, were included. If you are interested in more general rankings of Universities in Asia, it is worth having a look at the Top Asian Universities 2012-2013 by the THE World University Rankings or 2012-2013 Asian University Rankings by QS. To read about the difference in methodology for all the rankings listed above, see our earlier post University Rankings for Economics and Econ Department Directories. This ranking is: “based on a limited sample of the research output in Economics and Finance” “based on data about authors who have registered with the RePEc Author Service, institutions listed on EDIRC, bibliographic data collected by RePEc, citation analysis performed by CitEc and popularity data compiled by LogEc” „The average rank score is determined by taking a harmonic mean of the ranks in each method, except the first one (number of works), the best and the worst rank.“
Data Source: RePEc, Top 12.5% Asia, as of January 2013
Conferences & Prizes for Young Economists
Below is an overview of some of the most interesting events currently listed on INOMICS. If you know of other conferences for young economists, please feel free to mention them in the comments below. Specifically for Young Economists: Irish Society of New Economists (September 5th – 6th, 2013) Co. Kildare, Ireland Paper Submission Deadline: June 10th, 2013 Participant Registration Deadline: July 15th, 2013 “The ISNE was formed to encourage research, information and social links among economists at the early stages of their careers in Ireland and Europe. The annual conference is intended for MSc, PhD students, and young professionals in the early stages of research. Eligibility to present has nothing to do with age.” Spring Meeting for Young Economists (May 30th – June 1st, 2013) Aarhus, Denmark Paper Submission Deadline: December 21st, 2012 Participant Registration Deadline: April 1st, 2013 “SMYE is an annual conference for talented young economists such as PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and assistant professors. The conference provides a forum for the best young economists from all fields of economics where they can discuss their work and share experiences, knowledge, and ideas.” Sixth National Graduate Students in Economics Conference – VI CNEPE 2013 (May 23rd-24th, 2013) Bahía Blanca, Argentina Paper Submission Deadline: March 1st, 2013 Deadline for participant registration: May 24th, 2013 “The National Graduate Students in Economics Conference is aimed at students enrolled in graduate programs in any branch of Economics and related disciplines at Argentine or foreign universities. The objectives of this conference are: to contribute to the dissemination of research results, to encourage a profitable exchange of ideas, and to promote the creation of bonds between members of the new generation of economists. Papers addressing any current research topic in Economics or related areas are welcome.” The 5th International Doctoral Meeting of Montpellier In Economics, Management and Finance – D.M.M. 2013(May 13th-15th, 2013) Montpellier, France Paper Submission Deadline: December 14th, 2012 Deadline for participant registration: April 26th, 2013 “The aim is to offer a stimulating environment where PhD students and young researchers could share ideas about their works in Economics, Management and Finance with experienced researchers. Submitted papers should focus on recent issues within all major fields of research in Economics, Management and Finance.” Supportive of Young Economists: Warsaw International Economic Meeting 2013 (July 4th-6th, 2013) Warsaw, Poland Paper Submission Deadline: March 31st, 2013 “Young economists, such as graduate students or post-docs are encouraged to apply. Conference language is English. No conference fee. Best Paper Prize for Young Economists is established.” Regional Integration: Europe, the Mediterranean and the World Economy (August 27th-31st, 2013) Palermo, Italy Paper Submission Deadline: March 1st, 2013 Participant Registration Deadline: May 31st, 2013 Each annual ERSA conference includes the EPAINOS award for young regional scientists. There are also special sessions each year for entrants for young scholars entering the competition, and cash prizes for the winners and runners up. 52nd Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association (April 4th-6th 2013) Washington DC/Arlington VA, USA Paper Submission Deadline: March 14th, 2013 Participant Registration Deadline: March 14th, 2013 Includes the presentation of the Barry M. Moriarty Award, including a $1000 prize, for the best graduate paper. Scottish Economic Society 2013 Annual Conference (April 8th-10th, 2013) Perth, Scotland, UK Paper Submission Deadline: February 1st, 2013 Participant Registration Deadline: March 15th, 2013 The Scottish Economic Society promotes conference participation by young economists and supporting PhD students. “The Scottish Economic Society will award a prize of £1000 for the best paper presented at the 2013 annual conference by an economist currently registered for a PhD or who has successfully completed a PhD within the last five years.” 40th Annual Conference of the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics (EARIE 2013) (August 30th – September 1st) Évora, Portugal Paper Submission Deadline: March 15th, 2013 Participant Registration Deadline: July 15th, 2013 This major conference has, since 1989, included several “Young Economists’ Essay Awards”, which include scholarships and prizes for upcoming talents in the field of industrial economics. Image Credit: NTNU Engineering Science and Technology
After our post last summer about the trend for conferences and prizes aimed at young economists, several further events are coming up this year, which could be of interest to PhD students and young researchers. Some of these are specifically for students or junior academics whilst others offer financial support or prizes to those attending or presenting papers at the meeting.
