ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT BULLETIN Spring 2001

A WORD FROM THE CHAIR

Returning to the chairmanship after a gap of seven years, one feels a little like Rip Van Winkle, who slept for twenty years and missed the American Revolution. Some things that were just getting started during my previous term, like the annual Arrow Lectures, are now a familiar part of the department landscape. (When Bob Shiller of Yale gave the eleventh pair of Arrow lectures this year, and the first-night audience was large enough to fill the Bechtel Center in Encina Hall - including of course, Ken Arrow himself, who has yet to miss one.) And some features of the annual academic cycle seem as unchanging as the seasons, such as the rush by seniors to get into that required course they had somehow overlooked (usually 101); the frustrating wait for next year's teaching matrix, which seems to never quite get finished because some new change keeps popping up; and the speculation over who the speaker will be at the department commencement. On the last item, the answer can now be given, because Frank Wolak has agreed to explain how the state's energy crisis illustrates the need for better public understanding of basic economics. Please join us for the ceremony on June 17th.

In other ways, however, the life of the chairman is very different from seven years ago. Through the combined effects of electronic communication and new university programs (primarily new initiatives in undergraduate education), the sheer volume of business flowing through the chair's office seems to have multiplied. Fortunately, we now have a first-rate department staff, without which the office would collapse. I rely most directly on Trudy Haley and Janet Weitz, but I am also a regular consumer of the services of Susie Madsen, Suzanne Gruber and Susan Taylor. All those just-named are new in the past seven years, but they have all been with us long enough to become real experts at their jobs, to our great benefit.

Here is a brief review of the past academic year, as seen from the chairman's office: The overall highlight was the decision by Susan Athey to join the department from MIT. This was especially satisfying in light of the spirited competition we faced. Susan's arrival helps to consolidate the department's emerging strength in the younger generation of economic theorists, and will have an impact as early as next year in graduate teaching and seminar life. In junior hiring, a lot of hard work by Frank Wolak, Ilya Segal and others produced just two offers and exactly one hire. But that one set a high standard: David McKenzie of Yale, a development economist with a strong suit in econometrics. We will make good use of both parts of David's repertoire next year.

On both these hiring efforts, Deans Mac Beasley and Russell Berman were extremely helpful and supportive. Both men will leave the dean's office as of the end of the summer, but the department's multi-year hiring plan remains in effect. Because the pressures and competitive situation in economics are so different from that of most H&S departments, there is always a learning process when new deans come onto the scene. Having worked with Sharon Long on the Appointments and Promotion committee for two years, I have a high regard for her judgment and intellectual range. But as of this writing, we do not yet know who the new associate dean for economics will be. So we are in for another year of interactive learning with the dean's office. The financial constraints on the school should be improved during the coming year - the picture was looking brighter even before the announcement of the major gift to H&S from the Hewlett Foundation - but of course this does not necessarily mean that the money will be there for any specific purpose at the time the department wants.

One important area in which we will need understanding from the dean's office is how to cope with the recent round of departures for Washington, D.C. Although they all must be cautious in their public statements pending confirmation, it is no secret that John Taylor, Mark McClellan, and Anne Krueger are going to be working inside the beltway next year, quite possibly for extended periods. This is a great honor for our department, but it will leave us shorthanded in several key areas, intensifying our need for additional hiring.

John Taylor's absence will also force us to take a careful look at the setup for the Introductory Economics Center and Economics 1, particularly in light of the imminent departure of Marcelo Clerici-Arias for a position with the Center for Teaching and Learning. Fortunately, we already have a strong replacement for Marcelo in the person of Mark Tendall, long a standout teacher in Economics 1 and other undergraduate classes. But the need for increased faculty involvement in introductory teaching is very much with us, and the next time you hear my knock on your door, this may be the subject matter.

Another possibility is that the next knock on your door will be a graduate student, looking for a thesis advisor or a research assistantship. Under the leadership of John Shoven at SIEPR, the outlook for research support is generally better than a year or two ago. So if you are fortunate enough to have funding, by all means use it to put a grad student to work, as well as to advance your own scholarly pursuits. From the department standpoint, continued strong undergraduate enrollments mean that we can look for continuation of the quarter-to-quarter oscillation between TA surplus and TA glut. You would think that a department of professional economists would long ago have conquered this problem; but I can report that we have not.

