Type "Department of Economics" into Google and you'll find that our department comes up in the top three of the search! That's due to the fact that our homepage content changes so regularly. It's a testament to the fact that we have a diverse and interesting department with a lot of activity. So continue to send story ideas, and report on your activities. Contact ksenty@iastate.edu with questions and suggestions.

A 2011 poll conducted by Marist found that only 45 percent of respondents plan to take a vacation this summer. That’s the lowest number in the survey’s 11 year history. And only 35 percent of those who are planning getaways will be taking longer trips, as opposed to weekend jaunts. Why aren't more Americans taking vacations? And how does forgoing vacations affect both employers' and employees' bottom lines?

Wallace Huffman was recently interviewed on the Public Radio International program "The Takeaway," regarding the value of vacations and the productivity of American workers. To listen to the interview click on the following link:  http://www.thetakeaway.org/2011/jul/26/number-of-americans-taking-vacation-hits-low-point/

Keith Evans graduated this summer from the Department of Economics with a PhD in economics. He has since moved with his wife and two children to Canton, New York, where he has accepted a teaching and research position at St. Lawrence University.

Tell us about your new position. St. Lawrence is a liberal arts college in upstate New York, and the campus and surrounding area are gorgeous. I've accepted a tenure-track position where my primary responsibility will be teaching, but also continuing on with the research I started in my dissertation. I’ll also have the opportunity to collaborate on some new research with faculty in environmental studies at St. Lawrence, along with another environmental economist at a neighboring university.

What do you look forward to in your new position? I'm really looking forward to meeting the students. During my interview I was asked to teach a class, and was surprised and excited by how engaged the students were. I enjoy teaching economics. Students look at the subject with fresh eyes. Their ideas are often very insightful.

Tell us about the pre-doctoral work you did at Arizona State University this past spring. From January through May of 2011, I did a pre-doctoral fellowship at The Center for Environmental Economics and Sustainable Policy at Arizona State University. I worked with three professors there on specific research that was part of my dissertation. There were five students (all environmental economists) in the program from the US and Britain. It was a unique opportunity to work with other graduate students who had their own methods, insights, and perspectives in the field.

What's something important that you gained from ISU? I had three major professors and learned valuable lessons from each. I learned that the story is just as much an important part of your research as the results, and that research cannot be for your own interest but should be a contribution to the field.

Information courtesy of Jackie King, ISU News Service. 

Mike Duffy was interviewed by Bloomberg News (Argentina outlet) on land values. He was also interviewed by the  Cedar Rapids Gazette regarding land ownership and aging farmers. 

Liesl Eathington was interviewed by both Mike Crum, a reporter for The Associated Press in the Des Moines Bureau; and Steve Gravelle, a reporter with The Cedar Rapids Gazette, on the release of the latest U.S. Census data and how it relates to Iowa.

Chad Hart spoke with Emily Boyer of Iowa Public Radio about the impact of the downgrade of the credit rating on the Farm Credit System and the possible impacts for Iowa producers. He spoke with Ed Clark of the Farm Journal, also about the downgrade of the credit rating for the U.S. and the resulting market implications. And he spoke with Frank Morris of Harvest Public Media about the drought and crop insurance.

Hart was also interviewed by Larry Kershman of Farm News on crop condition, crop prices and export demand and Jacqui Fatka of Feedstuffs and Farm Futures magazines about federal agricultural policies including those on direct payments and crop insurance.

Peter Orazem was featured in a KTIV (NBC), WHO, and KDSM news segments talking about the potential impact on the economy of the recent decision in Congress to raise the debt ceiling. Click on the following links and scroll down to view these clips: http://mms.tveyes.com/NetReport.aspx?ReportHash=1fe1a828414074a1f2bba3136fcf4591 allow access; http://mms.tveyes.com/NetReport.aspx?ReportHash=9368572a1a3ffe860023b2b2f9663f3a

Dave Swenson was interviewed by Angie Hunt, Ames correspondent for KCCI-TV, on the debt crisis and the consequences for Iowans and Iowa state government operations. Click on the following link and scroll down to view the clip:http://mms.tveyes.com/NetReport.aspx?ReportHash=1fe1a828414074a1f2bba3136fcf4591

Swenson was also interviewed Friday by Aaron Brilbeck, a reporter with WHO-TV, on the stock market and the risk of a double dip recession and what it might mean for Iowa.

Swenson spoke with Trent Rice, KASI on the stock market and the new unemployment report.