Economics Alumni News

No News - Just going on record as still surviving.

I worked on energy reforms–electricity sector restructuring and privatization and regulatory development–in Eastern Europe, the Former Soviet Union and South and Southeast Asia for 30 years with the Agency for International Development.  The virtual absence of economic considerations in decision-making was costly and still haunts the sector transition away from central planning.  

Since retiring, I have been doing a lot of volunteer work promoting and researching the revenue neutral carbon tax policy (and the lack of performance of cap and trade).  Given the political economic of developing countries, I’ve concluded that such a policy is the best fit given the pervasiveness of weak institutions  (World Bank indices) and serious corruption (Transparency International indices).  Bill Nordhaus’ work has, of course, been extremely helpful. 

David Liebschutz JD/MPP is the principal of DSLeadership, LLC, a strategic planning and leadership consulting firm, and a public service professor at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany and an adjunct professor of management at Siena College.

Former Professor and Nobel Laureate James Tobin is still a much admired figure in the world of economics, even after his passing in 2002. Motivated by the Great Depression, much of Tobin’s research focused on macroeconomics, mainly monetary and fiscal policy. Not only was he respected for his field work, but he was also revered for his mentorship, teaching and advising.

To honor Prof. Tobin and his scholarship, alumni Stephen Freidheim and David Swensen (also Yale’s CIO) created the Tobin Scholars Prize in 2012, which is annually awarded up to four seniors majoring in Economics or Economics and Math for outstanding performance in core theory courses.  To better understand Professor Tobin’s impact the two men and what he meant to them, we posed a few questions to the alumni.

Why did you decide to create the prize?
 

Stephen Freidheim: Professor Tobin had a profound impact on me. Firstly, he was a central figure in macroeconomics, who opened my mind (and those of hundreds of his students) to a broad spectrum of economic theory from formalized risk theories to specific econometric models, from general macro theory to specific behavioral theories and economic policies. He was a great teacher and a great listener. It was clear that Jim Tobin loved teaching and loved Yale. However, what had the deepest impact on me, was my discovery that his devotion to the study of economics was driven by his awareness of the human and economic waste of the Great Depression, and his desire that his life’s work in this field could make a major difference for the welfare of people. He devoted his energy and vast intellect to the betterment of people and society. He was both brilliant and compassionate.

David Swensen: Steve Friedheim approached me a number of years ago to talk about ways that we might support the Economics Department and honor Jim Tobin. We found that, unlike many other departments at Yale, Economics had few, if any, ways to recognize undergraduates. The solution was simple: create Tobin Scholars to honor academic excellence.
 

Did you have a connection to Prof. Tobin that led to your creating the prize named in his honor?
 

SF: Yes, I was his student and he was my senior thesis advisor, so we worked closely while I was a student at Yale in the 80’s. After I graduated we remained in contact. Over the years, he recommended a handful of his students to come work with me in the investment world. Many of these individuals have gone forward and built careers as investors and businesses that are doing very well today. I, along with these professionals, and the many, many others who were impacted by Jim over the years– are proud members of Tobin’s Army.

DS: Jim Tobin had a profound impact on my life. As a teacher, he emphasized the importance of employing first principles when addressing problems. As my advisor, he demanded clear, crisp prose, knowing that sloppy writing often stood side by side with sloppy thinking. As a mentor, he told me to do something with my life that matters and he helped (along with Bill Brainard) to open the door for my return to Yale to manage the Endowment. I’m thrilled that Jim’s memory will be sustained, in part, by the Tobin Scholars.
 

What has been the students’ reaction to winning the prize?

SF: It’s clearly been positive at least on two levels. First, the prize (awarded to the top students in the economics department by its faculty) has helped revive Tobin’s legacy and his theories both among the students and the faculty. There’s renewed buzz on campus about the great man behind the prestigious prize, which has been so enjoyable for me to witness and in which to take part. Second, the students value the award as evidenced by the resumes that I receive when recruiting for the world’s top undergraduate talent every year. Winners of the Tobin Scholar prize will proudly (and prominently) list the award on their resumes and cover letters. The award is always a topic for conversation during interviews as well.
 

