Seminar: Mark Owens

Mark Owens, will be here on Nov. 2nd to present his most recent paper: "Provision and Price of Child Care Services: For-Profits and Nonprofits." The seminar will be held in Wimberly 230 from 3:30 until 4:30 pm.

Should We Encourage Competition (in kids)?

I know that not all readers on this blog are parents, but anyone interested in economics is, by definition, interested in competition. I don't know how many times I've let my son beat me in some game or another. He's getting better at hockey, so the games we play in our shoes in the garage are getting more competitive (I just hope that he'll remember all of these times when he's a squirt and skating circles around me). Check out this article about the role of competition in raising kids in the New York Times this weekend. Aside from the fact that I know the dude in the picture, it is a great article about teaching competition, cooperation and a mix of both. So, he still didn't answer my question -- is it okay to be like Phil Dunphy in Modern Family when he slammed Luke in trampoline basketball?

What message do you get from the below graphic published in today's New York Times?

Of course, a graph isn't a definitive study establishing cause and effect (or lack there of) but its interesting, isn't it? Check out the column by David Leonhardt that went with it. Thoughts from the macroeconomists out there?

Podcasts for Econ

You can find podcasts for econ here: http://audioecon.com/. I found this NPR episode on welfare for millionaire farmers interesting.

Simple Rules

Some simple rules to follow for data visualizations.

Seminar: Colleen Flaherty Manchester

The next Economics Department seminar will be Friday, April 20th at 3:45 pm (note the later time) in room 122 Wimberly Hall. Our guest will be Professor Colleen Flaherty Manchester (Univ Minnesota) who will present "Employee Mobility and Employer-Provided Retirement Plans." Please encourage your students to attend. I hope you are able to join us.

Seminar: Mary Hamman

The next Department of Economics seminar will be Friday, April 13th, at 3:30 pm in room 122 Wimberly Hall.  Our speaker will be Mary Hamman (Michigan State), who will present "Worker Responses to Monetary Incentives for Partial Retirement: Evidence from a German Policy Experiment."

Economics In Demand

The CBA offers 4 of the top 5 employers' most desirable degrees, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook 2012 survey.  The survey is a forecast of U.S. employers' intentions to hire new college graduates.

Seminar: Dan Giedeman

The next Economics Department seminar will be Friday, March 23rd.  Dan Giedeman (Grand Valley State University) will present "Steam Engines of Credit: The Role of Banks in Switzerland's Economic Development, 1850-1913," at 3:30 in room 122 Wimberly Hall.  A copy of the paper is available from Mike Haupert.  We hope to see you there.

Seminar: Craig Depken

Our first seminar of the semester will be next week on Friday, March 9th at 3:30 pm in room 122 Wimberly. Professor Craig Depken (UNC Charlotte) will present "The introduction of the reserve clause in Major League Baseball: evidence of its impact on select player salaries during the 1880s." A copy of the paper is here. Majors are encouraged to attend.

Pro-Social and Fair Monkeys

Below is an excellent video on pro-social behavior and fairness among monkeys. The good stuff is at 12:00min and 14:40. Monkeys demonstrate interdependent utility functions.

Prabhat Patnaik

Prabhat Patnaik speaks on “Alternative Perspectives on the Global Economic Crisis” at The University of Wisconsin - La Crosse.

[Video Link] 

Description: Patnaik, born in Jatni, Orissa, India, in 1945, is an Indian Marxist economist and political commentator who has achieved international acclaim for his analysis of economics and politics. He is in the Biographical Dictionary of 100 Dissenting Economists Past and Present.

For a less rosy perspective you might read this report from the Hindu Business Line