University of California SAN DIEGO
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
Placement Packet:
2013-2014 Job Market Candidates
October 2013
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO UCSD
BERKELEY • DAVIS • IRVINE • LOS ANGELES • MERCED • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO SANTA BARBARA • SANTA CRUZ
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS (858) 534-1867
(858) 822-5692 FAX
9500 GILMAN DRIVE #0508 LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA 92093-0508
October 2013 Dear Colleague,
The purpose of this letter is to introduce our 2013-14 Job Market candidates to you. Each of the candidates listed below has either completed requirements for their PhD or is expected to do so by the end of the current academic year. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order and I have included a copy of each candidate’s CV. In addition to the material contained in this letter, the Job Market Webpage has links to the personal websites of the candidates which contain additional information. All candidates expect to be available for interviews at the AEA meetings in Philadelphia in January 2014.
The candidates along with their fields are:
Brayak, Travis Primary: Public Economics, Applied Microeconomics Secondary: Labor Economics, Microeconomics (Teaching) Chen, Linchun (Lily) Primary: Econometrics
Secondary: Empirical Macroeconomics, Empirical Industrial Organization, Financial Econometrics
Kuhn, Michael Primary: Behavioral / Experimental Economics, Labor Economics
Secondary: Public Economics Lin, Charles Primary: Microeconomics Theory
Secondary: Industrial Organization, Political Economy Moon, Jong-Myun Primary: Econometrics
Secondary: Financial Econometrics, Labor Economics, Game Theory
Morris, Stephen D. Primary: Econometrics, Macroeconomics
Schmidt, Lawrence Primary: Financial Economics, Macroeconomics
Secondary: Applied Econometrics
Sheth, Ketki Primary: Development, Health Economics, Education Economics
Secondary: Labor Economics
Shim, Myungkyu Primary: Macroeconomic Theory, Macro Labor, Global Games Secondary: Labor Economics
Xia, Fan (Dora) Primary: Macroeconomics, Asset Pricing
Secondary: Applied Econometrics, Monetary Policy Zieleniak, Jedrzej (Yendrick) Primary: Education, Labor
Secondary: Development Economics, Field Experiments
If you require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact me or the advisor of the candidate in question. Advisor contact information follows and can also be found on each candidate’s CV.
Sincerely,
Michelle White Professor
Placement Director
miwhite@ucsd.edu
858-534-2783
University of California, San Diego Department of Economics Job Market Contact List 2013-14
STUDENT ADVISOR TELEPHONE/EMAIL
Travis Brayak Prashant Bharadwaj (858) 822-6760
tbrayak@ucsd.edu prbharadwaj@ucsd.edu
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~tbrayak Julie Berry Cullen (858) 822-2056 jbcullen@ucsd.edu Linchun (Lily) Chen Ivana Komunjer (858) 822-0667
lic026@ucsd.edu komunjer@ucsd.edu
http://www.linchunchen.com/
Michael Kuhn James Andreoni (858) 534-3832
mkuhn@ucsd.edu andreoni@ucsd.edu
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~mkuhn/
Charles Lin Nageeb Ali (858) 534-8250
chl083@ucsd.edu snali@ucsd.edu
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~chl083/
Stephen D. Morris James Hamilton (858) 534-5986
sdmorris@ucsd.edu jhamilton@ucsd.edu
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~sdmorris
Jong-Moon Myun Ivana Komunjer (858) 822-0667
j6moon@ucsd.edu komunjer@ucsd.edu
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~j6moon/
Lawrence Schmidt Allan Timmermann (858) 534-0894
lschmidt@ucsd.edu atimmermann@ucsd.edu
http://econ.ucsd.edu/~lschmidt
Ketki Sheth Karthik Muralidharan (858) 534-2425
ksheth@ucsd.edu muralidharan@ucsd.edu
http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~ksheth/ Craig McIntosh (858) 822-1125 ctmcintosh@ucsd.edu
Myungkyu Shim Valerie Ramey (858) 534-2388
mkshim@ucsd.edu vramey@ucsd.edu
http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~mkshim/
Fan (Dora) Xia James Hamilton (858) 534-5986
faxia@ucsd.edu jhamilton@ucsd.edu
http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~faxia/
Jedrzej (Yendrick) Zieleniak Julian Betts (858) 534-3369
jzieleniak@ucsd.edu jbetts@ucsd.edu
http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~jzieleni/ Craig McIntosh (858) 822-1125
ctmcintosh@ucsd.edu
Travis F Brayak
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
Placement Director:
Placement Assistant:
Michelle White Suzi Harlow
(858) 534-2783 (858) 534-1867
miwhite@ucsd.edu sharlow@ucsd.edu
Contact Information
Mobile: (734) 604-8547 E-mail: tbrayak@ucsd.edu
WWW: http://econ.ucsd.edu/˜tbrayak
Department of Economics, 0508 University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive #0508
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508 Date of Birth: 18 July 1983 Sex: Male Citizenship: US
Undergraduate Education
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
B.S. in Economics and Physics, 2005, Graduate with Distinction, Honors in Economics
Graduate Education
UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Ph.D., Department of Economics
Job Market Paper: Powers of the Pill: Heterogeneity and the Marriage Market September 2009 - June 2014 (Expected)
Thesis Committee and References:
Prashant Bharadwaj (Co-Chair)
Phone: (858) 822-6760
E-mail: prbharadwaj@ucsd.edu
Julie Cullen (Co-Chair)
Phone: (858) 822-2056 E-mail: jbcullen@ucsd.edu
Gordon Dahl Committee Member Phone: (858) 822-0644 E-mail: gdahl@ucsd.edu
DESIRED TEACHING AND RESEARCH:
Primary: Applied Microeconomics, Public Economics Secondary: Labor Economics, Microeconomics (Teaching)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Teaching Assistant at UCSD for Intermediate Microeconomics Econometrics
Public Economics Public Policy
Decisions Under Uncertainty
Audited “The College Classroom”, part of UCSD’s Center for Teaching Developments Preparing Future Practitioners (PFP) program.