What advice do you have for undergraduates pursuing a degree in economics?

SF: The great part of the quintessential liberal arts education at Yale was that it taught me how to think. During my four years at Yale I explored arguments and theories (across a myriad subjects). We studied them, took them apart, and learned how thought and theory built upon one other. It opened my mind to appreciate and respect a wide spectrum of thought and methodologies. It taught me how to approach theories critically and how to address questions and problems.

A soft science major like Economics has the advantage of combining the rigor of learning complex theories and formulas within the openness of a real world in which these very theories and formulas get put to the test. Studying great economic theories that eventually failed in the real world, helps develop a critical mind. Tinkering with the details and then thinking broadly, and back again to sweating the detail was great fun. Such mental dexterity that an Economics major develops in a young mind is particularly useful in professional life. Fresh out of Yale on Wall Street the economic, behavioral, and market theories that underpin our economic world, all seemed far less practical than the hard accounting and finance majors that many of my peers had earned. However, one quickly learns the specific technical rules on the job. The advantages of the liberal arts economics major, starts bearing fruit quickly and enduringly– the ability to adroitly manipulate basic and complex relationships within and among businesses and markets with a critical mind is useful throughout so many professions in investing, finance, business (both old and new economy) and consulting (and likely many other endeavors).

Today (just as it was in the 80’s), Economics is a major where you justly get out what you put in. At Yale the Economics major has tremendous breadth of subject matter and levels of difficulty. There are heavily quantitative courses that can challenge the brightest mathematical minds, theoretical and conceptual courses for the finest abstract thinkers, rigorous courses, as well as easier courses with lower workloads. I’d encourage all Economics majors to put aside any fear of workload or difficulty, to challenge yourselves, to choose courses that excite and test your young minds, and you’ll reap the benefits throughout your careers.

Finally, if you have the opportunity to study under a teacher like Jim Tobin or David Swensen– by all means grab it! Yale is blessed to have great professors, scholars and TA’s. From them you can learn far more than just great theories (and, yes, you will be exposed to amazing ways of thinking)– you will gain exposure to deeply principled men and women that may inspire you throughout your careers. Such life lessons can be invaluable deep into your career, as I have found. From Jim’s example, his students were exposed to many of life’s principles– many of which guide my business today– intellectual honesty in all aspects of ones work, clarity and precision in the expression of all ideas, respect for all people, unabashed competitiveness, and personal modesty. Incredible that a man of Jim Tobin’s stature and accomplishments gave his students the lesson of modesty.

Any additional comments?

SF: Yes, I created the prize with David Swensen. David in many ways embodies all the best virtues that I so admire in Jim Tobin. David, like Jim, has advanced economic and portfolio theories that are brilliant and impactful. In addition, like Jim, David’s luminous scholarship, beautiful mind and tireless energies are devoted to the betterment of Yale and society more broadly. David has accomplished this firstly by developing and implementing portfolio theories that have radically reshaped Yale’s endowment, which has allowed for such things as need-blind admissions (which didn’t exist when I was a student at Yale). David’s greatest gift to society to date, however, may be that he continues to develop his own army dedicated to helping other institutions of higher learning and charitable organizations by implementing these portfolio investment theories. In doing so, David’s impact on the welfare of society and so many individuals is profound, enduring, and growing. So, it is wholly appropriate that David Swensen is the one to hand out the Tobin Scholar prizes every year to the winning students. 

For more on Professor Tobin’s life, work, and accomplishments, visit the Tobin Project website.