Some things never change, and on the whole we can be thankful for that. Despite the challenges we have to deal with, the department can look ahead to another prosperous year.

Gavin Wright

FACULTY NEWS

Marcelo Clerici-Arias will be moving to a new position as the Associate Director for Social Sciences and Technology at the Center for Teaching and Learning here on campus. He will stay close to the Econ Department and will keep teaching courses for us.

Anne Krueger and Mark McLellan have been nominated to the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Nominations have yet to be confirmed.

Paul Milgrom will receive an honorary doctorate in September from the Stockholm School of Economics.

President Bush has nominated John Taylor to be Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs. This nomination also has yet to be confirmed.

Doug Bernheim has received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He will spend next year up on the hill at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences. Doug is the next director of SITE, replacing Tom Sargent.

Nine Stanford faculty members received Humanities Center fellowships. One of them is our very own Avner Greif. Avner has also been appointed the Bowman Family Endowed Professorship in Humanities and Sciences. Congratulations!

Masa Aoki was featured in an article titled "Blazing Policy Paths in Kasumigaseki" in The Japan Times, May 21, 2001. He is the new head of the Research Institute for Economy, Trade, and Industry, an independent administrative institution that is making innovative changes in economic policy in Japan. A copy of the article is available in Janet's office.

Michael Kumhof is going to the IMF Research Department beginning in August for one year.

Beatrix Paal has been awarded a Harrington Faculty Fellowship. She will spend next year at the University of Texas, Austin.

Antonio Rangel has been awarded a Hoover National Fellowship for 2001-2002.

ANNUAL ARROW LECTURES

The Eleventh Annual Arrow Lecture Series took place on April 30 and May 1. The lectures were given by Robert Shiller, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics, Yale University. His lectures were "How Proper Psychological Framing Permits Existing Economic Institutions to Function Well" and "How Future Technology and Risk Reframing Can Improve Economic Welfare." He is the author of the bestseller Irrational Exuberance.

GRADUATE STUDENT NEWS

INCOMING GRADUATE STUDENTS 2001-2002

The Graduate Admissions Committee (Ron McKinnon, Peter Hammond, Felix Kubler, Beatrix Paal, Antonio Rangel and Susan Taylor) report that a total of 20 new graduate students have accepted the Department's offer of admission for the graduate program. The list of students is attached. They will be joining the program in September, 2001.

The recipients of the Autumn TA Awards are:

Suraj Jacob Econ 118
Davide Lombardo Econ 140
Dana Rapoport Econ 51
Leo Rezende Econ 202
Mark Tendall Econ 1

Recipients of the Winter Quarter TA Awards are:

Jesse Czelusta Econ 116
Amar Nair Econ 51
John Romley Econ 1
Slavi Slavov Econ 111
Pai-Ling Yin Econ 102B

JOB MARKET OUTCOMES 2001

Ron Borzekowski Federal Reserve Board
Jed Devaro Cornell University
Giovanni Facchini U. of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
Brent Goldfarb Rensselaer Polytechnic
Luca Guerreiri Board of Governors of the FRB
Ali Hortacsu Econ Dept., U of Chicago
Jun Ishii UC Irvine
Christopher Kingston Amherst College
Davide Lombardo IMF
Kristin Madison Law School, U of Pennsylvania
Eva Nagypal Northwestern
Palo Ruiz-Verdu Universidad Carlos III
Clemens Sialm Business School, U of Michigan
Faye Steiner Hautes Etudes Commercial-Paris
Johannes Van Biesebroeck U of Toronto
Chao Wei U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Jingming Yan Cornerstone
Lixin Ye Ohio State University

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Faculty, Staff and Student Birth Announcements

Doug and Jennifer Bernheim are new parents. Madeline Rose was born April 22. She weighed in at 6 lbs., 3 oz. and was 19 inches tall.

Susie Madsen and her husband are the new parents of Tyler Charles Madsen, born February 3. He weighed in at 8 lbs., 10 oz. and was 20 inches tall.

Leo Rezende and Joanna Meyer are the proud and happy parents of Alexandre, their son, born Tuesday, May 22, at 2:26 am. He weighed in at 7 lbs., 8 oz. and is 21 inches tall.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!!

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CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

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Comprehensive Exam Dates:

Ice Cream Social June 6

TA Appreciation Party June 8

End of Year Barbeque June 15

Commencement Reception June 17

Summer Quarter Begins June 25