Economics
Spitzer calls for financial oversight
Former governor of New York and Harvard Law School alumnus Eliot Spitzer returned to campus to offer his perspective on the topic of institutional corruption.
The Harvard Statistics Department marked the centennial birth year of one of its founding members, William Gemmell Cochran, with a symposium celebrating his landmark scholarship.
Economics Articles
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Housing woes continue, says Harvard report
The worst U.S. housing downturn in generations continues to grind on, finds a study released today (June 22) by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Obama and the art of the possible
With the passing of Barack Obama’s 100th day in office, journalists and pundits are posing a simple but all-important question: How is the president doing? Robert Kuttner, author and political commentator, gave his own evaluation of the Obama presidency for the 2009 Lowell Lecture on April 30 in Emerson Hall.
‘What Just Happened? What’s Next?’
You might think of the little bits of good news that came out last week as the macroeconomic equivalent of the first crocuses of spring. There was the heartening word that initial jobless claims are slowing.
Frank calls for (re) regulation
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, came to the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Monday (April 6) to lay out a four-point program for re-regulating the nation’s financial system.
Finance scholar Chetty named professor of economics
Raj Chetty, a public economist whose work focuses on social insurance and tax policy, has been appointed professor of economics in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), effective April 1.
Taking on the ‘Godzilla Economy’
The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas delivered a somber economic message Monday night (Feb. 23) during the annual Albert H. Gordon Lecture at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum. But while Richard Fisher admitted that policymakers should have heeded the signs of financial stress long ago, he expressed hope that central bankers can play a key role in bringing the global economy back to health.
N.E. HUD chief offers suggestions
The chief federal housing official in New England told a Harvard University audience that his department is poised to help foreclosure-imperiled homeowners navigate the nation’s economic crisis, but he called on President-elect Barack Obama to empower that effort by expanding the nation’s commitment to fair and affordable housing.
IOP survey finds concerns over economy skyrocket
A new national poll by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP), located at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), finds that 18- to 24-year-old likely voters continue to prefer U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (56 percent) over U.S. Sen. John McCain (30 percent) in the race for president. Economic issues are far and away the No. 1 national issue of concern for young people — over 10 times more important today (53 percent) than they were just one year ago (5 percent).
Experts attempt to parse the ‘crisis in the markets’
“We’ve been in a slow-motion train wreck … and now it’s just a train wreck.” This quip, by Jay Light, Dwight P. Robinson Jr. Professor of Business Administration and dean of Harvard Business School (HBS), was one of the observations offered at a panel discussion Sept. 25 intended to explain the Wall Street financial crisis to the Harvard community.
Faculty experts to explore financial crisis in Webcast panel
Harvard President Drew Faust invites students, faculty, and staff to a special panel discussion Thursday, Sept. 25, on the current turmoil in the financial markets. "Understanding the Crisis in the Markets: A Panel of Harvard Experts" will begin at 4 p.m. in Sanders Theatre.
Bernanke touts nation’s economic resilience
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Wednesday (June 4) that education is both the best hedge against economic uncertainty and a student’s greatest asset, and urged Harvard College’s Class of 2008 to use their education to live rewarding lives and make the world a better place.
Genuine debate illuminates knotty ethical questions
Should students receive financial compensation for high test scores? Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? These questions represent just a few of the many ethical issues that Harvard professors Michael Sandel, Amartya Sen, and visiting professor Philippe van Parijs from the University of Louvain (Belgium) have been considering this semester.
Rothschild explores economics’ human side
Blackmail and attempted murder are not typically studied as part of economic history. However, a credit crisis among 18th century French silk and brandy merchants led to just such dramatic incidents, the accounts of which piqued the interest of Emma Rothschild, a historian of economic life, empires, and Atlantic connections.
Zoellick wants to ‘retool’ the World Bank
World Bank President Robert Zoellick reiterated his call to retool the organization to better meet the new set of development challenges across the globe during a discussion Thursday night (April 3) at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard Kennedy School.
Seminar calls Iraq conflict America’s first ‘credit card war’
The five-year-old Iraq conflict is America’s first “credit card war.” And like anyone who has run up a huge credit card bill knows, a credit card debt can turn into a crushing burden with long-term consequences. This, too, will be a legacy of the Iraq War.
Young scholars show findings at HGSE Student Research Conference
In a basement classroom in Larsen Hall on Friday (Feb. 23), there was everything young learners need: chalkboards, a screen, bright lights, sturdy chairs - and good teachers. In this case, four good teachers - all of them Ed.M. students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). The four were among 230 young scholars from universities across North America at HGSE's daylong Student Research Conference. The annual event - in its 12th year, and the only one of its kind in the country - provides a way for first-time education researchers to mingle with their peers, practice presentation skills, and get a sense of emerging scholarship.
Economics in the apple heartland
A Harvard doctoral student has traveled to the wild apple's home in the mountains of Central Asia to lend a hand to an international nonprofit working with local apple farmers to improve how they grow, harvest, and sell their crops. Plamen Nikolov, a first-year Ph.D. student in health economics, has designed an assessment survey and is leading data collection teams as they interview local households in two small villages on Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul Lake.
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