Stephen Freidheim is the CIO, Founder and Managing Partner of Cyrus Capital Partners.  He co-founded the predecessor company in August 1999.  He was Managing Director and Partner at Bankers Trust Company and head of its Capital Management Group from 1993 to 1999, where he was responsible for proprietary trading and client investments in high yield and distressed.  In addition, he was Chief Investment Officer of Fixed Income.  He was the Director of Research and Trading and a member of Board of Directors for Nomura Corporate Research & Asset Management from 1990-93.  Mr. Freidheim started his career at Kidder, Peabody in 1986, where he became its youngest-ever Vice President and was Director of High Yield Research at Kidder, Peabody Asset Management until 1990.  He serves on several boards and committees including the Council on Foreign Relations, the Peterson Institute, the Children’s Home & Aid Society of Illinois, and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Through his foundation he supports child education. He graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics in 1986.     

David Swensen is Yale’s CIO, overseeing $22 billion in Endowment assets and several hundreds of millions of dollars of other investment funds. Under his stewardship during the past 28 years the Yale Endowment generated returns of 13.8 percent per annum, a record unequalled among institutional investors. Mr. Swensen leads a staff of 30, located near the University’s campus in downtown New Haven. Prior to joining Yale in 1985, Mr. Swensen spent six years on Wall Street–three years at Lehman Brothers and three years at Salomon Brothers–where his work focused on developing new financial technologies. At Salomon Brothers, he structured the first swap, a currency transaction involving IBM and the World Bank. Mr. Swensen authored Pioneering Portfolio Management: An Unconventional Approach to Institutional Investment and Unconventional Success: A Fundamental Approach to Personal Investment, both published by The Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. His books have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

Yale University has taken another step toward advancing domestic policy research, thanks to a leadership gift from Jeffrey Talpins ’97 endowing the faculty directorship of the Tobin Center for Economic Policy at Yale. Steven Berry, the David Swensen Professor of Economics, has been named the inaugural Jeffrey M. Talpins Faculty Director.

Named in memory of the late James Tobin, iconic faculty member and Nobel laureate, the Tobin Center will not only have a profound impact at Yale, but also bring much needed intellectual rigor and hard data to the national discourse on public policy. The center is slated to open in 2022.

“With our country facing so many critical long-term challenges, I believe the Tobin Center will put Yale’s research efforts right at the center of the public policy debate, leading to better outcomes for our society,” said Talpins.

Berry, a member of the Yale faculty since 1988, is a renowned economist whose research analyzes industrial organization, empirical models of product differentiation, and market equilibrium. He will be responsible for executing the center’s strategic vision to advance rigorous, evidence-based research. In addition, he will engage with questions and topics that command attention from key figures in the world of policy and decision making.

“Steven will play a crucial role in launching the center,” said Ben Polak, university provost. “We are grateful for Jeff’s generosity. With Steven at the helm of the Tobin Center, we will attract top faculty in these exciting areas to Yale.”

“Steven will help the university to establish itself as a new force in the world of economic policy analysis,” said Tamar Gendler ’87, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences and the Vincent J. Scully Professor of Philosophy. “We are grateful for Jeff for his vision and commitment in supporting this exciting endeavor.”

The Poverty Law Canon: Exploring the Major Cases, a book co-edited by law professors Ezra Rosser (Class of 2000) and Marie Failinger, was recently published by Michigan Press. It and a companion poverty law textbook, Poverty Law: Policy and Practice (Aspen Casebook), tackle issues of poverty that relate closely to an Econ class taught by Professor Gerald Jaynes.

After Yale, Ezra got a JD from Harvard and an MPhil in Land Economics from Cambridge and he now teaches at American University Washington College of Law. He still misses Main Garden in New Haven. 