Armen Alchian: A Great Loss to the Economics Community
Known by colleagues as “the Armenian Adam Smith,” Dr. Alchian was a fixture at UCLA, the department he joined in 1946. He spent the entirety of his academic career at UCLA, remaining on active staff until 1984, when he took up his place as a professor emeritus. According to the UCLA Obituary, he kept his office on the campus open to students until 2007. In addition to his work at UCLA he was also affiliated with RAND Corporation, was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1978) and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economics Association (1996). Dr. Alchian was best known as a price theorist, especially for his work in employer-employee relations. His most famous work is his coauthored 1964 Textbook Exchange and Production. It is in this publication that Alchian explains the “Alchian-Allen Effect” or Theorem; an effect explained as the result of “when a fixed cost is added to substitute goods, the more expensive one becomes relatively less expensive, and so people are likely to increase consumption of the higher quality good.” This theory has also come to be known as the ‘Third Law of Demand.” Dr. William Allen, Professor Emeritus at UCLA and coauthor of Exchange and Production, described Dr. Alchian’s approach to the economics profession as “broadly empirical and commonsensical, imaginatively utilizing fundamental theoretical concepts and straightforward logic to account for an astonishing variety of market and social phenomena”. A testament to his great work, his 1972 paper: “Production, Information Costs, and Economic Organization” was recognized by the American Economic Review on their 100th Anniversary as one of the 20 most influential articles published. Many of today’s prominent economists are so because of his teaching. Here are a selection of his former students, admirers and others who have paid tribute to him in the economics blogosphere: UCLA’s Obituary Café Hayek: has written a few words, but promised more on the topic FEE (Foundation for Economic Education) Marginal Revolution Wall Street Journal The Independent Institute – Beacon Blog EconLib
Yesterday, the 19th of Feb, the economics community lost another famed scholar – Armen Alchian, 98, professor emeritus at the University of California Los Angeles.
Some articles, like 21 Reasons Why You Should Never Date an Economist by INSEAD, give quite an explicit answer. Others take a more scientific approach, but still agree on one thing: if you are dealing with a dilemma as to whether you should go for an economist or not, you should be prepared that an economist will be very unlikely to resist a temptation to apply professionally learned principles to their love life, too. Surprisingly for some, many of their assumptions might turn out true. As a special treat for a Valentine’s Day, we gathered a small collection of articles and blog posts about how economists approach love and how dating can be explained using a more scientific approach. Before looking at them into detail though, you might want to have a look at the paper by Matthew E. Kopfler “Effects of Romantic Relationships on Academic Performance” … 1. Let’s start with How Economics Can Get You a Date – an exploratory video by Tim Harford 2. How Nobel Economic Prize Winners Solved Dating Problem – an explained application of Alvin Roth’s and Lloyd Shapley’s work to finding the One. 3. An Economist Goes to a Bar and Solves the Mysteries of Dating – a quest of understanding what makes people desirable, including the results of a speed-dating experiment by Ray Fishman. 4. Game theory applied to a first kiss and some other interesting observations through economic principles in Dating for Economists. 5. The Secrets of Dating With an Economic Twist is a post by The Everyday Economist, explaining how we pick our partners. 6. Why I’m Beginning To Understand The Economist Dating Jokes … by Jodi Beggs on Economists Do It With Models. 7. “LOVE-O-NOMICS” is a blog which is entirely dedicated to “economic evidence useful for normal people in their daily lives, and, indeed, to help you find The One“. 8. 14 Ways an Economist Says I Love You – a witty visual about how economists explain their feelings – in graphs! The image from the top of this post is actually taken from here. 9. In Lessons in Love, by Way of Economics Ben Stein explores a return on investment in love. 10. “Relationship dilemma” through the eyes of an economist in Why Smart Women Go For Jerks. And here are two more articles about dating specifically for those working in academia: A comparison of the academic job market to dating by Lori A. Flores, an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in Dating and Job-Hunting, and what happens when academics get into online dating in Geek Love: Dating While Academic and Other Misadventures.
Image Credit: Liz Fosslien Have you ever considered dating an economist, and if yes, what did you decide? If you are puzzled by this question, there are plenty of resources, which can help you to find an answer. The amount of material on this topic found by searching Google and the number of jokes made clearly indicate that it is indeed a hot topic, even more so on a Valentine’s Day.