Adjunct instructor at Bay de Noc Community College Substitute teacher at Escanaba Public Schools
1
Travis F Brayak
RELEVANT POSITIONS HELD:
Staff Analyst. ApplEcon: Applied Economic Consultants. May 2006-June 2009.
RAship with Prashant Bharadwaj. 2012.
HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND FELLOWSHIPS:
UCSD Department of Economics Research Grant.
UCSD Department of Economics CPhil Fellowship.
Summer Graduate Student Research Fellowship. Summer 2010.
University of Michigan Honor’s Program.
Member of Sigma Pi Sigma, The Physics Honor Society.
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS:
Job Market Paper: Powers of the Pill: Heterogeneity and the Marriage Market
I investigate the effects of women’s early contraceptive Pill access on the marriage market. Consistent with previous research, I find a decrease in early marriage for more-educated women, but also find a strong effect for less-educated women. The delay in early marriage thickened the marriage market for both less-educated and more-educated women, resulting in a new matching equilibrium. For more- educated women, early Pill access increases the probability of marriage and decreases the educational assortative mating. Early Pill access also affects the spousal labor market by increasing the hours worked and income level. These results are consistent with increases in match quality and marriage surplus resulting from Pill induced marriage delay.
Contextual Measures in Social Networks
Previous empirical and theoretical literature has shown that relative racial group size is an important factor for determining the friending patterns in social networks. I extend the analysis by looking at the effects of network racial diversity on the average number of friends per racial group and the same-race share of friends per racial group. Using the Add Health network data for US High Schools, I find that an increase in school racial diversity is associated with fewer number of friends, but the same-race share of friends increases. I confirm the results that larger groups have more friends and a higher same-race share of friends. As an extension, I find that an increase in a group’s average aptitude test score is associated with more friends and a drop in the same-race share of friends. These results point to how important the contextual factors are for friendship formation in social networks.
OTHER WORK:
For Whom’s Profit? For-Profit Colleges
Retirement Decision with Time-Inconsistent Preferences
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
Powers of the Pill: Heterogeneity and the Marriage Market. All California Labor Conference. UCSD.
September 2013.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Southern California Applied Microeconomcs Conference. Clairemont Mckenna Colleges.
2
Linchun (Lily) Chen University of California, San Diego
Placement Officer: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu Placement Assistant: Suzi Harlow (858) 534-1867 sharlow@ucsd.edu
Home Contact Information Office Contact Information
4075Miramar St. Apt. D University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92037 Department of Economics, 0534
(760) 670-6868 9500Gilman Dr.
lic026@ucsd.edu La Jolla, CA 92093-0534
http://www.linchunchen.com
Date of Birth:
9/5/1986Sex:
FemaleCitizenship:
China (F-1 Visa)Undergraduate Studies
B.A. Economics, Renmin (People’s) University of China, 2008
Graduate Studies
University of California, San Diego, 2008–present
Thesis title: “Essays on Identification and Weak Identification”
Expected completion date: June 2014 Thesis committee and references:
Ivana Komunjer (chair) Patrik Guggenberger Andres Santos
(858) 822-0667 (814) 863-8544 (858) 534-2407
komunjer@ucsd.edu patrik.guggenberger@gmail.com a2santos@ucsd.edu
University of California, San Diego Pennsylvania State University University of California, San Diego Department of Economics, 0508 Department of Economics Department of Economics, 0508
9500Gilman Dr. 601Kern Graduate Building 9500Gilman Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508 University Park, PA 16802 La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
Desired Teaching and Research
Primary field: econometrics
Secondary fields: empirical macroeconomics, empirical industrial organization, financial econometrics
Linchun (Lily) Chen Teaching Experience
Fall 2008–present: teaching assistant for
Econ 1: principles of microeconomics Econ 2: market imperfection and policy Econ 3: principles of macroeconomics
Econ 120B-C: Basic econometric methods and Advanced econometric methods Econ 140: economics of health producers
Econ 173A: financial markets
Summer I 2012: instructor for Econ 1: principles to microeconomics
Fall 2012: participant completing the College Classroom course and micro-teaching session Fall 2012: guest lecturer in business courses at Crawford high school , San Diego
Relevant Positions Held
Fall 2008-present teaching assistant, UCSD
Summer 2009 research assistant, Professor Michelle White, UCSD
Summer 2010 research assistant, Professor James Rauch and Marc Muendler, UCSD Spring/Fall 2011 research assistant, Professor Patrik Guggenberger, UCSD
Winter/Spring 2013 research assistant, Professor Ivana Komunjer, UCSD
Papers and Publications
“Likelihood-Based Estimation and Inference in DSGE Models with Possible Identification Failure” (Job Market Paper), October 2013, Manuscript
This paper investigates likelihood-based estimation and inference on weakly DSGE models. We suggest weak identification (usually regarded as less curvature of likelihood function) be divided into three categories, computation-based, model-based, and data-based. We propose to use drifting sequences of nonsingular matrices to measure identification strengths of those different types and analyze the impact of identification strengths on the asymptotic distribution of structural estimators. We provide two weak identification-robust tests for full parameter vector, efficient score (S) test and likelihood ratio (LR) test with asymptotic sizes equal to their nominal sizes, and construct two confidence sets by converting those two tests. Furthermore, without imposing identification assumptions on nuisance parameters, we discuss robust tests for a subset of parameters. To conclude, we use a Monte Carlo simulation of a small scale DSGE model by An and Schorfheide (2007) to illustrate our results and compare ours with existing methods to show that our tests have competitive power properties with controlled asymptotic sizes.