I was pleasantly surprised that the Department issued an alumni newsletter and write to report that I’ve spent the last 14 years in the non-profit world as a fundraiser for higher education. Along the way, I obtained a MS in Fundraising Management from Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and I remain committed to the classroom and life long learning. Five years ago I enrolled in an Adult Learning PhD program at the UConn Neag Graduate School of Education where my dissertation research is focused on how adults learn philanthropy and acquire a financially generous disposition. I have drawn on element of behavioral economics in my literature review and hope to make an academic contribution with practical applications for my field. I currently work as a Development Officer at Hartford Hospital and reside with my wife, Elizabeth Salsedo-Surovov, Esq. and our two young boys Aleksander and Mikael. I welcome conversation with anyone interest in the economics of higher education and/or the topic of altruism, philanthropy, or prosocial behavior. In addition, I consult as a philanthropic advisory to high-net worth individuals and families. Your can reach me at Alexis.Salsedo-Surovov[at]Uconn.edu

Hey all! Just wanted to offer to host any alumni who want to visit the magical island of Ireland. I’m an entrepreneur, recording artist, startup coach and speaker living in Dublin and working across 4 continents so let’s connect if there is any common interest or if you want to spend a weekend here! To learn more about what I do: www.iamdanram.com

Peter Merritt ’16 will join three other Yalies studying at Oxford University next year as winners of Rhodes Scholarships. 

The alumnus graduated with a double major in political science and economics. His senior thesis analyzed the conflicts between religious liberty and LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections in the United States and around the world. In college, Merritt was a member of the Law & Religion Group at Yale Law School, wrote for the Journal of Medicine and Law, and ran a community service organization that brought leftover dining hall food to New Haven halfway houses. An avid athlete, Merritt also competed for the Yale Varsity Track & Field team, finished two marathons, and spent one summer cycling across the United States. He is interested in studying the global protection of human rights and will pursue an M.Phil. in politics at Oxford.

Merritt will represent Bermuda at Oxford. Yale’s three U.S. Rhodes recipients were announced on Nov. 20.

Considered one of the most prestigious awards for international study, the Rhodes Scholarship was created in 1902 at the bequest of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. The award provides all expenses for two or three years of study at Oxford to those students who best exemplify “academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness and leadership potential.”

I am going to chair a session at the ASSA meetings in Philadelphia in January 2018.

The session is titled: “New Frontiers in the Economics of the Household”:

Shoshana Grossbard, the founding editor, asked me to chair the session.

She founded the journal 15 years ago.

The session is sponsored by the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE).

I was one of Tobin’s students: Ph.D. 1961.

Memoirs will shortly be published, with a chapter on “The Yale Years: Gerry Helleiner, Toward a Better World: Memoirs of a Life in International and Development Economics” (University of Toronto Press, 2018).

My first academic position following graduation from the PhD program was at Stanford 1962-63. I then spent 3 years at the University of Chicago where, as Harry Johnson put it, I became an economist with a Yale degree and a Chicago education. I was lucky that during my time at Yale (1958-62) and Chicago (1963-67), the economics departments of both institutions experienced a golden age.

After Chicago I spent four years in the Finance Department of the Wharton School before moving in 1972 to Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Between 1993 and 1997 I served as an elected member of the Canadian parliament in Ottawa, holding the position of Minister of Finance in the shadow cabinet of the opposition party. But political life was not for me and after returning to Simon Fraser University in 1997, two years later I turned 65 and was forced to retire.

During my career I have authored, co-authored and edited 20 books, published 82 articles in refereed journals and contributed 55 papers to published conference proceedings. Google Scholar shows that my publications have been cited about 9,000 times.

In retirement I continue to write and give papers at conferences around the world. My latest papers can be found at the SSRN website. Past ones are found at ResearchGate. My current interest is in creating a taxonomy of regulations and the concept of an optimum level of regulation.

Thanks Yale and my great teachers Robert Triffin, William Fellner, Henry Wallich, Art Okun and James Tobin for providing me with the basis for a rewarding career in economics.

I am serving as a member of ICANN’s Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team, which is reviewing the effects of ICANN’s new gTLD program.

Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti toured the Economics Department and the Cowles Foundation buildings on Wednesday morning. Monti took the opportunity to visit his old department while in town attending the Global Colloquium of University Presidents hosted by Yale. He said this was his first time back to the department since the late 1960s.