If you know and use other apps, which we haven’t featured here, please let us know in the comments and we will be happy to add them! 1) If you want to track international news in your phone, all major media, including The Economist, Bloomberg Businessweek and The Wall Street Journal, have apps available for subscription. 2) A large number of free lectures and events from top universities, which you can simply download on your iPhone, are available in iTunes. For example, LSE Public Lectures and events or Principles of Microeconomics by MIT. If you are generally interested in more free economics podcasts, have a look at our previous post. 3) EconGrapher: Solve, Graph, and Touch Economics is an interesting tool with which you can make good-looking custom economics graphs and interact with economics models. There is also a version of the app specifically designed for academic professionals. Another interesting app for creating graphs is OmniGraphSketcher (available both in English and Japanese), which allows you to create freehand sketches and turns it into proper graphs. 4) Mathematics with PocketCAS pro could be a great help with any mathematical calculations that you’d need to make by automating algebraic formulas. It also enables users to create 2D and 3D graphs. 5) EconBiz is a “search portal for business and economics”, which offers access to hundreds of thousands books, journal articles and working papers. This app was initially financed by German research foundation and many articles are available in German only. 6) A2ZEconomy is an iPhone version of Android Indicators Online. It provides up-to-date US business and economic indicators from an array of government sources. 7) If you are just starting with economics, the Economics AP is a useful app to review materials and prepare better for the exams in Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. Alternatively you might like to have a look at the EconClassroom or Study Econ. 8) And if you are just bored in the subway on the way home, you can have a look at Economist QuickQuotes with more than 700 quotes from renowned economists or play an Economics Trivia Quiz. Some of these Apps were already featured on the New York Times blog Economix by Casey B. Mulligan, an economics professor at the University of Chicago. In his article he also wrote about several useful apps to read papers and unpublished materials, which could be especially useful for academics.
Last year we published a list of “The Best Economics Android Apps”, with the intention to follow it up with a post about economics apps for iOS devices later. As promised, here is the list of the apps for economists, who prefer to use Apple products, and which could be useful for both students and professionals in economics.
IAEE’s values and dedication to the field of energy economics tie into what INOMICS strives to do within the greater economics community, so we are very excited to be working together closely over the coming months and years.
The US-based International Association for Energy Economics is the world’s largest organization of Energy Economists with members from over 100 countries. Part of their mandate includes facilitating the mutual association of people interested in energy economics, in order to create a forum for professional discussion and to provide a means of international communication and exchange. Collaboration between INOMICS and IAEE has already benefitted both organizations in terms of consolidating global reach and sharing resources.
After our recent blog-post comparing the number of PhD graduates in the US and China we decided to have a closer look at the number of graduates in specific disciplines in the US, focusing on the change in the numbers of PhD graduates between 2001 and 2011 and see where Economics stands in comparison. Despite the general overall growth in the number of Doctorate degrees granted in the last ten years in the US, this growth was not spread equally across all disciplines. The largest number of PhDs in 2011 were awarded in Life Sciences (11,467), Physical Sciences (8,678) and Engineering (8,004). The biggest growth, both in relative and absolute terms also occurred within the same fields (about 30% in 10 years). Within the Physical Sciences the number of PhDs granted in computer science doubled (from 830 in 2001 to 1,710 in 2011), with significant growth also in Mathematics and Physics. In other disciplines the number of PhDs is traditionally lower. In 2011 5,014 Doctorates were granted in Humanities, 4,691 in Education and 4,526 in Social Sciences. The number of PhDs in Education fell from 6,356 in 2001 to 4,691 in 2011, and the number of PhDs in Humanities stayed almost at the same level, with a slight decrease. In contrast, the number of PhDs granted in Social Sciences grew: from 3,624 in 2001 to 4,526 in 2011. Within the field of Social Sciences, the majority of Doctorates were granted in Economics (with a slight growth since 2001), followed by the Political Science & Government (with a slight decline since 2010) and Sociology.
Source: National Science Foundation, NSF/NIH/USED/USDA/NEH/NASA, Survey of Earned Doctorates
Last year we published a list of the Top 10 Economics Summer Schools, many of which are running again this year. See the bottom of this post for links to them. Accordingly, here is our 2013 list of interesting economics summer schools taking place this year, giving you and your colleagues the opportunity to broaden your horizons in many sub disciplines of economics. This is not an exhaustive list, and a regularly updated list of summer schools looking for participants, and their deadlines, can be found here. Courses are listed by start date and many of them have approaching deadlines. ECORE Summer School on Governance and Economic Behavior May 27th – 30th, 2013 Leuven, Belgium An early summer school, this course is designed for doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers interested in Governance and Economic Behavior. The Summer School includes speakers from NYU, CIT, and UC Berkley. ESTIMATE – Early Summer Tutorial in Modern Applied Tools of Econometrics May 31st – June 2nd, 2013 East Lansing, MI, USA Hosted by Michigan State University, an intensive weekend workshop “gives empirical practitioners, academic researchers, industry/government researchers/analysts, and graduate students, access to econometrics