“Size-distortion of Subvector Lagrange Multiplier Tests in Linear IV models” (with Patrik Guggen- berger), March 2013, Unpublished Manuscript
In the linear instrumental variables model we are interested in testing a hypothesis on the coefficient of an exogenous variable when one right hand side endogenous variable is present. Under the as- sumption of conditional homoskedasticity but no restriction on the reduced form coefficient vector, we derive the asymptotic size of the subset Lagrange multiplier (LM) test and provide the nonrandom size
Linchun (Lily) Chen
corrected (SC) critical value that ensures that the resulting SC subset LM test has correct asymptotic size. We introduce an easy to implement generalized moment selection plug-in SC (GMS-PSC) subset LM test that uses a data-dependent critical value. We compare the local power properties of the GMS- PSC subset LM and subset AR test and also provide a Monte Carlo study that compares the ?finite sample properties of the two tests. The GMS-PSC is shown to have competitive power properties.
“Semi-parametric Identification of Transformation Models”, February 2013, Revision requested at the Econometrics Journal
This paper aims to provide sufficient conditions for semiparametric transformation models with en- dogenous regressions h(Y) =β0X+U to be identified under conditional moment restrictions, E(U|Z) = 0. Allowing observables(X, Y, Z)and unobservable U to be higher dimensional. In particular, we show that completeness assumption suffices for the model to be identified. This paper also shows an ap- plication to the demand of differentiated products markets, which is widely recognized as an inverse problem with endogeneity. Under certain regularity conditions, we can show that demand system is invertible to its mean utility vector, which is recognized as a transformation model, and then we will prove that the transformation model of demand is identified. This paper also provides an alternative identification results based on the work of Chiappori, Komunjer and Kristensen (2013) by assuming the existence of special regressor in the model.
“On the Asymptotic Sizes of Subset Anderson-Rubin and Lagrange Multiplier Tests in Linear Instru- mental Variable Regression Models”, (with Patrik Guggenberger, Frank Kleibergen and Sophocles Mavroeidis) Econometrica, 2012, vol. 80, No. 6, 2649-2666.
We consider tests of a simple null hypothesis on a subset of the coefficients of the exogenous and endogenous regressors in a single-equation linear instrumental variables regression model with po- tentially weak identification. Existing methods of subset inference (i) rely on the assumption that the parameters not under test are strongly identified, or (ii) are based on projection-type arguments. We show that, under homoskedasticity, the subset Anderson and Rubin (1949) test that replaces unknown parameters by limited information maximum likelihood estimates has correct asymptotic size without imposing additional identification assumptions, but that the corresponding subset Lagrange multiplier test is size distorted asymptotically.
Research in Progress
“Bayesian Evaluation of Weakly Identified DSGE Models”
“Semi-parametric Estimation of Transformation Models”
“The Determinants of Corruption: Weak Instruments and Weak Identification" (with Yongjing Zhang)
Seminars & Conferences Presentations
2011-2013 Econometrics Lunch Seminar, UCSD May 2013 Graduate Student Research Seminar, UCSD
June 2013 North American Summer Meeting of the Econometric Society, Los Angeles, CA August 2013 Joint Statistical Meetings, Montréal, Québec, Canada
October 2013 The 23rd Annual Meeting of the Midwest Econometrics Group, Bloomington, IN November 2013 Econometrics Seminar, UCSD
Linchun (Lily) Chen Honors, Scholarships, & Fellowships
2008 Chancellor’s scholarship in Renmin University of China, Beijing, China 2008 the first prize of national scholarship in China, Beijing, China
2008- present tuition scholarship, UCSD
2009 summer graduate research fellowship, UCSD 2010-2013 summer graduate teaching fellowship, UCSD 2012 C.Phil. fellowship, UCSD
2013 Triton Leadership Certificate, UCSD
Professional Affiliations
The Econometric Society, American Economic Association, American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics.
Languages
English (Fluent), Chinese (Native)
Computer Skills
Matlab, Stata, R, Gauss, Dynare, IRIS, Latex
Last updated: October 13, 2013 http://www.linchunchen.com/cv.html
MICHAEL A. KUHN
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
Placement Director: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu Placement Coordinator: Suzi Harlow (858) 534-1867 sharlow@usd.edu CONTACT INFORMATION
Department of Economics, 0508 University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
Phone (cell): (805) 453-2873 Email: mkuhn@ucsd.edu Website: http://econ.ucsd.edu/~mkuhn
DATE OF BIRTH: 09/10/1987 SEX: Male CITIZENSHIP: USA & Canada GRADUATE STUDIES
Ph.D., Economics, University of California, San Diego (expected June 2014) THESIS COMMITTEE AND REFERENCES
James Andreoni (chair) Economics
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093 Mailcode: 0508 (858) 534-3832 andreoni@ucsd.edu
Gordon B. Dahl Economics
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093 Mailcode: 0508 (858) 822-0644 gdahl@ucsd.edu
Uri Gneezy
Rady School of Management 9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093 Mailcode: 0553 (858) 534-4312 ugneezy@ucsd.edu
Julie Berry Cullen Economics
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093 Mailcode: 0508 (858) 822-2056 jbcullen@ucsd.edu UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
B.A., Economics, University of California, Los Angeles, Cum Laude, 2009
Minor in Mathematics, College Honors, Departmental Honors (Michael Rothschild, advisor) DESIRED TEACHING AND RESEARCH
Primary: Behavioral and Experimental Economics Secondary: Labor Economics, Public Finance TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2013 2009-2013 2011 2010
TA, Strategy (UC San Diego, Rady School of Management, Masters)
TA, Intermediate Microeconomics (UC San Diego, Economics, Undergraduate, 9x) TA, Introductory Microeconomics (UC San Diego, Economics, Undergraduate) TA, Intermediate Econometrics (UC San Diego, Economics, Undergraduate) RELEVANT POSITIONS HELD
2012-2013 2010-2013 2011 2004-2009 2007 2005-2006
Lab Manager, UC San Diego EconLab, Website: http://econlab.ucsd.edu RA for Professor James Andreoni, UC San Diego
RA for Professor Eli Berman, UC San Diego
RA for Professor Gary Charness, UC Santa Barbara
RA for Professor Kelly Bedard, UC Santa Barbara
RA for Professor Olivier Deschenes, UC Santa Barbara
MICHAEL A. KUHN
GRANTS, HONORS AND AWARDS 2013
2012 Clive Granger Research Fellowship, UC San Diego
Research Grant, Institute for Applied Economics, UC San Diego JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
“Experimental Methods: Extra-Laboratory Experiments – Extending the Reach of Experimental Economics,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 91: 93-100, 2013, with Gary Charness and Uri Gneezy.
