Week 32
Department News
International Trade Research Day
The Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) International Trade Research Day took place on May 8, 2018 at Scarman Conference Centre the University of Warwick. Participants from the UK, China discussed their latest research on international trade and related fields.
Warwick Economics PhD Conference 2018
Last week, the annual Warwick Economics PhD Conference took place on 2-3 May within the Department, organised by PhD students Muhammed Haseeb, Teodora Tsankova, Karmini Sharma and Antonio Schiavone with assistance from the Marketing team and financial support from the Department. Read more about how the event unfolded over the two days, who attended and view the online photo gallery.
Teaching Away Day - 17 May, Scarman
Thank you to those who have signed up to attend the Teaching Away Day on Thursday 17th May 12.00-4.00pm. You will be receiving an Outlook Calendar invitation to the event. We will be having lunch over at Scarman House at 12 noon followed by an afternoon of discussion around key strategic issues in our degree courses.
An agenda and background papers will follow on Tuesday 15th May. One of the substantive issues we will be considering is the strengths and weaknesses of the MSc portfolio, with a valuable chance for you to contribute towards shaping the future direction of the course.
There is still time to join us, and we sincerely hope you can attend what promises to be a useful afternoon to take stock of where we are and where we’d like to be heading. Please RSVP direct to Gill your attendance at this Away Day, by Friday 11th May at the latest, to allow us to finalise our numbers.
Staff Recognition Scheme - April's Nominations
This month, the following members of staff have been awarded an award: Sarah Duggan, Tina MacSkimmings, Colin Ellis, Sharon Yarrow and the team award has been given to Mandy Eaton and Andrea Wyld.
Have you spotted a colleague making an outstanding contribution, if so, please make a nomination using the link here.
CAGE Inaugural Policy Lecture
Professor Simon Johnson will be discussing “Innovation, Growth, and Cryptocurrencies: What Next?”. In this lecture Prof. Johnson will discuss the relationship between public investment, science, and economic growth since 1940. He will explore the reasons that growth no longer provides good opportunities for many people. Turning to the future, he will consider how the arrival of cryptocurrencies might affect inequality and access to opportunity in the future.
More information on Prof. Johnson and the lecture can be found on CAGE's event page.
To register for this event, please email Jane Snape (Jane.Snape@warwick.ac.uk) or complete the registration form online.
Dr Nick Jackson's talk at the Pint of Science Festival
The Pint of Science festival is taking place in 32 cities around the UK next week, including (for the first time) Coventry. Academics from Coventry and Warwick Universities will be talking about current research in various fields, on the evenings of Monday 14, Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 May. The full programme is available to view here and there's a short video too.
Dr Nick Jackson will be talking about topological data analysis at Drapers on Monday evening and you can hear from him in this short video as to why you should check out his Pint of Science talk on 14 May 2018.
Coaching & Mentoring Opportunity
There are still places available on the blended Coaching & Mentoring workshops being organised by the Learning and Development Centre. If you would like to book a place, please have a read over the course overview and also consider the pre-course work (Moodle), which you need to complete in preparation for the session.
To learn more about these workshops, please visit their webpage and complete a booking form. If you have any question, please email openprogrammeadmin@warwick.ac.uk
GDPR Updates
The University is providing all staff with important information on what we need to do to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Further details and updates can be found on the GDPR Updates page.
Last call for book purchase requests this year!
If you would like the Library to add one or more new books to stock, please contact me soon, as I am using up the Economics book fund for this academic year. You can request books useful for research or wider reading by students or staff any time; once this year’s fund is spent, I will save the requests until 1st August when more money will be available. I will warn you about any delay, but for now, there is still money to be spent! Thanks very much. Please contact Helen Riley (Helen.Riley@Warwick.ac.uk) for further enquiries.
Summer Term - Staff Buffet Lunch
In the Summer Term, Staff Buffet Lunch will take place on Thursdays in weeks 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. Room S2.79, 12.30pm-1.30pm. PhD and MRes Students will be invited to join in Weeks 1 & 9.
Publications, Presentations, Talks & Awards
Kirill Pogorelskiy presented his paper "News We Like to Share: How News Sharing on Social Networks Influences Voting Outcomes'' (joint with Matt Shum) at the Thurgau Experimental Economics Meeting in Kreuzlingen on 12th April and at the BFI Economics of Media and Communications Conference at the University of Chicago on 4th May.