training usually reserved for students formally enrolled in PhD programs at MSU”. The workshop’s focus is “modern econometrics tools as used in practice”. Berlin International Summer School 2013: European Business and Economics Programme (EBEP) June 23rd – July 20th, 2013 Berlin, Germany This interdisciplinary summer school in Berlin, Germany is “specifically focused on the European Union in terms of politics, intercultural management, marketing, and economics. Students are being offered a multidisciplinary approach to the headline topic including visits to institutions and to an automobile company as well as German language & culture classes at beginners level.” London School of Economics Executive Summer School 2013 June 24th – 28th and July 1st – 5th, 2013 London, UK In addition to the LSE’s normal summer schools, they also offer a summer program directed at bringing executives up-to-date with the latest trends in a number of fields including the following economics topics: Climate Change: Economics and Governance, Beyond Rationality: Behavioural Economics and the Modern Economy and Macroeconomic Challenges of Global Imbalances. Summer School 2013 – The Politics and Economics of Aid June 24th - July 5th, 2013 Birmingham, UK Jointly organized by the University of Antwerp (BE), Universidad de Cantabria (ES), University of Birmingham (UK), Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL), University of Florence (IT) and the University of Olomouc (CZ), this summer school aims ‘to support ongoing research on the political, economic and institutional aspects of development cooperation (aid) and aid effectiveness.’ Summer Institute in New Economics June 24th - July 1st, 2013 Boston, MA, USA Boston College is introducing their very first Summer Institute this year. The focus is meant to be ‘New Economics’ – described by them as ‘grounded in principles of ecological sustainability, equity and fairness, the democratization of wealth, community empowerment and the importance of social connection. New economists can be found throughout the social sciences, as well as in adjacent disciplines and interdisciplinary fields.’ The target audience for this Summer Institute is graduate students. International Summer Semester: “Designing a Sustainable Future” June 27th – July 24th, 2013 Seoul, South Korea This yearly summer semester catering to an interdisciplinary & international student body revolves around““Designing a Sustainable Future”, which “serves to stimulate an academic discourse about some of the most important components of sustainable human development such as: education, entrepreneurship, economics, science, technology, governance and leadership. Korea, at the heart of the world’s most dynamic economic region, yet perpetually vulnerable to global problems, offers the perfect place to have such a discussion.” Ljubljana Summer School July 8th -26th July 2013 Ljubljana, Slovenia A for-credit (ECTS) program offered by the Department of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, this summer school offers a range of courses taught by international experts in academia, government and business. The course is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and recent graduates. Advanced Summer School in Economics and Econometrics: “Treatment Effects and Panel Data Estimation”. July 28th - August 4th, 2013 Crete, Greece Designed for young academics (PhD candidates included), “participants will be encouraged to compare their approaches and examine their research work. A unique opportunity will be given to advanced doctoral students to present their own work and to discuss it with the Distinguished Guest Professor” – Jeffery Wooldridge from Michigan State University. Links to the 2012 Summer Schools that will be running again this year: - Asia Summer Institute in Behavioral Economics National University of Singapore, July 22nd – August 2nd, 2013 - 2013 Econometrics Summer School at the University of Cambridge Timberlake Consultants, July 22nd – 29th , 2013 - I.S.E.O Summer School: 10th Anniversary Institute for Studies on Economics and Employment, June 15th – 22nd, 2013 - Global Development and Challenges in Business, Summer School Poland Wroclaw University of Economics, June 29th – July 13th, 2013 - International Summer Program in Economics Education Hebrew University, July 14th – August 15th, 2013 - London School of Economics Summer School LSE, July 8th – 26th, 2013 & July 29th – August 16th, 2013 - Summer School in Law and Economics: New Tools in Law and Economics The University of Chicago Law School, July 8th – 19th, 2013 - Barcelona GSE: Labour Economics, Banking, Microeconometrics, Macroeconometrics Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, July 1 – July 12, 2013 Photo Credit: taichi_nishida
With ice on the ground and a chill in the air (at least for those living in northern climes), it is nice to think about the summer and all of the welcome things it brings: warmth, flowers, and, of course, new career and training opportunities.
AEA 2013 Annual Meeting: Links and Resources
Highlights of ASSA (pt.1) & Highlights of ASSA (pt.2), by Jonathan B. Wright on Economics and Ethics Jurassic Economics at ASSA-AEA 2013 by Pedro G Duarte on the Blog of the Institute for New Economic Thinking Rough Transcript: Stimulus or Stymied?: The Macroeconomics of Recessions by Brad De Long Bad Advice from Experts, Herding, and Bubbles by Mark Thoma Is Economics Divided Into Warring Ideological Camps? By Noah Smith A Chart to Explain the Last 30 Years by Ken Houghton Think Tanks in the Economics Profession (Graph: ASSA Average Participants, 2011-2013) by Menzie Chinn Do People Really Think Cheaper Vaccines Are More Valuable? and Gender Differences in Propensity to Do Favors By Matthew Yglesias The Case for the Prosecution on Free Exchange Endless Chatter by Matthew Kahn 2103 AEA Annual Meeting Webcasts of Selected Sessions2013 AEA Continuing Education Webcasts (AEA Members only) And already a famous tweet from Justin Wolfers: “Blogs already teach people more economics than Principles [of economics] classes do.” -@tylercowen at #ASSA2013
Two weeks having passed since ASSA 2013 we have put together a list of links from economics blogs, which highlight some of the sessions, papers and thoughts triggered by the discussions. If you have found more interesting resources share them with us in the comments!