Accompanied by his wife Elsa and Economics Professor Giovanni Maggi, Monti reminisced with department chair, Dirk Bergemann, who guided the group through the 28 and 30 Hillhouse buildings.  Monti visited a seminar room where he attended classes and passed through the student lounge which did not exist when he attended Yale. While in the Cowles Faculty Lounge, he took time to pay homage to his professor and mentor, the late James Tobin.

Giovanni Maggi, who studied under Monti at Bocconi University in the 1980s, was delighted to join the tour and speak with his former professor. “Talking with Professor Monti after a long time brought back wonderful memories of my time as a student at Bocconi University,” said Maggi. “It was a great trip down memory lane, and it reminded me what a fantastic teacher he was.” During Maggi’s time at Bocconi University, Monti directed the Institute of Economics before becoming the university’s rector in 1989 and later president in 1994.

Three books published
Postwar Urban America, 2015, Routledge
Chicago: An Economics History, 2016, Routledge
Rethinking Macroeconomics; An Introduction, 2016, Routledge

I just published “A Century of Wealth in America” (Harvard University Press, 2017). A Century of Wealth in America demonstrates that the most remarkable change has been the growth of per capita household wealth, which climbed almost eightfold prior to the 2007 recession. But overlaid on this base rate are worrying trends. The share of personal wealth claimed by the richest one percent almost doubled between the mid-1970s and 2013, concurrent with a steep run-up of debt in the middle class. As the wealth of the average family dropped precipitously—by 44 percent—between 2007 and 2013, with black families hit hardest, the debt-income ratio more than doubled. The Great Recession also caused a sharp spike in asset poverty, as more and more families barely survived from one paycheck to the next. In short, the United States has changed from being one of the most economically equal of the advanced industrialized countries to being one of the most unequal.

I wanted to let you know that my book 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy has been released.  Details at 7powers.com

Cheers,

Hamilton Helmer (Ph.D. in 1978)
Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer
Strategy Capital

Addendum (posted 12/12/17):

My book 7 Powers was selected by Bloomberg as one of the best business books of 2017 https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2017-best-books/

Fred McKinney of Trumbull has been named the Carlton Highsmith Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

“The challenge that all universities have is that you have to be relevant and you have to continue to be innovative and develop relationships,” McKinney said. “This is going to be a solid challenge that I am extremely excited about. At this point in my career, I really want to be more engaged in a specific academic community. The opportunity to come in and make an impact will be fun and rewarding for all Quinnipiac University stakeholders.”

In addition to teaching students at Quinnipiac, McKinney will be responsible for the People’s United Bank Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

“I have several ideas that I envision happening with the center,” he said. “I see the center being a transformative place where students, staff and faculty can work and develop entrepreneurial ideas that ultimately go to market.”

Matt O’Connor, dean of the School of Business at Quinnipiac, said McKinney brings a wealth of business and academic experience to his new appointments. 

“He will provide tremendous help and support to our entrepreneurship students as well as all members of the university interested in innovation and business development,” O’Connor said. “McKinney also bring this knowledge, support and enthusiasm to the external community.  We are truly excited to have him joining the Quinnipiac community.”

McKinney added that he hopes to use his vast corporate connections to develop advisory councils and to form partnerships with the university.

“Innovation often comes from the outside,” he said. “I see the center and our students as being the outside source of innovation and entrepreneurship that corporations –– locally, regionally and eventually nationally –– will rely upon.”

‘Fred McKinney is a recognized thought leader in entrepreneurship and business education,” said Carlton Highsmith, vice chairman of the Quinnipiac University Board of Trustees, who established the chair in 2012 with a $1 million gift. “He brings exceptional expertise to Quinnipiac University, along with a proven track record of forging innovative and collaborative partnerships across a broad and diverse network of constituencies.”

McKinney earned his doctorate in economics from Yale University. He also has a bachelor’s degree from UCLA.

While pursuing his doctoral degree, McKinney spent two summers at the Rand Corporation on domestic economic policy and one year in Washington, D.C., on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.  His work at Rand and at the White House helped him focus his graduate school research on national health policy.