Arun Advani gave a seminar at the University of Oxford, on "Insurance Networks and Poverty Traps", on 2 May.
Arun also gave a conference presentation at the Globalisation and Development Conference in Goettingen, on "Insurance Networks and Poverty Traps", on 4 May.
Thijs Van Rens was / will be in Westminster attending the oral evidence sessions of the Health Select Committee on childhood obesity, which I helped prepare as their academic fellow. Last Tuesday 1 May (with Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and a panel on health taxes), on Wednesday 8 May (with industry reps and academics testifying on advertising, price promotions and takeaways) and Tuesday 22 May (with PHE and representatives from the DHSC, DDCMS, DE, DHCLG, and the Treasury).
Sascha O. Becker was awarded an "Excellence in Refereeing Award" from the American Economic Review.
Media Coverage
"Happiness in the Workplace" - Andrew Oswald, Daniel Sgroi & Eugenio Proto's paper "Happiness and Productivity" mentioned by the author - Jobs+Careers Magazine, 28th April 2018.
"How to be more productive if traditional productivity tips don't work for you" - Andrew Oswald, Daniel Sgroi & Eugenio Proto's paper "Happiness and Productivity" mentioned by the author - Pulse.com, 3rd May 2018.
"Does life get better after 50?" - Andrew Oswald's research mentioned by author - The Straits Times, 8th May 2018.
"Life gets better after 50: why age tends to work in favour of happiness" - Andrew Oswald and David Blanchflower's research mentioned by Lucy Rock - The Guardian, 5th May 2018.
"Governments Are Nothing Like Households" - Roger Farmer's research paper mentioned by author - Forbes.com, 30th April 2018.
"New “bitcoin of ticketing” system may finally outwit the touts" - Mike Waterson commented - Yorkshire Evening 7th May 2018.
Department Diary
- Political Economy Conference 2018 | 12-13 May | All day | Venice
- PG Photo and Social | 29 May | 7.00pm | The Slate
- Econometrics Summer Masterclass and Workshop | 30 May -1 June | All day | Radcliffe
- MSc Theatre Trip | 2 June | TBC | Stratford -Upon-Avon
- Economics Graduaton Day | 20 July | Butterworth Hall
Update: We request both academic and administration staff to save the date in your diaries. - Tea @3 (every Wednesday) | 3.00-3.30pm | Staff Common Room | Social Sciences Building
- Staff Buffet Lunch for staff (every fortnightly on Thursday) | 12.30 - 1.30pm | S2.79 | Social Sciences Building
Research Spotlight
Andy Ferrera is in the spotlight for this week's research interview - find out more about his recent research
Other News
Warwick's Blanket Fort
Warwick students and the local community are coming together to break the Guinness World Record for largest fort, by building a 400m^2 blanket fort. This attempt will be in aid of the LWS Night Shelter, a local homeless shelter, for whom they hope to raise over £10,000 for their building which is at risk . After the build, the blankets will be cleaned, and then donated to homeless shelters all over Warwickshire.
The attempt will be on the 20th of June on the Oculus field. You can find more information about it on their public facebook event.
Degree Apprenticeships at Education Conference
A session has been organised by the Degree Apprenticeships team at the Universty's Education Conference on 2pm on 15th May. The title of the panel session is "Can degree apprenticeships be a catalyst for social inclusion in Russell Group Universities?”.
To find out more about the panelists and to register for this session, visit the Education Conference 2018 webpage and scroll down towards the bottom in the 'Parallel Session 3’ section.
FT/McKinsey Bracken Bower Prize: Do you have a winning business book idea?
The Financial Times and McKinsey & Company, the management consultancy, have issued a new call to arms for young business book authors, with the launch of the 2018 Bracken Bower Prize. The prize is named after Brendan Bracken and Marvin Bower, architects of, respectively, the modern FT and McKinsey & Company.
The £15,000 award will go to the best proposal for a business book about the challenges and opportunities of growth, by an author or authors under 35. It aims to encourage a new generation of business writers. For further details and to register your interest in entering this year’s prize, visit FT live.