2023 was an exciting year for research in the Department of Economics. We were the proud hosts of four conferences in multiple economic fields, drawing attendance from around the world. Several of our graduate students had the opportunity to present their research at these gatherings.
Research is a cornerstone of our graduate program, with many of our students presenting at seminars and conferences at UW and beyond. Presenting research is a critical part of the process for student research development. It allows them to build confidence in front of academic audiences, share progress, and receive critical feedback that can help guide them towards the successful completion of their dissertation.
Below, several students share about their research and recent experiences presenting in a conference setting.
Cheng Chen and Lucy Hong
Dissertation Advisor(s): Ali Goli (Marketing Department, Foster School of Business), Melissa Knox, and Quan Wen
Cheng and Lucy are working together on research on e-cigarette sales restrictions, particularly the 2019 temporary ban on flavored e-cigarettes in Washington. Their research explores consumption and substitution patterns in response to regulatory efforts.
They presented their findings at the Annual Pacific Northwest Labor Day Workshop hosted at UW in mid-September. Lucy and Cheng shared that "presenting at the workshop was a valuable experience for us. The opportunity not only allowed us to network with fellow researchers but also provided a deeper understanding of the nuanced impact of e-cigarette regulations and the potential implications for public health. We are incorporating the conference feedback into our ongoing research to enhance its robustness and applicability."
Dissertation Advisor(s): Alan Griffith and Rachel Heath
Resem researches the interactions between states and societies. His recent presentation of his job market paper focused on the 19th century annexation of a portion of tribal territory in the Nagaland state of northeastern India, and examines what happens when a historically stateless, tribal society gets absorbed by a state.
He presented his findings at the 2023 Northwest Development Workshop, and will also present at one of our JSDE seminars. Resem noted that “presenting in front of an audience steepened my learning curve. It’s always fun presenting my paper in front of a new audience since the new questions I get make me go back and think hard about strengthening weak arguments I might have made.”
Dissertation Advisor(s): Yanqin Fan
Jorge is developing a “type-fixed effects” modeling framework that he uses to study the demand for addictive goods, particularly cigarettes, in the face of regulations and price increases aimed at cessation. He hopes to apply this model to other types of addictive goods in the future.
He presented his paper, “Type Fixed Effects and Rational Addiction” at the 2023 California Econometrics Conference. Jorge found this to be “an amazing experience...My research was well-received and I heard plenty of useful comments to improve for the future. The conference motivated me to apply for other future conferences and strive for excellence in research.”
Dissertation Advisor(s): Yanqin Fan
Wendao’s research interest is advancing causal inference methodologies through the application of optimal transport (OT) theory. Her job market research looks at these methodologies when self-reported outcomes are used, and presents debiased estimators in the face of misreporting behavior.
Wendao presented at the 2023 California Econometrics Conference, as well as several others outside of UW. “[California Econometrics] was a rewarding experience...They [attendees] offered insightful comments and posed intriguing questions. As the paper I presented focused solely on methodology, the audience was keen on understanding the implementation of these methods in different contexts, which provided me with valuable application-oriented insights.”
Supporting graduate education is a priority for the Department of Economics. We look forward to the developments our students will make in research in the coming year!