McKinney was a tenure track assistant professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Advanced Studies in Social Policy. In 1987, he became an economics professor in the MBA and executive MBA programs at the University of Connecticut School of Business. 

While at UConn, McKinney and a friend started Jamaica Gourmet Coffee, a wholesale gourmet coffee company in New Haven. The business grew from a start-up that only included the two founders to a company that employed 20 workers and served over 200 grocery stores and restaurants throughout the Northeast.  

Jamaica Gourmet Coffee continues to operate today.  In 1999, McKinney left Jamaica Gourmet Coffee and started a new company, Advanced Dispensing Systems, a business based on a U.S. patent he was awarded for a system of dispensing whole bean coffee in a retail environment. 

 In 2001, McKinney became President and CEO of the Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council (CMSDC).  During his tenure, McKinney and his team executed two nonprofit acquisitions, raised millions of dollars in public and private foundation support, grew the Council’s staff and expanded to become the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, which operated Minority Business Development Agency Centers in Boston and Bridgeport. 

In April 2015, McKinney became the managing director of minority business programs at Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business. 

McKinney has published four books on minority supplier development and corporate supplier diversity.  In addition, he has had over 100 articles published in the minority business press and received numerous awards and recognitions over his career for his work and dedication to minority business development, including the 2017 Ronald Brown Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. That award was inspired by the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ronald Brown, and recognizes individuals who have achieved significant results in creating diversity, expanded minority business enterprise and demonstrated exceptional leadership in the public or private sector. 

McKinney has also served on numerous for-profit and not-for profit boards in leadership positions, including the Gateway Community College Foundation, Yale New Haven Health Care’s Bridgeport Hospital, The American Automobile Association of Connecticut, Habitat for Humanity, The Community’s Bank and The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Advisory Committee. 

McKinney and his wife, Ivy, have two children, Dana and Warren. 

I continue as Professsor of Economics at the National Defense University, and the lead of NDU’s Energy Industry Study. I also teach about “Energy and Security” at Georgetown, and teach on various issues for the Yale Alumni College, most particularly about the economics and politics of the MENA region. In March I was part of a small group of energy experts who met at Windsor Castle. I gave talks in the “library” and in “the dungeon”. My publications, talks, and advising continue to cut across many fields and disciplines. In April I led my energy industry study to field studies in Mongolia and Japan. (Each year I take them to different parts of the world.) In August I was one of two foreign scholars asked to speak to the Chilean Army’s International Seminar on the invite of the Commander of the Chilean Army. In the last year I wast 6 weeks in Egypt to enjoy and learn more about that amazing country I have been involved with for over 25 years. The Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, and the energy-water-food-security nexus continue to be some of my intellectual passions. 

I made a presentation on our USAID funded PARA-Agua project on Climate Change adaptation in Peru and Colombia, at the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 2016. Please find Youtube link attached, hope it works: https://youtu.be/Z6gWvP4ilYg

I’ve been in Los Angeles for the last 24 years. Any Economics alumni or student passing through or moving here please let me know! Also, I would like to reconnect with my classmates. Let me know where you are!

Ben Crisologo ‘88 MA IDE

Yale alumnus Urjit R. Patel Ph.D. ’90 was appointed the 24^th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 20. Serving as Deputy Governor since January 2013, Patel will begin his three-year term on September 4th. His Yale graduate advisor, Professor Emeritus of Economics,T.N. Srinivasan, is quoted in media outlets as saying, “Urjit Patel is the right man for RBI Governor’s job.” 

Before attending Yale, Patel received an M. Phil. from Oxford and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the London School of Economics. He has an extensive resume having worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs in New Delhi, The Boston Consulting Group, and The Brookings Institute.

Patel has also served on several committees, such as Task Force on Direct Taxes, Finance Ministry, Advisory Committee (on Research Projects and Market Studies), Competition Commission of India, secretariat for the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Infrastructure, Group of Ministers on Telecom Matters, Committee on Civil Aviation Reforms, and Ministry of Power’s Expert Group on State Electricity Boards.