We propose a new organizing scheme for classifying types of experiments. In addition to the standard categories of laboratory and field experiments, we suggest a new category: “extra-laboratory experiments.” These are experiments that have the same spirit as laboratory experiments, but are conducted in a non-standard manner. We also suggest some organizing principles to distinguish amongst the three types of experiments.
“Experimental Methods: Between-subject and Within-subject Design,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 81: 1-8, 2013, with Gary Charness and Uri Gneezy.
In this article we explore the issues that surround within-subject and between-subject designs. We describe experiments in economics and in psychology that make comparisons using either of these designs (or both) that sometimes yield the same results and sometimes do not. The overall goal is to establish a framework for understanding which critical questions need to be asked about such experimental studies, what authors of such studies can do to ameliorate fears of confoundedness, and which scenarios are particularly susceptible to divergent results from the two approaches.
Overall, we find that both designs have their merits, and the choice of designs should be carefully considered in the context of the question being studied and in terms of the practical implementation of the research study.
JOB MARKET PAPER
“The Unforeseen Benefits of EBT: What Can They Tell Us About Dynamic Inconsistency?”
Intra-month cycles in household consumption and expenditures are often considered hallmarks of dynamically-inconsistent planning. I find that households with more children and gender-balanced adult populations experience this phenomenon more severely prior to the introduction of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), and that the introduction of EBT eliminates this gap. I consider whether this pattern of results is consistent with a theory based on present bias generated via the aggregation of differing time preferences within households or whether stigma is a more likely explanation. The evidence is suggestive of the former. This finding implies that policies that improve the property rights of a single recipient over a transfer disbursement and shortening the frequency of
disbursement would help improve budgeting especially for families with young children.
WORKING PAPERS
“On Measuring Time Preferences,” with James Andreoni and Charles Sprenger, under review.
Eliciting time preferences has become an important component of both laboratory and field
experiments, yet there is no consensus as how to best measure discounting. We examine the
predictive validity of two recent, simple, easily administered, and individually successful elicitation
tools: Convex Time Budgets (CTB) and Double Multiple Price Lists (DMPL). Using similar
methods, the CTB and DMPL are compared using within- and out-of-sample predictions. While
each perform equally well within sample, the CTB significantly outperforms the DMPL on out-of-
sample measures.
MICHAEL A. KUHN
“Self-Control and Intertemporal Choice: Evidence from Glucose and Depletion Interventions,” with Peter Kuhn and Marie Claire Villeval, under review.
Recent developments in economic theory model intertemporal choice decisions as problems of restraining one’s natural impulse to consume today. We use interventions that have been shown in the psychology literature to affect impulse control to examine whether this is indeed the case for laboratory elicitations of time preference. In other words, is savings behavior affected by
manipulations of willpower? Our results are mixed, with one widely used willpower-reducing intervention increasing subjects’ savings, and with evidence of substantial placebo effects with respect to another intervention based on sugared beverage consumption. Since all our treatment effects –which are substantial in magnitude– are driven by increases in the intertemporal substitution elasticity (i.e. greater sensitivity to high prices), we suspect that the primary mechanism behind them is an increase in subjects’ attention to the decision, rather than their ability to resist the temptation to get money sooner.
“Building Rational Cooperation: Learning to Start Small,” with James Andreoni and Larry Samuelson.
Cooperation and trust between parties is foundational for efficient and profitable interaction. This paper investigates how individuals can learn to build such cooperation and trust. We allow
participants in an experiment to select the distribution of stakes between the two stages of each game in a twice repeated prisoners dilemma, while holding the total stakes for the stages combined fixed. Through repetition, subjects learn to play the game using a strategy termed starting small, in which they choose to play the initial stage of the twice repeated prisoners dilemma for smaller stakes. This behavior significantly increases joint earnings relative to a scenario in which the
distribution of stakes is randomly chosen, and it does so by a larger margin than would be predicted based solely on previous work.
“Getting Paid versus Paying Up: Anomalies in Discounting,” with James Andreoni, Christina Annette Gravert, Silvia Saccardo and Yang Yang
We observe laboratory allocations of money across time in a variety of scenarios regarding whether the money is a receipt or payment and whether individuals need to invest their own (unendowed) income in order to participate. Participants display a marked preference for dividing debt into multiple, smaller payments in comparison to receipts. This observation indicates that either preferences over losses are concave, in contrast to modern theory of preference over uncertain losses, or that subjects are treating the payments not as losses, but as gains relative to their maximum potential payment. The fact that this observation is stronger when individuals are making payments using their own money is evidence towards the former. Additionally, individuals display a
substantial aversion to holding debt that does not depend on the date of the first potential payment and makes individuals look like negative discounters. Implications for public policy that involve offering good debt to individuals to foster human capital or business investment are considered.
“Ambiguity and Complexity: The Importance of the Structure of Uncertainty,” with Alex Imas.
