Department of Economics
In the News
UNCG Economics Department "Quite A Presence" at 2011 Southern Economics Association Annual Meetings
If the Economics Department looked a little depleted on Friday and Monday, it's because so many faculty members and students were participating in the Southern Economic Association annual meetings in Washington, DC, November 19-21, 2011. The roster of UNCG participants included:
Faculty members
- Dora Gicheva presented her papers, "Tax Exemptions for Employer Provided Tuition Assistance and Graduate Education" and "Does the Student-Loan Burden Weigh into the Decision to Start a Family," and served as a discussant
- Garth Heutel presented his paper, "Incidence and Environmental Effects of Distortionary Subsidies," and served as a chair and discussant
- Stephen Holland presented his paper, "Permit Volatility and Compliance Timing in Cap and Trade Programs," and served as a discussant
- Steve Layson served as a discussant and chaired a session
- Dave Ribar presented his paper, "Getting Subsidized Food All Over Your Family" (co-authored with UNCG PhD student Jonathan Woodward) and served as a discussant
- Ken Snowden presented his paper, "Growth, Disruption, and Recovery During the Last Great Housing Crisis: Comparing Building and Loans in New Jersey and North Carolina," and served as a discussant
- Chris Swann served as a chair and discussant
Current PhD students
- James Cunningham presented his paper, "Addressing Endogeneity and Nonlinearity in the Education/Smoking Relationship"
- Taylor Rhodes presented two papers, "Were MLB Doubleheaders a Mistake?" and "Major League Baseball Entry and Exit: The Effects of Incumbent Attendance" (both co-authored with UNCG faculty member Steve Layson)
- Daniela Zapata presented her paper, "Health Insurance and Children's Cognitive Outcomes," was a co-author on another presented paper, "Universal Health Insurance and Risky Health Behaviors: Evidence from Massachusetts," and served as a discussant
PhD Alumni
- David Black presented his paper, "No Smoking Now: The Effect of Complete Restaurant Smoking Bans on the Dining Out Experiences of Households," and served as a discussant
- Christian Gregory presented his paper, "Should SNAP Benefits Be Indexed? Food Prices and Food Insecurity 2002-2006"
- Brant Morefield presented his paper, "Parental Health Events and Children's Skill Development"
We don't know if this sets a record for participation at a single conference, but it's pretty darn good nonetheless. It was also great to see so many familiar faces at the conference.
PhD Student Taylor Rhodes Presents at Academy of Business Research
Taylor Rhodes, a PhD student in Economics at UNCG, presented his paper, "Pigskin, Tailgating and Pollution: Estimating the Environmental Impact of Sporting Events" at the Academy of Business Research in September 2011. His study used college football data for the 2010 regular season and daily air quality measures from the Air Quality System (AQS) database to investigate the environmental impact of football games featuring well-known college teams in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference on the pollution levels of cities with populations that are small relative to stadium capacity.
Walmart & Obesity Study Attracts Media Attention
A study coauthored by Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics, found higher obesity rates in communities with WalMart supercenters. The study has received widespread media attention, including The (Montreal) Gazette (1-18-11), CBS Evening News with Katie Couric (1-20-11) and WFMY (1-20-11). The story in the Montreal newspaper was syndicated and appeared in a number of outlets across Canada.