Department News

Economics ranked 1st in the Good University Guide 2023

We are delighted that, for the second time in three years, the Department of Economics has reached the top position in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

The Origin of States - how farming shaped the world

Professor Omer Moav will give a public lecture for the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences on Wednesday 26 October 2022 at 18:30-20:00, at St. Mary’s Guildhall, Coventry CV1 5RN. All staff are welcome to attend and there will be free refreshments. Please register your place here.

The role of personality beliefs and “small talk” in strategic behaviour

New published research by Daniel Sgroi and Neha BoseLink opens in a new window. Abstract: Humans are predisposed to forming “first impressions” about the people we encounter including impressions about their personality traits. While the relationship between personality and strategic decision-making has been widely explored, we examine the role of personality impressions in predicting strategic behaviour and devising behavioural responses. In a laboratory setting, after only 4-minutes of “small talk”, subjects developed a sense of the personality of their partners, particularly extraversion, which consequently ... read the full article hereLink opens in a new window.

Interim Communications Manager, Research

We are pleased to welcome Sheila Kiggins to the department. Sheila has the following message for all staff:

"I just wanted to say a quick hello, I’m covering Claire Gerard’s maternity leave with a focus on research news and impact – so please drop me a line to keep me up to date on conversations with policy-makers, new papers published, media invitations – anything you’d normally let Claire know about. I was previously in the main University press team and have worked in Parliament in the past so I’m also happy to offer support on press and public affairs if needed.

I’ll be in room S2.131 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. My extension is x23468 and my email is s.kiggins@warwick.ac.uk

Sheila Kiggins"

Third suite of top Economics student research papers published on Warwick Monash portal

Ten exciting and original dissertations have been published today in the bi-annual Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers (WM-ESP) series. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

Student satisfaction and graduate outcomes success for Warwick Economics

As we welcome new and returning students at the start of a new academic year, we take the opportunity to report on the positive results of the National Student Survey (NSS), the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES), and the Graduate Outcomes survey we received over the summer. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

People can put an exact number on their feelings but we don't know how they do it - yet

People's assessment of their own feelings on a numerical scale has no objective basis but is a better predictor of major life changes such as moving house, leaving a life partner or changing jobs than is a whole basket of social and economic indicators, according to a new study by Warwick economist Professor Andrew Oswald and Dr. Caspar Kaiser of the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

Economics PhD student's research shows how training can help to reduce sexual harassment

Research by Warwick Economics PhD student Karmini Sharma has demonstrated the effectiveness of training interventions in reducing sexual harassment behaviour. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

Professor Andrew Oswald named as Clarivate Citation Laureate 2022

Congratulations to our faculty member Professor Andrew Oswald on receiving a prestigious honour of being selected as a Citation Laureate for 2022 by Clarivate Plc. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

University Undergraduate Open Days 2022 – Save the Date

A big thank you to all staff who gave up their time on Saturday 8 October to support our departmental Open Day session. The next Open Day will take place on Saturday 22 October. Please save this date in your diary as we have called for Academic staff to support the events organised by the Department.

Walk with colleagues

Join us for a short 20 minute walk - Monday to Friday at 12.00pm. If you are in the Department and fancy a breath of fresh air during an early lunch break, come for a walk and a chat along the way. Be at Colin’s office (S2.130) by 12.00pm.

Departmental HR Update

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Health and Wellbeing

Good health and wellbeing is paramount for staff at all times. The University offers a range of remote sessions dedicated to improving our wellbeing. We encourage as many of you as possible to explore any one of these opportunities.

Report and Support

Since its introduction, the University Report and Support scheme has been utilised by staff and students to report incidences of bullying/harassment, sexual misconduct, hate crime and discrimination. The University has analysed have produced the first Annual Report which shows that there has been significant use of the system by students and a smaller number of staff since the introduction of the scheme.

Conference Support Award

The University has reinstated the Conference Support Award Scheme. The Conference/Training Support Award scheme provides up to £200 to help cover the additional caring costs that individuals incur in order to attend a conference/training session or similar event. Details of the scheme and application form are available here. Applications should be forwarded to Sarah Duggan – Head of Administration, Business and Research in the first instance.

Should you have any queries regarding the scheme, please contact the departmental HR Officer.

Publications, Presentations & Workshops

Roger Farmer wrote a column in tribute of Axel Leijonhufvud for VoxEU. Read the full article hereLink opens in a new window

Qianxue Zhang and Jiaqi Li have won a CEPR-STEG PhD Research Grant (£14,640) to investigate how structural transformation has affected female empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Eleanya Nduku was awarded a research grant by the UKERC for the Energy, Health and Happiness projectLink opens in a new window.

Mingli Chen's paper (with Alexandre Belloni, Oscar Hernan Madrid Padilla, and Zixuan Wang) 'High Dimensional Latent Panel Quantile Regression with an Application to Asset Pricing' has been accepted by the Annals of Statistics.

Working Papers

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Sonia Bhalotra's working paper (with Damian Clarke) Analysis of TwinsLink opens in a new window has been released.

Arun Advani's working paper (with David Burgherr and Andy Summers) Taxation and Migration by the Super-RichLink opens in a new window has been released.

Eleonora Alabrese's working paper National Polls, Local Preferences and Voters' Behaviour : Evidence from the UK General ElectionsLink opens in a new window has been released.

Juliana Carneiro's working paper (with Matthew A. Cole and Eric Strobl) Foetal Exposure to Air Pollution and Students Cognitive Performance : Evidence from Agricultural Fires in BrazilLink opens in a new window has been released.

Media Coverage

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"Small Talk and Theory of Mind is Strategic Decision-Making"Link opens in a new window by Neha Bose and Daniel Sgroi received a great deal of media attention in August/September including front page coverage in the GuardianLink opens in a new window, and Daniel was interviews by the Times, Euronews and BBC Radio 5 (as part of the “Naked ScientistsLink opens in a new window” show) with coverage in many other leading newspapers and websites.

"The Midlife Crisis Is Very Real and Nothing to Be Laughed AtLink opens in a new window" - Andrew Oswald's research mentioned - New York Times - 21 September 2022.

"Education Divides Everything, Including Life and Death"Link opens in a new window - Andrew Oswald's research mentioned - New York Times - 5 October 2022.

"How People Rate Pizza, Jobs and Relationships Is Surprisingly Predictive of Their Behavior"Link opens in a new window - Andrew Oswald's research mentioned - Scientific American - 3 October 2022.

"Behind Moscow's bluster, sanctions are making Russia suffer"Link opens in a new window - Mark Harrison quoted - 8 October 2022.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP mentioned Warwick Economics research led by Dr Arun Advani on the Radio 4 PM programme during an interview with Evan DavisLink opens in a new window - 3 October.

Ms Reeves MP also mentioned Arun’s work in a BBC TV news interview which she tweeted a clip ofLink opens in a new window - 3 October.

Dates For Your Diary

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