Situations of subjective uncertainty are omnipresent in finance, policymaking and all individuals'
daily experience. Whether or not we are aware of having resolved to deal with uncertainty, we are
constantly doing so. This subconscious and subtle behavior is at distinct odds with the current
mathematical tools economists use to characterize decision making in these contexts. Rather than
formulating and weighting a rich set of priors that partitions the space of potential states of the
world, we postulate that individuals react instinctively to the more basic structure of the uncertainty
they face. Specifically, individuals heuristically respond to situations of complex uncertainty with
MICHAEL A. KUHN
distaste, in favor of simpler uncertainty. People substitute the very difficult problem of formulating, weighting and compounding an exhaustive prior set for the relatively easy problem of evaluating the number of priors. This behavior could potentially generate ambiguity aversion, because of the different complexity levels of choices offered to individuals in objective and subjective gambles. We test for this behavior by manipulating complexity in uncertain choice directly.
“How Incentives Affect Biases,” with Uri Gneezy and Alex Imas.
When individuals asses uncertain prospects of future punishments or rewards, they are confronted with the sensations of anticipation and anxiety. If we are concerned with the accuracy of such assessments, we must pay close attention to the psychological forces that generate biased opinions. Specifically, can individuals separately assess the quality of their work when they are incentivized to perform high quality work? We design two experiments to answer this question.
Suggestive evidence indicates that higher incentives for performance lead to less accurate assessments of the performance itself.
OTHER WORK
“To Settle or Not To Settle: A Review of the Literature on Arbitration in the Laboratory,”
This is the full-length article summarized in “Lab Labor: What Can Labor Economists Learn from the Lab” (Charness and Kuhn, 2010, Handbook of Labor Economics, Vol. 4, Ashenfelter and Card, eds.). It provides both supplementary review and many additional citations.
PRESENTATIONS 2013
2012 2011 2010
North American Experimental Science Association Meeting, Santa Cruz (planned) Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California (planned) All California Labor Economics Conference, UC San Diego
Bay Area Behavioral and Experimental Economics Workshop, University of San Francisco North American Winter Meeting of the Econometric Society, San Diego
North American Experimental Science Association Meeting, Tucson
Santa Barbara Conference on Experimental and Behavioral Economics, UC Santa Barbara North American Experimental Science Association Meeting, Tucson
North American Experimental Science Association Meeting, Tucson REFEREE SERVICE
European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Social Choice and Welfare
Charles H. Lin
University of California, San Diego Department of Economics
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0508 La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
Email: chl083@ucsd.edu
Homepage: http://econ.ucsd.edu/~chl083/
Office: Economics 124
Degrees
Ph.D. Economics, University of California, San Diego, expected 2014.
C. Phil. Economics, University of California, San Diego, 2010.
B.A. Economics (Honors), University of California, Berkeley, 2007.
Research Interests
Information Provision and Acquisition, Strategic Communication, Reputations
Job Market Paper
Speed Versus Accuracy in the News
Published Papers
Why People Vote: Ethical Motives and Social Incentives, with S. Nageeb Ali. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 5(2), 2013, 73-98.
Working Papers
Screening to Persuade
Honors & Awards
Summer Graduate Teaching Fellowship, UCSD. Summer 2011.
Senior Teaching Assistant, UCSD 2010-2011.
Walter P. Heller Third Year Paper Award: Honorable Mention, UCSD. 2009-2010.
Teaching Assistant Excellence Award, UCSD. 2007-2011.
Summer Graduate Student Research Grant, UCSD. 2008-2010.
Lipson Scholar, UC Berkeley, 2005.
Research Assistant
Nageeb Ali, UCSD, Spring 2009.
David Miller, UCSD, Summer 2008.
Stefano Dellavigna, UC Berkeley, April-November 2006.
Referee Service
American Economic Review, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Politics, Journal of Eco- nomics and Business Organization, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization.
Charles H. Lin 2
Teaching Experience
Lecturer, UCSD Department of Economics Lower Division
Market Imperfections and Policy.
Instructor, UCSD Academic Connections Economics for Public Policy.
Teaching Assistant, UCSD Department of Economics Lower Division
Introduction to Microeconomics, Market Imperfections and Policy, Introduction to Macroeco- nomics.
Upper Division
Intermediate Microeconomic Theory Sequence, Game Theory, Operations Research, Financial Economics.