Read more about Patel and his appointment in these sources:

• The Economist
• The Hindustan Times
• The Telegraph

By Mike Cummings

Frank Smets was appointed director general for economics by the European Central Bank effective February 1, 2017. According to news sources:

He reports to Peter Praet, the member of the bank’s six-member executive board responsible for economics and preparing decisions on monetary policy for submission to the governing council.

Smets, a Belgian national, has a Ph.D. from Yale University. He has been with the ECB for 18 years and previously served as an advisor to the bank’s president and as head of research.

Smets succeeds Wolfgang Schill, who retires after 12 years in the role.

Since 2015 I have been Baker Institute Fellow in Energy Policy at Rice University and since 2017. I am also a Fellow at the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

Appointed by His Excellency the President as the Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development of the Republic of Botswana. Member of Parliament for Mmadinare constituency.

I’ve been in the same job at NAREIT for more than 10 years (after 6 1/2 years at the Federal Reserve Board), doing research on real estate investment and supporting outreach to the institutional investment community. I developed a set of investment benchmarks, the FTSE NAREIT PureProperty Index Series, to make it possible for institutional investors to manage risks in their illiquid real estate portfolios, and later this month I believe the first option(s) will be purchased for that purpose. Tremendously exciting for someone in my field! 

I took two IDE courses. 

Yale alum David Love Ph.D. ‘03, more affectionately known as Dukes, has been appointed the next provost of Williams College.  His term begins September 1.  Love joined the Williams Economics Department in 2003 after earning both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics form Yale.  His research focuses on household savings, portfolio allocation, macroeconomics, public finance, and private pensions. Love has published articles in the Economic Journal, Journal of Monetary Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Public Economics.  He has served on various committees during his tenure at Williams, and is currently an editor at the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance.

Read more about David on the on the Williams College Letters from President page.

After IDE, I went to the School of Forestry and graduated in 2010 (PhD in Environmental Economics). After working at the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, I taught at University of Southern California for three years. We moved to Notre Dame two years ago! It was a pleasant surprise to see Rudy Bachmann also joined the Department of Economics here. I miss my days at IDE. It was great to hear from the department and to learn about the new developments. Please also send my best to everyone in the IDE program, especially Mike Boozer! 

Moved back to Washington, Risk Manager with the Inter-American Development Bank.
Look forward to hearing who is in the area and reconnect.
Cheers,
Federico

Recently been appointed as Deputy Finance Minister of Mongolia. Would like to share the news with our faculty at Yale.

Editor’s note: Read more about Bulgantuya’s new position and her perspective as a female leader in Mongolia.

News I am working as a Regulatory Affairs Manager at AB INBEV in Perú. 

William Nordhaus ’63 B.A., ’72 M.A., Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University and the world’s leading economist on climate change, has been awarded the 2018 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences for “integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis.”

“I am honored to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for work on environmental economics,” Nordhaus said. “But even more, I am grateful for the intellectual environment at Yale that taught me as a student, nurtured me as a teacher and scholar, and allowed the freedom to devote my life to one of the critical emerging issues of humanity.”

Watch a press conference held in recognition of the award at the Yale School of Management. 

Nordhaus shared the prize with Paul Romer, professor of economics at New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Nordhaus’ research has focused on economic growth and natural resources, the economics of climate change, and resource constraints on economic growth. Since the 1970s, he has developed economic approaches to global warming, including the construction of integrated economic and scientific models (the DICE and RICE models) to determine the efficient path for coping with climate change. These models are widely used today in research on studies of climate-change economics and policies. He has also studied wage and price behavior, health economics, augmented national accounting, the political business cycle, productivity, and the “new economy.”

“This is fitting recognition of William Nordhaus’ work on the economics of climate change,” said Yale University President Peter Salovey. “Yale is absolutely thrilled to have one of our most distinguished faculty — who is also one of our most distinguished alumni — receive this great honor.”