There has been a lot of discussion about the rapid growth in the number of [PhD] graduates in China; a development which has raised a lot of concerns about the quality of tertiary education in the country. Chinese PhD graduates already outnumber the annual number of fresh Doctorates from the USA, which is traditionally the largest PhD producer in the world. The trend seems to be fostered by China’s ambitious goals: according to official information published on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Education, the country aimed to award 125,153 doctorates in 2011, which is about two and a half times more than the number of PhDs actually awarded in the previous year, according to the same website. If we compare data for the US and China over the last 9 years, we will see that in 2010 China already had slightly more PhDs graduating than in the US. The graph above illustrates the enormous growth of the number of Doctorates in China since 2002: in 2002 only 14,368 PhDs were awarded in China (compared to 40,030 in the US in the same year), whereas two years later the number of Doctorates awarded had doubled (27,677 in 2005) and almost quadrupled by 2010 (48,987). The US demonstrated a much more modest growth (40,030 PhDs awarded in 2002 compared to 48,069 in 2010) and even experienced a slight decline in numbers in 2010 compared to the two previous years. As of yet there is no official data available for 2011 and 2012, but it will be very interesting to see how close China came to the target set.
Source: Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China (China), The Survey of Earned Doctorates, National Science Foundation (US)
University Rankings for Economics and Econ Department Directories
Below I have linked a variety of institution and department rankings relevant for economists, noting for each how they are calculated and how they may be used. Broadly there are two “types” of ranking: first the “big three”, which rate universities across all subject areas but which also offer some figures broken down by department, and second those rankings purely focused on economics departments and institutions. Enjoy. General University Rankings 1) Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) in Economics and Business This popular ranking for universities across all subjects also offers rankings for specific subject areas, including Economics and Business. The ARWU Ranking is based on six factors, including the number of papers published and citations, the number of “highly cited” authors and the numbers of Nobel Prize winners from an institution. The top 50 universities for economics and business are listed in full, with those ranked 51-200 “clustered” into groups of 25 or 50 universities. Recently the ability has been added for students and staff (current or former) to rate institutions based on their experience there. Currently this does not provide a ranking as such, but can be accessed by looking at the profile for each institution. 2) QS Rankings – Economics and Econometrics The QS Rankings, like the Shanghai ARWU, is first and foremost a ranking of universities, although a breakdown by subject area is available too. The QS Ranking is based on a survey among academics, which asks them to rate universities by research output, a survey among employers, which asks these to rate universities on the quality of graduates, and then additionally faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, and ratios of international students and faculty. QS has also recently introduced a “Stars” system which awards it to universities based on a wider range of criteria, from teaching/research quality, to infrastructure and specialist subject criteria. From 2004 to 2009 QS worked with the British Times newspaper, which split to form its own ranking in conjunction with Thomson Reuters in 2009. 3) Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings – Social Sciences The third of the big three Rankings for universities across all subjects is the THE Ranking which broke off from its partnership with QS in 2009. The THE Ranking does not provide separate rankings for specific subjects, instead offering only results for six broad subject areas. Economics and related subjects fall largely into “Social Sciences”. The THE Ranking shows the top 50 departments for each subject area, and the top 200 universities across all subjects. Specific Economics Rankings & Directories 1) REPEC – Top 25% Economics Departments Updated monthly and based on a variety of REPEC data, including number of authors, citations and popularity ratings, the REPEC department listing is in many ways the most complete economics department listing around. It is, however, reliant on authors and institutions registered with REPEC, which although very comprehensive, does not claim to be complete. 2) REPEC – Top 10% Economic Institutions This is similar to the REPEC department listing, but with all institutions, including international organizations, research institutes and central banks. It is also possible to compile custom rankings using only some data [http://ideas.repec.org/cgi-bin/newrank.cgi]. 3) The Tilburg University Top 100 Worldwide Economics Schools Research Ranking based on research contribution 2007-2011 Tilburg University, responding to an identified lack of university rankings specifically for economics, in 2004 developed their own ranking system. The Tilburg Ranking is based on research output of institutions in terms of the number of articles and papers published in internationally recognized journals. The publicised “default” ranking is based on research output between 2007 and 2011 in the 70 journals identified as most important in the field of economics. A “sandbox” mode also allows anyone to compile a ranking based on a custom set of economics-related journals in any period between 1990 and 2011. It is also possible to create rankings for a region or specific country. Other Rankings Many working papers and journal articles have either usefully summarized economics department rankings (often in conjunction with a ranking of journals), or have contributed to the development of new ranking methodologies. These articles are too many to list here, but a comprehensive, if not particularly easy to navigate list can be found on the econometricslinks.com website. And of course, on INOMICS you can find an ever-growing directory of institutions with information and links to their corresponding jobs, courses and conferences. Any ranking is subject to criticism and questioning, and this is as true for rankings of economics departments as it is for anything else. Common criticisms include too much focus on US institutions, or English-language research output. Some may criticise that there is either too much or too little focus on a specific factor, such as research output or student satisfaction. Additionally rankings that are methodologically complex may be criticised as too “opaque”, whereas others using simpler methodologies may be considered too shallow by some. This doesn’t mean though that economics department rankings are not useful or informative. Clearly a ranking system that gives more weight to research quality is more relevant for someone interested in conducting research, whereas a ranking system that takes into account student experience and employment prospects is of more value to someone considering a Masters or PhD program in Economics. Additionally, rankings increasingly allow a degree of customisation, so that anybody can apply more weight to certain factors, or at least see the rankings for each factor separately, and even encourage a kind of “crowdsourcing” in the compilation of data, inviting mass input and feedback from anyone currently or previously affiliated with an institution. If you have found the approaches of any of the rankings above particularly useful or relevant, or if you have used other economics rankings which you believe are useful for economists or economics students, please share them in the comments below. Photo Credit: opensourceway
Following the entry on this blog last month about countries with the most top 100 economics departments according to REPEC data, I thought it a worthwhile pursuit to look a little more into these rankings, and to seek out some alternatives to that offered by REPEC.