Last updated: October 13, 2013
JONG-MYUN MOON
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
Placement Director: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu Placement Assistant: Suzi Harlow (858) 822-3502 sharlow@ucsd.edu
ADDRESS
Department of Economics, 0508 University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508 CONTACT
Phone: (858) 740-8839
Webpage : http://econ.ucsd.edu/~j6moon E-mail: j6moon@ucsd.edu
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Economics, University of California, San Diego, expected June 2014 M.A. Economics, Seoul National University, 2008
B.A. Economics, Seoul National University, 2006
B.S. Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University, 2001 DISSERTATION:
TITLE: Sieve Extremum Estimation of Transformation Models REFERENCES:
Prof. Ivana Komunjer (Chair) UCSD Economics
858-822-0667
econ.ucsd.edu/~ikomunje komunjer@ucsd.edu
Prof. Brendan Beare UCSD Economics 858-534-2403
econ.ucsd.edu/~bbeare bbeare@ucsd.edu
Prof. Andres Santos UCSD Economics 858-534-2407
econ.ucsd.edu/~a2santos a2santos@ucsd.edu DESIRED TEACHING AND RESEARCH:
Primary Field: Econometrics
Secondary Fields: Financial Econometrics, Labor Economics, Game Theory TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
2008-Present: Teaching Assistant, UCSD Economics, Econ 1 (Principles of Microeconomics) Econ 100 A/C (Microeconomics) Econ 109 (Game Theory) Econ 110 A (Macroeconomics) Econ 114 (Economics of Immigration) Econ 120 A/B/C (Econometrics) Econ 200 B (Ph.D. Microeconomics) Econ 220 A/B/C (Ph.D. Econometrics)
JONG-MYUN MOON
RELEVANT POSITIONS HELD:
Research Assistant, Prof. Brendan Bear, UCSD, Fall 2010
Research Assistant, Prof. Nageeb Ali and David Miller, UCSD, Fall 2009 Research Assistant, Prof. Yoon-Jae Whang, SNU, 2007
HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS:
Teaching Assistant Excellence Award for Graduate Class, UCSD Economics, 2012 Teaching Assistant Excellence Award for Undergraduate Class, UCSD Economics, 2010 Graduate Summer Research Fellowship, UCSD Economics, 2009
Tae-Sung Kim Award, SNU Economics, 2007
PAPERS:
Sieve Extremum Estimation of Transformation Models (Job Market Paper)
Maximum Likelihood Estimation And Inference In Finitely Identified Parametric Models (A joint work with Ivana Komunjer)
Nonparametric Tests Of Likelihood Ratio Ordering
(A joint work with Brendan Beare; Revised and resubmitted to Econometric Theory)
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
Symposium on Econometric Theory and Applications (SETA), Seoul, Korea, August 2013
Annual Meeting of the Canadian Econometrics Study Group (CESG), Waterloo, Canada, October 2013, Poster Session
STEPHEN D. MORRIS
university of california, san diego
Placement Director: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu
Placement Coordinator: Suzi Harlow (858) 534-1867 sharlow@ucsd.edu
contact information
Department of Economics, 0534 Phone: (339) 223-4464
University of California, San Diego Email: sdmorris@ucsd.edu
La Jolla, CA 92093-0534 Website: http://econ.ucsd.edu/~sdmorris
date of birth:
09/16/84sex:
Malecitizenship:
USAgraduate studies
Ph.D., Economics, University of California, San Diego, (expected 2014) M.A., Economics, University of California, San Diego, 2010
thesis committee
James D. Hamilton (Chair) Valerie Ramey Ivana Komunjer
Department of Economics Department of Economics Department of Economics
UC San Diego UC San Diego UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Dr. 9500 Gilman Dr. 9500 Gilman Dr.
La Jolla, CA. 92093-0508 La Jolla, CA. 92093-0508 La Jolla, CA. 92093-0508 jhamilton@ucsd.edu vramey@ucsd.edu komunjer@ucsd.edu
undergraduate studies
B.A., with high honors, Economics & Mathematics, Wesleyan University, 2007
honors, grants, and awards
Undergraduate Instruction Award, Economics Department, UCSD, 2013 Graduate Teaching Scholar, UCSD, 2013
Research Scholarship, UCSD, Sponsor: Hal White, 2010 Research Scholarship, UCSD, Sponsor: Marjorie Flavin, 2009
Plukas Prize for Honors Thesis in Economics, Wesleyan University, Advisor: Michael S. Hanson, 2007 Joint Program in Survey Methodology Fellow, University of Maryland and University of Michigan, 2006
desired teaching and research
Fields of Research: Econometrics, Macroeconomics
Current Research Interests: Identification, Structural Modeling
Teaching Areas: All levels econometrics and macroeconomics, micro principles.
job market paper
“Global Identification of DSGE Models ”
I reveal and correct global identification failures in dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) mod- els, and study the implications of the correction strategy. First, I provide a methodology for determining whether a DSGE model is globally identified for any parameter values in all parameter spaces in the reals, and normalizations which yield global identification. Second, using a resulting plug-in maximum likeli- hood estimator, I uncover new evidence of multi-modalness and other nonstandard features which result as byproducts of the normalization, as well as small sample bias. Finally, I describe how macroeconomic models may be specified to account for these problems.
1 October 15, 2013
STEPHEN D. MORRIS
working papers
“Global Identification of Smets and Wouters (2007)”
“Local Identification of Nonlinear DSGE Models”
“Teaching General Equilibrium to Undergraduates: A Graphical Approach”
“Environmental Policy and Short-Run Macroeconomic Tradeoffs,” with S. Fried and J. Johnson
“An Analytical Characterization of Ss Consumption and Aggregate Smoothness,” with X. Liang
permanent working papers
(2012): “VAR(1) Representation of DSGE Models.” Featured in Giacomini, R. (2013): “The Relationship Between DSGE and VAR Models,” Advances in Econometrics, 31. See also my job market paper.
research assitantships
2010-11: Ivana Komunjer, UCSD: DSGE Modeling
2009-10: James Rauch, UCSD: Educational Attainment in Middle Eastern Islamist Parties 2006: Baoline Chen, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Evalution of Interpolation Methodologies 2005-6: Michael S. Hanson, Wesleyan University: Real-Time Fed Greenbook Forecasting
other relevant positions held
2007-8: Research Analyst, Lehman Brothers, NYC, Alternative Investments.
2006: Research Analyst, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Washington DC, Office of the Director 2005-7: Tutor, Quantitative Analysis Center and Math Workshop, Wesleyan University
teaching experience
2013: Instructor, UC San Diego
Summer 2013: Econ 3, Principles of Macroeconomics
First instructor in UCSD economics department to use “flipped” classroom approach, including pre-class instructional videos, and other research-motivated pedagogy. See the teaching link on my website.
