The Department of Economics was honored to host Professor Guido Imbens for our 2022 Milliman Endowed Lecture in Economics on April 29th. Professor Imbens received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics along with David Card and Joshua D. Angrist for his “methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships.” He is a Professor of Econometrics and Economics at Stanford University, as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and The Econometric Society.
The day began with a technical lecture for Economics faculty and graduate students, as well as other related departments earlier in the day, entitled “The role of the propensity score in fixed effect models.” This talk provided attendees with a deeper knowledge of his research and its’ origins. Professor Imbens’ multidimensional work drew interest from members of the Departments of Statistics, Computer Science and Engineering, the School for Public Policy and Governance, and more. Economics is a diverse field with many applications, and we are proud to bring together scholars from the UW community and beyond with an event like this.
Our public lecture was attended by over 100 participants, gathering from the seats of Savery Hall and via Zoom. Professor Imbens presented “Causality in Data Science,” giving a broader overview of his work with humorous anecdotes from his distinguished career mixed in. Before joining the faculty at Stanford, he received his Ph.D. from Brown University and taught at Harvard, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. Attendees were fascinated by econometric study designs and the resulting research. Professor Imbens shared highlights from his research on military service and earnings in the Netherlands, lottery winnings, and more. His research highlights the important role of causality in decision making, and the breadth of issues that econometrics research can tackle.
The Biennial Milliman Endowed Lecture in Economics series is made possible through the generosity of Glen and Alison Milliman, who in 1995 established The Glen S. and Alison W. Milliman Endowed Fund in Economics. Glen and Alison are both UW alumni, with Glen earning his B.A. in Economics in 1981 and Alison earning her B.A. in Art History in 1984. In 2012, Glen and Alison established the Milliman Endowed Chair in Economics.
The Department of Economics is grateful to Glen and Alison for their generous support of this lecture series, and Professor Imbens for presenting an incredible lecture. If you are interested in learning more about previous Milliman Lecture speakers, you can visit our dedicated page here.