States that are ranked highly in an objective quality of life measure also have the highest average levels of self-reported life satisfaction. In other words, state-by-state rankings of measurements such as sunshine, state and national parks, crime rates, pollution and the cost of living run parallel with rankings of personal happiness. Co-authors Associate Professor of Economics Stephen Wu with Andrew J. Oswald of Warwick University prove this in their new study “Objective Confirmation of Subjective Measures of Human Well-being: Evidence from the USA,” published in Science magazine on Dec. 17.

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Industrial Relations published a paper written by Robert D. Morris Professor of Economics Derek Jones and Helsinki School of Economics professors Panu Kalmi and Antti Kauhane. Titled ” How Does Employee Involvement Stack Up? The Effects of Human Resource Management Policies on Performance in a Retail Firm,” the article appeared online on Dec. 8 and will appear in print in the publication’s January issue. More ...

Jeffrey Schackner ‘89, managing director and co-head of Global Consumer Products Banking at Citigroup, visited and conducted the Economics Department’s International Finance class on Nov. 30. More ...

“Capital Investment and Determinants of Financial Constraints in Estonia,” a paper written by Irma M. and Robert D. Morris Professor of Economics Derek Jones with Bersant Hobdari and Niels Mygind, has been published in Economic Systems (vol. 33[4] 2009). More ...

A team formed of students in the monetary policy class taught by Professor of Economics Ann Owen competed in the Federal Reserve Challenge in New York City on Nov. 5. The Federal Reserve Challenge is a national competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve and the Eastern Economic Association. More ...

Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Conover and Professor of Economics Elizabeth Jensen participated in CeMENT, an NSF-funded workshop organized by CSWEP (the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession) held on Nov. 19 and 20 in San Antonio. Conover was accepted as a participant in the workshop and Jensen was invited as a mentor. More ...

Professor of Economics Ann Owen was interviewed by American Public Media Marketplace reporter Jeremy Hobson about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Nov. 16 speech. Owen, a former Federal Reserve Board of Governors economist, said that the chairman's words are part of the Fed's strategy to deal with inflation. More ...

Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Conover presented a poster at the Northeast Universities Development Consortium (NEUDC) Conference, a major forum in development economics held this year at Tufts University Nov. 7-8. More ...

On Oct. 2, students in Professor of Economics Ann Owen's monetary policy class visited New York City to attend a seminar presented by New York Federal Reserve economists. The students attended sessions on the current economic situation, the labor market and the financial crisis. The seminar served as an orientation to a national competition, the Fed Challenge, sponsored by the Federal Reserve and the Eastern Economic Association. More ...

Frank Anechiarico ’71, Maynard-Knox Professor of Government and Law, was a keynote speaker at the Forum on Governance and Competitiveness organized by the Centro de Investigation y Docencia Economicas in Mexico City on September 25. More ...