Spr 2013: Econ 2, Market Imperfections and Policy (40K+ views of slides on slideshare.net as of Oct 2013) 2012-3: Instructor, California State University San Marcos
Fall 2013: Econ 302, Intermediate Macroeconomics Spring 2013: Econ 302, Intermediate Macroeconomics Fall 2012: Econ 201, Principles of Microeconomics
2006-2012: Teaching Assistant, Consecutive Assorted Courses, Wesleyan University and UCSD
teaching references
Beth Simon Melissa Famulari Roger Arnold
Director Vice-Chair Undergraduate Studies Chair
Center for Teaching Development Department of Economics Department of Economics
UC San Diego UC San Diego California State San Marcos
9500 Gilman Dr. 9500 Gilman Dr. 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd.
La Jolla, CA. 92093-0404 La Jolla, CA. 92093-0508 San Marcos, CA 92096-0001
bsimon@cs.ucsd.edu mfamulari@ucsd.edu rarnold@csusm.edu
other
Financial Certifications: 2007-8: Series 7, Series 66, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Test 1/2
Champion, Patriot’s Day Road Race, second oldest 5 mile road race in US, 2007 (collegiate DIII XC and Track)
professional service
Referee for Journal of Business and Economic Statistics; Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking; Computational Statistics and Data Analysis
2 October 15, 2013
Lawrence Schmidt October-2013
L A W R E N C E D A V I D W A R R E N S C H M I D T U
N I V E R S I T Y O FC
A L I F O R N I A, S
A ND
I E G OPlacement Director: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu Placement Coordinator: Suzi Harlow (858) 534-1867 sharlow@ucsd.edu Department of Economics
University of California San Diego Economics Building, Room 128 9500 Gilman Dr. #0534 La Jolla, CA 92093
Phone: (925) 286-8555 lschmidt@ucsd.edu www.econ.ucsd.edu/~lschmidt Citizenship: American
GRADUATE EDUCATION
2009-2014 2012
2010
University of California, San Diego
Ph.D. Candidate, Economics
(Expected Completion in June 2014)M.S., Economics
La Jolla, CA
THESIS TITLE:
“Essays in Financial Economics”
REFERENCES:
Allan Timmermann (chair) Economics Department and Rady School of Management UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093 (858) 534-0894
atimmermann@ucsd.edu
James Hamilton
Department of Economics UC San Diego, visiting Harvard La Jolla, CA 92093
(617) 496-0832 (before Jan 2013)
(858) 534-5896 (after Jan 2014)
jhamilton@ucsd.edu
Rossen Valkanov
Rady School of Management UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093 (858) 534-0898 rvalkanov@ucsd.edu
Marjorie Flavin
Department of Economics UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093 (858) 534-4649 mflavin@ucsd.edu
Brendan Beare
Department of Economics UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093 (858) 534-2403 bbeare@ucsd.edu
Russell Wermers
Robert H. Smith School of Business University of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-0572
rwermers@rhsmith.umd.edu
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
2004-2007 University of California, Santa Barbara B.A in Economics-Mathematics
Santa Barbara, CA
DESIRED RESEARCH AND TEACHING
Primary fields: Financial Economics, Macroeconomics Secondary fields: Applied Econometrics
HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2013
2012
2011
2010 and 2011 2007
UCSD Department of Economics Travel Grant Clive Granger Fellowship
(awarded annually to the 6 top Ph.D. students at UCSD)Walter P. Heller Best Third Year Paper Award UCSD Department of Economics CPhil Fellowship
Economics Teaching Assistant Excellence Awards (Graduate and Undergraduate) UCSD Graduate Summer Research Fellowship
UCSB Overall and Departmental Academic Excellence Awards, Phi Beta Kappa
Lawrence Schmidt October-2013 JOB MARKET PAPER
Climbing and Falling off the Ladder: Asset Pricing Implications of Labor Market Event Risk Discrete events, particularly transitions between jobs, are thought to be one of the largest sources of wage dispersion. These switches often induce changes in wages that can be quite large, highly persistent, and largely uninsurable, particularly for individuals who are likely to invest in financial markets. Thus, labor market transitions can be idiosyncratic tail events, potentially having a disproportionate impact on welfare without affecting aggregate quantities. The nature of these events appears to be highly cyclical;
transitions are much more likely to be favorable if they occur during expansions relative to recessions. As such, agents may require a premium for investing in assets which underperform when labor market event risk is high, a feature absent from leading asset pricing models. This paper explores the importance of this channel in affecting asset prices. We provide empirical evidence on the plausibility of event risk in explaining the shape of the idiosyncratic distribution of income growth rates as well as the relationship between event risk and aggregate variables. Next, we formalize its role within the context of a tractable asset pricing framework with heterogeneous agents and incomplete markets. Through the lens of this stylized model, we demonstrate the ways in which event risk can amplify risk premia relative to representative agent models. In addition, we explain how certain types of event risk can help generate hard-to-match features such as conditional heteroskedasticity of returns, an implied volatility smile, and a variance risk premium, even with Gaussian, homoscedastic fundamentals. Throughout, we make minimal assumptions on the dynamics of aggregate quantities, so that our results are immediately applicable to a wide class of existing representative agent models.
OTHER RESEARCH PAPERS Runs on Money Market Mutual Funds with Allan Timmermann and Russell Wermers
We study daily money market mutual fund flows at the individual shareclass level during the financial crisis of September 2008. The unique empirical approach that we apply to this fine granularity of data brings new insights into the investor and portfolio holding characteristics that are conducive to run-risk in cash-like asset pools, as well as providing evidence on the time-series dynamics of runs and the equilibria that develop. We find that outflows during the crisis are concentrated among those money funds with higher promised yields, less liquid portfolios, low implicit sponsor backing, and higher prior flow volatility that cater to very large-scale institutional investors. Controlling for fund and investor characteristics, our estimates also find strong evidence of investor awareness of the externalities on other investors presented by their redemptions, which indicates that many institutional funds faced a non- trivial probability of experiencing large outflows. Our shareclass-level data uniquely allows us to study strategic redemption behavior among investors with different levels of sophistication, holding constant the quality of the underlying portfolio. We show evidence consistent with the most sophisticated investors exhibiting the greatest level of strategic redemptions during the crisis, which created significant negative externalities for more passive investors.
