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Announcements for Friday, October 19, 2012

Announcements

  • Retirement reception for Dan Otto

    Join faculty and staff for a retirement reception in honor of Professor Dan Otto on Thursday, October 25. Cake and refreshments will be served from 2-3:30 PM in 368A Heady Hall.

News

  • Hayes participates in US-China agricultural investment group

    Dermot Hayes, professor of economics and finance and the Pioneer Chair in Agribusiness at ISU, is participating in a recent collaboration supported by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Paulson Institute, designed to discuss opportunities and constraints in U.S.-China agriculture-related cross-investment, examine successes and failures, and explore potential investment models. Learn more about their work at: http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/files/About_Us/Press_Releases/FY13_Releases/121015.aspx

  • Tuesday's Pioneer Policy Lecture: Nicola Lacetera, University of Toronto

    "Does Information from Online Markets for Contract Labor Help or Hinder Applicants from Less Developed Countries?" with Nicola Lacetera, University of Toronto. Tuesday, October 23, 3:40 PM, 368A Heady Hall.

    Nicola Lacetera is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Toronto, and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He joined the faculty of the university of Toronto in 2010 after having served four years as Assistant Professor of Economics at Case Western Reserve University, and having earned his Ph.D. from the Sloan School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006. He is an applied economist with interests in the functioning of markets and organizations. His research concerns how different motivations and institutional arrangements affect the production and commercialization of knowledge in universities; how incentives and worker selection affect innovation and the functioning of online labor markets; the determinants of value and quality in the automobile sector; and how non-profit organizations motivate individuals to provide socially relevant goods. He relies on observational and experimental data, as well as theoretical models.

    Abstract: Transactions in online contract labor markets have increased exponentially over the past years. A key feature and objective of these platforms is to globalize previously local labor markets, and in particular to grant access to contractors from less developed countries (LDCs). Analyzing transactions on the large online platform for contract labor, oDesk, we find however, that contractors from LDCs, even after controlling for a wealth of observable characteristics, are at a significant disadvantage in terms of employment opportunities. We do find, however, that a second key feature of online platform, standardized and verifiable information, and, in particular, prior experience on the platform, disproportionately benefits LDC applicants in their ability to be hired for a project, and in their posted wages. This result is stronger for 1) experienced employers, who have learned to interpret this information; 2) fixed-price contracts, which do not offer low-cost monitoring like hourly contracts; and 3) jobs that are more difficult to evaluate in a standardized way (e.g., writing and administration vs. software development). We discuss the implications of these findings for companies and workers, the role of online platforms, and whether this technology will further increase wage and opportunity inequality or instead accelerate convergence.

  • Thursday's Human Resources Workshop: Qiqi Wang, Iowa State University

    "The Diffusion Effect of Group Identity on Social Cooperation," with Qiqi Wang, Iowa State University. Thursday, October 25, 3:40 PM-5 PM, 360 Heady Hall.

    Abstract: The recent literature on in-group/out-group bias has demonstrated that subjects who participate in group-identity building games are more likely to cooperate in subsequent experiments (for example, Chen and Chen ($2011$), Eckel and Grossman ($2006$)). We show that in-group/out-group bias can be mitigated by simply observing in-group members interact with out-group members. Our subject pool consists of students recruited from two different college majors at a Chinese university. In our control experiment, two students from each major whose identities are made salient are randomly matched to play a 2-player public goods game. We first show that the subjects exhibit an in-group/out-group bias relative to subjects without such identity priming. In our first treatment, these students watch two peers, the ``puzzle-solving team'' (again drawn from both majors), cooperate in solving a puzzle game. We find that subsequent cooperation in the public goods game significantly increases compared to the control treatment. We interpret our findings as an example of “diffusing” group identity where observing in-group/out-group interaction reduces the overall in-group/out-group bias. In a second treatment, we create puzzle-solving teams that consist of two randomly selected players to distinguish group identity diffusion from simply putting subjects in a cooperative mood.

  • Weekly Media Connections for the Department of Economics

    Chad Hart, grain Extension economist, spoke with or participated in the following:

    • David Pitt, AP, and Matt Wild, Waterloo Courier, on the latest USDA grain supply and use numbers.
    • Cheryl Tevis, Successful Farming, on grain marketing opportunities during the drought.
    • Mark Dorinkamp, KGLO radio, on marketing the US supply of grain.
    • As a live panel discussion participant with China Radio International, on food prices.
    • Dan Skelton, KICD radio, and The Big Show/WHO Radio, on the USDA report.

    Dan Otto spoke with Keith Kirkpatrick (Sportsman notebook/WHO) on his report on the economic value of outdoor recreation in Iowa.

    Dave Swenson, associate scientist in economics, spoke with Sharon Cohen, AP- Chicago, on the differences between the ag economy of 2009 and the present.

    Additional contacts:

    • Donnelle Eller, DMR, regarding the new monthly unemployment report for Iowa.
    • Marketplace on Monday on the economic impact of campaign field workers in Iowa.

External Seminars and Workshops

  • Summer workshop on teaching poverty

    The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is now accepting applications for its inaugural Teaching Poverty 101 Workshop, to take place at IRP from June 2 through 6, 2013.

    The summer workshop is designed to help college instructors plan college-level courses on the causes, consequences, and cures of poverty. It is open to all college faculty and instructors in any postsecondary institution—university, college, or community college.

    A call for applications is attached, along with our request that you share it with potential applicants. Visit IRP’s website at http://www.irp.wisc.edu/newsevents/workshops/teachingpoverty101.htm for further details and a link to the online application form.

Conferences and Calls for Papers

  • NBER's Universities' Research Conference, Call for Papers

    As a reminder, the National Bureau of Economic Research is continuing its series of Universities' Research Conferences. We will hold a conference on Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy May 10 and 11, 2013, in Cambridge, MA. The program is being organized by Professor Melissa Kearney and Professor Phillip Levine.

    For your information, a copy of the call for papers is attached and can also be found online at http://www.nber.org/callforpapers/call05252012.html. We ask that you post it in your department and forward this message to department members who may be interested in presenting their papers.

    When the program for the conference has been selected, further information will be circulated.

    If you have any questions, please contact me at 617-868-3900 or rshannon@nber.org.

Funding Opportunities

Job Opportunities

Papers and Presentations

  • Recent conference attendance for Chad Hart

    Chad Hart recently participated in the American Farm Bureau conference in Baltimore, and the Ukrainian Third Annual Grain Congress in Kiev, Ukraine.