DURHAM, N.C. – The emergence of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant may actually help the U.S. economy by dulling rising inflation. But in the longer term, it may hinder the recovery of supply chain problems plaguing the delivery of goods around the globe, further taxing the economy, two Duke University experts said Tuesday. Duke economists Emma Rasiel and Connel Fullenkamp discussed myriad issues related to inflation, the U.S. and global economy, and the impact of the new COVID variant during a virtual media briefing for… read more about Inflation and Omicron: Don’t Panic, Don’t Horde, Experts Advise »
By the time he was a junior, Brian Zorb ’09 knew he wanted to pursue a career in finance that diverged from the investment banking and sales and trading paths many of his peers were taking. An internship experience at a brokerage firm in his hometown sparked his interest in investment decision-making. “I was much more focused on asset management/investment management jobs and being outside of New York City, and that was pretty unique,” he said. In the spring semester of 2008, Zorb signed up to be among the first group of… read more about “People First” Drives Cycles of Mentorship in Duke Financial Economics Center »
The Econ faculty and staff celebrating anniversaries this year include (from top left): Atila Abdulkadiroglu, Daniel Yi Xu, Lori Zagiba, Patrick Bayer, Atilla Ambrus, Kevin Hoover, Erica Field, Chris Geddings and Adam Rosen, as well as Addie Stagg (not pictured). Ten Economics faculty and staff members are celebrating major departmental anniversaries this year. As we celebrate the years they have spent with Duke Econ, we want to acknowledge the role their knowledge, expertise and… read more about Duke Econ Celebrates 10 Staff and Faculty Anniversaries »
A new faculty-led Trinity College project, which examines the politics and histories of intercollegiate athletics and athletes, will include an Economics course this Spring. “Race and the Business of College Sports” (ECON 290) is part of the new “Black in Blue: The Sports and Race Project” – a project that includes classes, public events, workshops and podcasts as it critically studies race and sports at Duke, within its geographic placement, and beyond. “Race and the Business of… read more about Course on Race and College Sports Offered this Spring »
Bringing an exciting new group of economics scholars together for the first time is one of the highlights of every fall semester. But it’s one of the many things that looks different in the midst of COVID-19. The annual Ph.D. orientation session went online for the second year in a row. However, students were still able to kick off their Duke careers with an in-person event in August, including a campus tour and a happy hour outside of Economics’ home in the Social Sciences Building. The 2021 cohort was also joined by… read more about Two Ph.D. Cohorts Welcomed to Campus This Fall »
Choosing a major is a significant step in your academic journey. But as an economics major, many more decisions remain. Do you want to focus on micro- or macroeconomics? Applied or theoretical? Individual behavior or firm strategy? Public goods or markets, and if markets, formal or informal? Then there’s asset pricing, international development, industrial organization and labor economics, not to mention monetary policy and econometrics — and, of course, the history of economic thought in each of those areas, plus many… read more about Duke Econ Launches Mentorship Program for Majors »
Department: The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University Years at Duke: 6 Number of employees: 20 Who they are: Named after Samuel DuBois Cook, the first Black faculty member at Duke, the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity studies the causes and consequences of inequality and develops remedies for unfair disparities and their adverse effects. “We are Duke’s only center that is devoted intensively to problems of inequality,”… read more about Department Spotlight: Cook Center Shines a Light on Inequality »
Senior year for Duke’s Class of 2020 did not go as expected. As they look toward their long-delayed, eagerly anticipated, in-person commencement ceremony on Sept. 26, members of the Class of 2020 share their memories of Duke and how they learned to cherish ordinary moments of connection and community. Katie Cassedy Katie graduated in 2020 with an economics major and a minor in visual media studies. She is currently a UK Agency Associate in LinkedIn’s Business… read more about The Class of 2020 Remembers Duke »
DURHAM, N.C. — During the decade-long economic recovery following the Great Recession, Black households lost much more wealth than white families, regardless of class or profession, according to new research from Duke University’s Samuel DuBois Cook Center for Social Equity. Notably, while most other groups experienced an economic recovery between 2010 and 2019, Black professionals suffered losses in wealth, the authors found. Meanwhile, Black working-class families remained in the worst overall economic position. As a… read more about Race, Not Job, Predicts Economic Outcomes for Black Households »
Unemployment benefits aimed at helping people during the pandemic expire Sept. 6, which could lead to a surge in job seekers as $300 per week supplemental unemployment payments end. Connel Fullenkamp, a professor of the practice of economics at Duke, says there’s good reason to believe this scenario. “Economists have estimated that nearly half of those unemployed during the pandemic recession earned a higher effective wage from their unemployment benefits than they did on the job,” says Fullenkamp, who is also director of… read more about Pandemic Unemployment Benefits End Sept. 6. It's Not Simple as to What This Will Do to the Labor Market »
Duke Economics is delighted to welcome former postdoc Bocar Ba back to the department as an assistant professor. The French economist spent the 2018–2019 academic year at Duke after completing his Ph.D. in public policy at the University of Chicago. After another postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania’s Quattrone Center, he spent a year as a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine. Ba’s research is focused on the economics of crime and labor. He has always been interested in learning more… read more about Bocar Ba Rejoins Duke Faculty, Continues Research on Economics of Crime and Labor »
Duke Economics is excited to introduce Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey as a postdoctoral associate for the 2021–2022 academic year. Born in Nicaragua, Valenzuela-Stookey spent his early life in Massachusetts. As an undergraduate at Columbia University, he began to show an interest in economics and was originally interested in working at a multinational institution like the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. But a research assistantship with Columbia professor Joseph Stiglitz solidified his interest in economic theory. “… read more about Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey Begins Postdoc Looking for Collaboration and New Ideas »
Duke Economics is pleased to welcome Pengpeng Xiao to the department as an assistant research professor of Economics. Her hiring adds to Duke’s strong roster of experts on the gender dynamics of the labor market. Originally from Shenzhen, China, Xiao only began to study economics late in her academic career. After completing her undergraduate degree at Vassar College, she worked as a research assistant at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. There, she attended economics seminars about kidney exchange… read more about Labor Economist Pengpeng Xiao Joins Duke Faculty »
With Duke Engineering students facilitating cryptocurrency transactions for class and DEMAN Live partnering with the Innovation Co-Lab to explore NFTs, it feels like blockchain is suddenly everywhere at Duke. But that wasn’t the case back when Manmit Singh ’22, now president of the Duke Blockchain Lab, was a first-year student. “I thought blockchain was some kind of video game,” Singh said wryly. While most people know of blockchain through Bitcoin and other digital currencies, it’s so much more than that. A blockchain is… read more about These Days, Blockchain is Everywhere at Duke »