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Nordhaus completed his undergraduate work at Yale in 1963 and received his Ph.D. in economics in 1967 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the Yale faculty in 1967 and in 2001 became a Sterling Professor of Economics — the highest honor given to a Yale faculty member. He is also a professor in Yale’s School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. 

From 1977 to 1979, Nordhaus was a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers; from 1986 to 1988, he was provost of Yale University. He has served on several committees of the National Academy of Sciences on topics including climate change, environmental accounting, risk, and the role of the tax system in climate change.

His 1996 study of the economic history of lighting back to Babylonian times found that the measurement of long-term economic growth has been significantly underestimated. He returned to Mesopotamian economics with a study of the costs of the U.S. war in Iraq, published in 2002 before the war began, projecting a total cost as high as $2 trillion. He directs the “G-Econ project,” which provides the first comprehensive measures of economic activity at a geophysical scale.

Nordhaus is current or past editor of several scientific journals and has authored many books, among them “Invention, Growth and Welfare, Is Growth Obsolete?”; “The Efficient Use of Energy Resources”; “Reforming Federal Regulation”; “Managing the Global Commons”; “Warming the World”; and (jointly with Paul Samuelson) the classic textbook “Economics,” whose 19th edition was published in 2009. His book on economic modeling of climate change, “A Question of Balance,” was selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title of 2008. His most recent book, “The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World,” was published in 2013.

Nordhaus was the first chair of the Advisory Committee for the Bureau of Economic Analysis and of the American Economic Association Committee on Federal Statistics. In 2004 he was awarded the prize of “Distinguished Fellow” by the American Economic Association (AEA). He served as president of the AEA for 2014–2015 term.

Nordhaus is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is on the research staff of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Cowles Foundation for Research at Yale and has been a member and senior adviser of the Brookings Panel on Economic Activity, Washington, D.C., since 1972. He served as the chair of the Board of Directors of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank from 2014 to 2015.

He received the BBVA Foundation’s 2017 Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his work on climate change. 

Nordhaus lives in downtown New Haven with his wife, Barbara, an assistant clinical professor for social work at the Yale Child Study Center.

By Michael Cummings

Yale economist Joseph Altonji has been awarded the 2018 IZA Prize in Labor Economics to recognize his seminal contributions to the economic analysis of labor supply, family economics, and discrimination.

“Altonji’s contributions have shaped the understanding of how households decide on their labor supply under fluctuating business cycles and changing labor markets, whether the family is the relevant unit of economic decision making, and what the mechanisms behind labor market discrimination are,” the award citation states. “An overarching theme of his work is that even the most insightful and fundamental theoretical advances must be supported by rigorous empirical evidence.”

Awarded every two years by the Bonn-based Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), the IZA Prize is meant to stimulate research that seeks answers to the important labor market policy questions of our time.  It will be formally conferred during IZA’s 20th anniversary celebrations in Berlin on June 28. Previous recipients include renowned economists such as Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides, who each later received the Nobel Prize.

The IZA Prize Committee consists of seven distinguished economists, six of whom are previous IZA Prize recipients.

“Picking Joe Altonji as this year’s IZA Prize winner was an obvious choice. His profound contributions to several important areas of labor economics — his concern about taking economic theory and measurement seriously — made the selection committee’s job very easy,” said IZA network director Daniel Hamermesh, who chairs the committee.

Altonji ’75 B.A., the Thomas DeWitt Cuyler Professor of Economics, studies questions concerning immigration, race, and gender in the labor market, wage determination, labor supply, and economic links among family members.

In July, he will assume the role of president of the Society of Labor Economists, a professional organization composed of nearly 800 members that promotes the field of labor economics. He is an elected fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has served on a number of government advisory panels, and currently is a member of the U.S. Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee and the National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavior and Economic Sciences Advisory Committee. He is a research associate at IZA as well as at the National Bureau of Economic Research.