Demand for Econ PhDs, the Nobel Prize, Rankings, Economics Apps, Salaries and Other Top Blog Posts 2012
1. Supply and Demand for New Ph.D’s in Economics Based on the Survey of the labor market for new Ph.D hires in economics 2011-2012 2. Ranking Economics Departments: Number of Top Institutions by Country The percentage of Economics Departments by Country in the World’s “Top 100 Economics Departments” (based on RePEc rankings). 3. Where are the economists coming from? A list of countries with the highest number of Economics graduates. 4. Top Apps for Economists A list of economics apps for Android available in the market. 5. Salaries for Econ PhDs in the US How much do Economics PhDs earn in the US? 6. Has Economics Education become too mathematical? Justin Campbell’s post on the role of mathematics in economics education. 7. Top Economics Podcasts A collection of free economics podcasts. 8. Top Economics Conferences 2012 Recently we also published a list of Top Finance Conferences 2013 9. Nobel Prize in Economics 2012: Winners Announced A tribute to Alvin A. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley. 10. Google Economics A contribution from guest blogger Max Berre on why Google hires economists. 11. Infographic: Economics Job Market 2012 Findings from the Economics Job Market Report 2012 in one picture.
As we reached the end of the year 2012, we decided to compile a list of the top INOMICS blog posts, those that received a record number of visitors throughout the year. Enjoy your reading and Happy New Year to everyone!
Below is our list of the top finance conferences around the world, tackling a range of tough financial topics – both academic and otherwise (ordered by date): 1. A New Global Financial Architecture in the Aftermath of the Crisis: A European View South Tyrol, Italy – February 10th – 17th “The organizers are seeking to bring together international researchers, academics and central bankers interested and involved in the field of international financial architecture. The aim of the conference is to cover a broad range of related topics, both theoretical and empirical.” 2. Banking, Finance and Sustainable Development Southampton, UK – March 6th “Papers are welcome on theoretical and empirical topics, examining all aspects of recent developments in banking, international banking, finance and banking, and the linkage between banking and the economy”. The organizers welcome participants not presenting papers as well. 3. 7th International Finance Conference Paris, France – March 7th – 9th This international conference aims to bring together academics, researchers and policy makers to tackle this year’s theme: Current issues in international financial markets: assessments and modeling. 4. Islamic Finance: New Realities, New Challenges Lahore, Pakistan – March 11th-12th In a global context, this conference looks at the intersection of Islam and finance: “Global Forum on Islamic Finance is aimed at providing an opportunity for researchers, scholars and practitioners to share knowledge regarding the dynamics of Islamic finance.” 5. Finance and Banking Conference – FIBA 2013 Bucharest, Romania – March 28th – 29th The aim of this conference is to bring together scholars interested in the fields of insurance, corporate finance and investments, public finance, financial markets and institutions, macroeconomic stability, and banking. 6. 16th Annual Conference of the Swiss Society for Financial Market Research Zurich, Switzerland – April 12th The conference, now in its sixteenth year, brings together international researchers and practitioners in all areas of financial market research. Presenters of the papers will be able to compete for the Best Paper Award with a cash prize. 7. 2013 SFS Finance Cavalcade Miami, USA – May 13th – 16th Organized by the Society for Financial Studies, the Cavalcade covers a wide variety of financial topics over five days. The broad nature of this meeting makes it an interesting platform from which a multitude of information can be discussed and challenged. 8. Financial Globalisation and Sustainable Finance: Implications for Policy and Practice Cape Town, South Africa – May 29th – 31st This conference aims to “bring together researchers to present and discuss their evidence and conclusions on financial stability and sustainable finance. The intention is to investigate (the links between) financial stability and sustainable finance from various perspectives, with research based in macro-, micro- and institutional economics as well as corporate finance and financial markets.” 9. Foreign Financial Institutions & National Financial Systems Warsaw, Poland – June 6th - 8th This conference will explore aspects of different kinds of multinational financial institutions and their relations with host economies in general and governments in particular. Among other topics, the reasons for financial institutions to cross borders, drawing from financial and multinational firms theory will be discussed. 10. EBRD, Understanding Banks in Emerging Markets: Observing, Asking or Experimenting? London, UK – September 5th – 6th The conference aims to bring together leading researchers to discuss recent developments in empirical banking research, particularly banking in emerging markets. Topics will include: (1) the econometric analysis of increasingly rich micro-level data that are available ‘off-the-shelf’, such as from central banks, credit registries, and commercial data providers; (2) the econometric analysis of tailor-made data from large-scale surveys of banks and their clients; and (3) the use of randomized controlled trials and framed field experiments with banks and their staff. This is not a comprehensive list, rather one that intends to show the breadth of conferences available globally. Please let us know if there are any other conferences you feel should be here. Photo Credit: Matt Carman
In today’s global world, the transfer of information is crucial to success. Since the start of the recession in 2008 financial issues have increasingly been among the hottest discussion topics around the world – in particular the balancing of books and budgets, whether in supranational financial unions like the EU, individual countries, businesses or households. From the academic perspective, there is still much to be explored in the world of finance.
