Economics Department Hosts Economics Association Annual Conference

In early November, the Economics Department hosted the 78th Annual New York State Economics Association (NYSEA) Annual Conference at St. John Fisher University, bringing together economists from across the northeast to discuss the latest research and scholarly findings.

Dr. Lauren Kocman, professor of economics and immediate past-president of the NYSEA, organized the conference with help from Dr. Clair Smith, associate professor of economics, NYSEA board member, and chair of the Undergraduate Paper Competition, and Dr. Ben Niu, associate professor of economics and associate editor of the New York Economics Review.

Dr. Monica Litzenberger, associate professor of economics, chaired two sessions and presented her economic pedagogy research. Assistant Professors Drs. Marco Dinelli and Jinyan Chang joined Smith on a panel exploring the job market for graduate students.

Additionally, Smith and Chang were joined by Dr. Tim Madigan, professor of philosophy, in sharing their research on the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.

Three Fisher economics majors competed in the Undergraduate Paper Competition. Mary Marrapese (Honors), Ryan Campbell, and Brian Lester were among 15 undergraduates submitting papers for consideration. Campbell (pictured above) won second place in the competition with his paper, “Renewable Energy & Economic Growth: Evidence from a Global panel Data Analysis of Advanced and Emerging Economies.”

Dr. Chad Sparber, W. Bradford Wiley Chair in International Economics, professor of economics, and Storing-Hou Director of the Lampert Institute at Colgate University, delivered the keynote address, “The Cost of Hiring H-1B Workers.” Sparber is a research fellow at the University College London, the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany,  , and the Poverty Action Lab at MIT.