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Announcements for Friday, October 12, 2012

Announcements

  • Still time for new photos

    Fall foliage makes for nice photos - but time is running out! If you'd like a new faculty or staff photo, please contact Kristin at ksenty@iastate.edu

News

  • Babcock discusses lack of farm bill

    ISU professor of economics Bruce Babcock spoke with Iowa Public Radio’s Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe about this year’s farm bill, or rather the lack thereof, on Tuesday, Oct. 9.

    The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 officially terminated at midnight on September 30. The current session of Congress, being heralded as one of the most unproductive sessions in recent history by some, failed to pass a new farm bill, or to even offer a short-term extension on the old bill.

    Babcock told Nebbe that there would be little current impact with the delay, but it could cause problems in the near future. “I think that there would be a lot of pressure on Congress to get the bill passed in the next session,” Babcock said, noting that without a farm bill there is no authority to enroll new land in conservation areas.

    The farm bill also covers a broad range of programs from the federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to crop insurance and subsidies. “The old rationale for having such a broad farm bill was to get the urban supporters, say of the food stamp program, to vote for subsidies for farmers,” he said. In the future, though, Babcock said the day may come when the farm bill gets split up.

    For now, Babcock said that the average non-farmer should be most concerned about the conservation, research, and funding measures included in the farm bill. Babcock said that agriculture will face a lot of challenges over the next 20 years, and research will have a large impact on the price we pay for food in the future.

    The full interview can be heard here: http://news.iowapublicradio.org/post/farm-bill-2012.

  • Weekly Media Connections for the Department of Economics

    Dave Swenson spoke with Sarah McCammon, IPR (Marketplace) on the impact of field worker campaign spending in Iowa.

  • Thursday's Human Resources Workshop: Juan Murguia, Iowa State University

    "Old Peer Effects on Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills: Mixing up vs Keeping Classmates in Elementary School," with Juan Murguia, Iowa State University

    Thu, Oct 18, 2012 3:40 pm - 5:00 pm @ 360 Heady Hall

    Abstract: I study old peer effects on early education achievement by exploding theunique nature of the Tennessee Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR).I benefit from the randomized mixing up policy of STAR program in theidenti cation of old peer effects and estimate value-added models with and without school fixed effects. Specifcally, I analyze the relationship between the chance of passing first grade, as well as noncognitive skills, and the proportion of kindergarten classmates kept into first grade. Results show that keeping all kindergarten classmates, vs. losing all of them, increases the probability of passing first grade by 12 percent. In addition, noncognitive skills are improved with more kindergarten classmates kept into first grade. Interestingly, females show less old peer effect on grade passing but more on self-confidence than males. This paper presents evidence supporting the idea that the duration of peer connections is relevant in the estimation of peer effects and that mixing up classes in early education might be detrimental to the development of cognitive and noncognitive skills.

Graduate Student Announcements

  • Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis accepting applications for PhD program

    The Economics Department at IUPUI is now accepting applications for the PhD entering class of Fall of 2013. Generous fellowship support will be offered on a competitive basis.

    The program specializes in Health Economics. Students begin with PhD core training in economic theory and econometrics, emphasizing microeconomic theory and microeconometrics. Specializing in health economics allows us to offer a two-course field sequence in health economics as well as a course focusing on the institutional context of health, health care, and health insurance. Students will also take elective courses such as biostatistics, epidemiology, bioethics, or health policy, giving them a background that will facilitate working in the interdisciplinary teams with whom health economists often interact. In addition to econometric theory, we will also offer a year-long empirical econometrics sequence, emphasizing statistical packages, working with large datasets, and problems in applied econometrics. We offer strong disciplinary training in micro theory, econometrics, and health economics enhanced with exposure to other related disciplines central to health and health care.

    We also offer a field specialization in the Economics of Nonprofits/Philanthropy. The structure is the same as that in Health Economics, except that students will take field courses in the Economics of Nonprofits and Philanthropy from our large group of faculty working in this area. Elective offerings will allow students to take, for example, courses in IUPUI’s unique Philanthropic Studies program and to interact with the renowned IU Center on Philanthropy.

    We think this program fills a unique niche and we are excited to offer students interested in these two fields a special opportunity for PhD study in Economics. Please help us to spread the word.

    More information on the department and the program is online at http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/economics. Questions can be emailed to econphd@iupui.edu.