Economics Conferences in China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand 2013
1. Asia-Pacific Meeting of the Economic Science Association February 16-18, Tokyo, Japan The conference welcomes researchers who use experimental methods to learn about economic behavior, including not only economists, but also scholars in psychology, neuroscience and other related disciplines. It is organized by the Economic Science Association and hosted by the National Institute of Informatics in Tokyo. Limited travel funds are available. 2. 10th Biennial Pacific Rim Conference March 14-17, Tokyo, Japan This prominent conference is organized by the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) and hosted by Keio University, the Tokyo Center for Economic Research, and the Keio-Kyoto Joint Global CEO Program. Topics will include economic activity in Asia and the Pacific, the world economy, financial fragility and reform and many others. The keynote address will be given by the 2003 Nobel Laureate in Economics, Robert Engle. 3. 2013 Global Business, Economics and Finance (GBEF) Conference May 9-11, Wuhan, China Hosted by the Economics and Management School at Wuhan University, the conference will bring together academics and researchers from the broad areas of Accounting, Banking, Finance, Economics, Management and Marketing. Submitted papers will have a chance to be published in one of four international peer-reviewed journals. 4. The 1st Annual Xiamen University International Workshop on Economic Analysis of Institutions May 18-19, Xiamen, China The Workshop invites research papers that “adopt an economic approach in analyzing the role of institutions in economic, political and social development”. Not only economists, but also scholars from other disciplines like history, political science, anthropology and sociology are encouraged to participate. 5. 3rd Annual International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Economics Research May 20-21, Bangkok, Thailand The QQE Conference welcomes researchers, academics and students with a strong interest and expertise in the core techniques of quantitative and qualitative economics, and their application “to test economic theories and measure magnitudes relevant for economic policy”. There will be both Best Paper Awards and Best Student Paper Awards available. 6. Conference on Renminbi and the Global Economy May 23-24, Hong Kong The conference will cover topics related to the Chinese Renminbi and the global economy. Organizers include the City University of Hong Kong, the Research Center for International Economics and the Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition. 7. 16th Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis June 12-14, Shanghai, China Hosted by the Center for Global Trade Analysis, the conference invites economists who conduct quantitative analysis of global economic issues, with the special focus on applied general equilibrium methods, data and application. The theme of the conference is: “New Challenges for Global Trade in a Rapidly Changing World”. 8. Asia-Pacific Economic Association Conference 2013 July 27-28, Osaka, Japan The 9th annual conference of the Asia-Pacific Association welcomes empirical and theoretical papers in all economic fields, including those not related to Asia-Pacific economies. Some sessions will be planned especially for graduate students in doctoral programs. 9. Singapore Economic Review Conference 2013 August 6-8, Singapore The 5th bi-annual conference is organized by the Singapore Economic Review (SER), a journal in economics in Asia and has economists attending from all over the world. Nobel Laureates like Joseph Stiglitz and Edward Prescott have attended previous conferences as keynote speakers. Theoretical and empirical papers on all aspects of economics can be submitted. Examples of the topics include: Emerging Economies and Transition, Economics of Social Issues, Economics of Technology and more. 10. The 59th World Statistics Congress August 25-30, 2013, Hong Kong Organized by the International Statistical Institute since 1887 and designed for statistical practitioners, covering diverse statistical topics, this congress will welcome about 2000 statistical practitioners from academia, business and official statistics. The event has a special focus on, and opportunities for, young statisticians, including a Young Statisticians Satellite Meeting prior to the WSC. This comprises of a Scientific and a Social Program, including short sessions. Over 200 professional sessions are set to take place. Photo Credit: Songkran
Following our earlier post from November about Economics Conferences in 2013, we have now published a (chronological) list of Conferences in Economics and Statistics taking place in the Asia-Pacific Region. If you know of other interesting, economics-related events in the region, please share these with us in the comments at the end of this post.
The European Regional Science Association (ERSA) is the supranational grouping of national regional science associations across Europe. Members are academics, policy professionals and researchers interested in spatial economics and planning, regional and local development and related issues. They are drawn largely from the disciplines of economics, geography and urban planning. INOMICS is proud to provide ERSA members with information about career opportunities, conferences and workshops relevant to them. Additionally, INOMICS is working with member associations of ERSA to help them promote their own events and opportunities to a wider, international field of economists and professionals in related fields. We are looking forward to a productive partnership into 2013 with ERSA, as well as our other existing and future partners. If you are interested in close cooperation with INOMICS, please contact us to discuss how we could work together.
INOMICS continues and expands its working partnership with the European Regional Scienc Association (ERSA) into 2013.
As Android devices are dominating in the global market, we decided to start drafting a list of economics apps available for the Android operating system. We will cover apps for economists available for Apple devices in a later blog post. The main distribution platforms for apps are App store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and BlackBerry App World. It is interesting to have a look at Google Play to see which apps for economists are currently available on the market. 1) Best Opencourse Video collects videos from the top universities around the world and allows you to access classes in a variety of subjects, including Economics, on your phone for free. 2) If you like to follow international news, you might like The Economist’s app and The Economic Times. They give free access to the editor’s highlights and allow you to stay updated with unrivalled coverage of markets, business and economy news as it happens. More than half a million people use these apps. 3) In a previous blog post we already talked about podcasts for economists available online. The NPR Money Economy Podcaster app collects together the best of NPR podcasts dedicated to business, the economy, and all kinds of money matters. Bloomberg Radio gives you access to in-depth interviews and insightful analysis from the most influential names in Finance, Business, Economics and Investment. ​4) FRED Economic Data is the perfect app for students, financial market professionals, academics and anyone else interested in economic data. It offers full access to over 40,000 economic data series from 37 regional, national and international sources. To have access to business, economic, and financial indicators use Indicators Online, while if you are interested in key economic indicators for the U.S., try America’s Economy for Phone, the app created by the U.S. Census Bureau. 5) Economics Study Aid and Quiz reinforces key economic concepts and improves your memory through interactive multiple-choice quizzes, flashcards, and glossaries. There are 4 units and the first one is free. If you are studying for the Advanced Placement (AP) Economics Exam, the 400 Economic Flashcards & Quiz can help you. 6) The Economics Classroom App is designed for students who want to have access to a variety of resources for learning economics, such as video lectures, practice activities, and an economics dictionary. 7) For trivia games lovers, Economics Quiz by MaksimApps has four different game modes: 10 Questions, 25 Questions, 50 Questions and 5 Errors – Out. If you want to test your knowledge of Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, monetary policy, and the history of economics in the United States try Economics Quiz by Brett Plummer. 8) Economic Growth gives you broken-down information regarding how economies grow, including some real case scenarios. 9) If you want to impress your friends, colleagues or students, use the Economist Quotes app to have access to quotes by the most famous international economists. 10) Economic Dictionary is a newbie app that is growing fast. It is the place to find information on general economic terms as well as information on specialized fields. If you know a great App for Android devices that we haven’t featured in this article, please let us know in the comments and we will be happy to add it.
Apps (already “Word of the Year” in 2010), have become an integral part of our everyday lives, bringing to our phones not only entertainment, but also helpful tools to be used for educational and professional purposes. Downloadable for free or for a price, there are a number of handy apps created especially for economists, which come in the form of data sets, quizzes, educational videos, podcasts or simply mobile versions of media.
We are currently sitting a month and a half out from one of, if not the largest economics conferences. The AEA/ASSA Annual Meeting 2013 is taking place from January 4-6, 2013 in San Diego, California with over 10,000 academics to gather, present, discuss, and socialize over the weekend. This meeting marks an important point in the lives of the hundreds of graduating PhD students in the field of economics. It is where they are likely to meet their future employers in the form of first round interviews for academic positions at many North American and international institutions. Starting today, Job Market Signalling is open on the AEA website and will remain open until November 29 for PhD graduates hoping to meet with top choice employers at ASSA. This momentous occasion is something that aspiring academic economists need to prepare for. Noah Smith over at Noahpinion has a great post on how he tackled the ‘Job Market’ last year, landing him a position as an Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University this year. Alternatively, there is extensive guide from 2003 written by John Cawley outlining what can be expected during all stages (there are three!) and where best to position yourself. To see where you fit in the global market, you can also read through the INOMICS Job Market Report 2012, which outlines preferences and trends from the perspectives of both economists and employers. One point to be taken out of these guides is that timing and organization are everything. There are far fewer academic positions available than people who want them, making the experience a competitive one. If you haven’t started your preparation and you intend on having a job next year, you might consider getting a move on or looking at alternatives to the traditional Job Market path. There are countless alternatives to taking up an immediate position as a full time lecturer or professor at a university. A couple of options include: taking a postdoctoral research position, gaining practical experience at research institutes, think tanks, banks, or private companies, or consider a visiting professorship or lectureship abroad. We would love to read about more first hand examples of economics Job Market experiences from both US domestics (those who completed or are completing their PhD at North American university) and internationals (those who completed or are completing their degrees at a university outside of North America). We are very interested in stories that follow the status quo as well as those who ‘took the road less travelled’ in their quest for post-PhD employment.