Funding Opportunities

  • Funding opportunity – agriculture in the K-12 classroom, secondary and postsecondary ag education

    Projects must focus on any of the K-14 grade levels and support for-credit, academic instruction with a primary focus in one of three categories: Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom, Secondary School, or Community College. Application types include: conference or planning proposal (may request up to $25,000), regular project proposal (single institution may request up to $50,000), joint project proposal (applicant and one or more partners may request up to $150,000), and large-scale state or regional initiative (applicant and 2 or more partners may request up to $300,000). Matching funds are required at 25% of the total grant amount. Previous funded projects and guidelines are available at:

    http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/secondaryeducationchallenge.cfm

  • National Pork Board call for research proposals
  • Funding opportunity - water quality and flood prevention

    This is an opportunity for ISU Extension and Outreach staff to collaborate. Eligible applicants include: soil and water conservation districts, public water supply utilities, counties, county conservation boards, cities and local watershed improvement committees. Each application is limited to $100,000. For guidelines and application instructions, see:

    http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/iwirb.asp

Job Opportunities

  • Academic position in agriculture - Academic Keys job posting
  • Missouri State University - tenure-track position with focus on econometrics/macroeconomics

    The Economics Department at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track assistant professor to start in August 2013. Candidates must have a PhD or an ABD in Economics, fields of specialization in Econometrics and Macroeconomics, a record of excellence in teaching, and strong communication skills. The Department offers B.A. and B.S. degrees in economics and offers courses for a number of graduate programs on campus. The teaching load is nine hours per semester and will include principles, econometrics, and other upper-division courses. Duties will include committee work and student recruitment, and may also include grant writing and teaching courses in Mathematical Methods for Economics. The ability to develop knowledge of, respect for, and skills to engage with those of other cultures or backgrounds is required.

    Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive multi-campus university system (http://www.missouristate.edu/) with a statewide mission in public affairs (http://publicaffairs.missouristate.edu). It has an enrollment of over 23,000 students and offers more than 150 undergraduate academic programs and 48 graduate programs. It is located in Springfield, MO, with a metropolitan population in excess of 420,000, in the heart of the beautiful Ozarks region. Springfield is the third-largest, and fastest growing, city in the state and is a major center for health care, tourism, shopping, higher education, outdoor recreation, cultural arts, and entertainment (http://www.springfieldmo.org/node/56).

    Missouri State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. It strongly encourages applications from women, persons from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups, individuals with disabilities and covered veterans. Employment will require a criminal background check at University Expense.

    For more information contact Professor Mahua Mitra (MahuaBarari@MissouriState.edu), Search Chair.

  • Tenure-track position at Korea University

    The Department of Food and Resource Economics at Korea University, Seoul, Korea is looking for applicants for a tenure-track 12 month full-time Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor in the field of food and resource economics. The position requires teaching 6 hours per week each semester and doing quality research on food and resource economics areas. The candidate must be a non-Korean foreign national who is fluent in English. Responsibilities also include student advising and obtaining grants to support graduate students and research programs.

    Details of salary and fringe benefits are: 1) Annual salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience starting from $55,000 for a new Ph.D. 2) A research assistant will be assigned. 3) A free guest house will be provided for 3 years as well as moving expenses. 4) A certain amount of start-up research fund will be awarded upon assignment. 5) Financial incentives for published papers in SSCI journals with a leading authorship will be awarded at the level of $3,500 per paper.

    The deadline for internet application is October 24, 2012. A complete position description with application procedures can be found at http://kuweb.korea.ac.kr/efaculty

    For all inquiries contact the Department Head, Doo Bong Han at han@korea.ac.kr

  • Position at University of Pittsburgh

    UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, DEPT. OF ECONOMICS is searching for faculty appointments effective Sept. 2013, pending budgetary approval. We seek excellence in teaching and research. Salary, scholarly assistance and benefits are competitive. Complementarities with the research activities of current faculty are essential. The University of Pittsburgh is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and members of minority groups under-represented in academia are especially encouraged to apply.

    ASSISTANT PROFESSOR – TENURE TRACK - Job Code 02633 – Econometrics - All areas are open for consideration. Preference for a candidate with a mix of strong theoretical and empirical research interests.

    Job Code 03303 – Applied Microeconomics - Preference will be given to candidates with skills spanning modern empirical methods and whose interests connect to the Department's faculty.

    ADVANCED ASSISTANT (TENURE TRACK) or ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (TENURED) - Job Code 02963 – Microeconomic Theory - The successful applicant is a theoretical microeconomist; special interests in game theory and/or mechanism design are particularly appreciated.

    Contact and application information is available on our Web site using Internet Explorer at http://www.econ.pitt.edu/ under the Employment Opportunities link. Deadline for application is November 15, 2012. Review of applications begins on October 15. Interviews will be held at the Annual AEA/ASSA meeting.

  • Tenure-track position at Reed College