An Empirical Test of Pricing Kernel Monotonicity with Brendan Beare
A large class of asset pricing models predict that securities which have high payoffs when market returns are low tend to be more valuable than those with high payoffs when market returns are high. More generally, we expect the pricing kernel to be a monotonically decreasing function of the market return.
Numerous recent empirical studies appear to contradict this prediction. The nonmonotonicity of empirical pricing kernel estimates has become known as the pricing kernel puzzle. In this paper we propose and apply a formal statistical test of pricing kernel monotonicity. The test involves assessing the concavity of the ordinal dominance curve associated with the risk neutral and physical return distribution.
We apply the test using thirteen years of data from the market for European put and call options written
on the S&P 500 index. Statistically significant violations of pricing kernel monotonicity occur in a
substantial proportion of months, suggesting that observed nonmonotonicities are real, and unlikely to
be the product of statistical noise.
Lawrence Schmidt October-2013 Quantile Spacings: A Simple Method for the Joint Estimation of Multiple Quantiles
Walter P. Heller Award WinnerIn a variety of economic applications, we would like to learn about aspects of a conditional distribution which are not well described by conditional means and/or variances. One simple econometric approach is to model a representative number of conditional quantiles. However, many existing methods suffer from the well-known quantile crossing problem, namely that the estimated quantile functions do not satisfy a basic monotonicity requirement that every quantile function must satisfy. We propose a simple but flexible parametric model for conditional quantiles. These quantiles will satisfy the monotonicity requirement by construction, so they are not susceptible to the quantile crossing problem. Rather than directly modeling the level of each individual quantile, we begin with a single quantile (usually the median), and then add or subtract nonnegative functions (quantile spacings) to obtain the other quantiles.
We propose a simple interpolation method which generates a mapping from a finite number of quantiles to a probability density function. Two estimation methods are discussed in detail, and we characterize the limiting behavior of each. We identify a number of potential applications, and we highlight an application of the method by Schmidt, Timmermann, and Wermers (2013) to the study of a run on money market mutual funds in September 2008.
Option Portfolio Selection Under Pricing Kernel Non-Monotonicity with Brendan Beare
A recent literature in empirical finance documents the nonmonotone shape of pricing kernel estimates for several major market indices. In this paper we investigate the implications of pricing kernel nonmonotonicity for option portfolio choice. We propose a portfolio selection procedure that aims to deliver superior returns, relative to a direct market investment, by adapting to the shape of the pricing kernel. Numerical implementation of our procedure may be achieved using a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm. We investigate the out-of-sample performance of our portfolio selection procedure using twenty years of data from the market for European put and call options written on the S&P 500 index.
Monthly portfolio returns appear to first-order stochastically dominate a direct investment in the market out-of-sample and earn annualized risk-adjusted returns of 3-4% per year.
PUBLICATIONS
On The Dimensionality of Bounds Generated by the Shapley Folkman Theorem Journal of Mathematical Economics, January 2012
One Solution to the Option Pricing Overvaluation Problem: Using Down and Out Call Options Business Valuation Update, May 2011
PAPERS AT CONFERENCES / PRESENTATIONS
20102012 2013
Rady School of Management, UC San Diego
Western Finance Association Conference (discussant)
European Central Bank Conference on Macroprudential Regulation
Eighth Annual NYU Stern / New York Fed Conference on Financial Intermediation Wharton Conference on Liquidity and Financial Crises
WORK EXPERIENCE
2009 Senior Consultant
Economics and Statistics Group, Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA
2007-2009 Consultant
Economics and Statistics Group, Navigant Consulting, Inc.
Los Angeles, CA
Lawrence Schmidt October-2013
TEACHING EXPERIENCE2010 - 2012 Teaching Assistant – UCSD Rady School of Management MBA Program
Investments (Fall 2011, 2012, and 2013) Financial Risk Management (Winter 2011 and Spring 2012) New Venture Finance (Fall 2010)2010 - 2011 Teaching Assistant – UCSD Department of Economics PhD Program
Microeconomics Core: Producer Theory and Game Theory (Winter 2011)Mathematics for Economists (Summer 2010)
2009 - 2012 Teaching Assistant – UCSD Department of Economics Undergraduate Program
Microeconomics Core Sequence, Decisions Under UncertaintyREFEREE SERVICES
Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of Econometrics, Journal of Empirical Finance PROGRAMMING EXPERIENCE
Matlab, SAS, Stata, SQL, Excel, VBA, C++
K ETKI S HETH
U
NIVERSITY OFC
ALIFORNIA, S
AND
IEGOPlacement Officer: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu Placement Assistant: Suzi Harlow (858) 822-3502 sharlow@ucsd.edu C
ONTACTI
NFORMATIONDepartment of Economics, 0508 Phone (562) 405-2021 University of California, San Diego E-mail ksheth@ucsd.edu
9500 Gilman Drive Website http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~ksheth/
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
D
ATE OFB
IRTH: November 6, 1982 S
EX: F C
ITIZENSHIP: USA U
NDERGRADUATES
TUDIESB.A., Economics and Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, 2004 G
RADUATES
TUDIESPh.D. Economics, University of California, San Diego, Spring 2014 (expected) T
HESISC
OMMITTEE ANDR
EFERENCES:
Karthik Muralidharan Craig McIntosh Gordon Dahl Paul Niehaus
Co-chair Co-chair Dept. of Economics Dept. of Economics
Dept. of Economics School of Int’l Relations UC San Diego UC San Diego UC San Diego and Pacific Studies 9500 Gilman Dr. 9500 Gilman Dr.
9500 Gilman Dr. UC San Diego La Jolla, CA 92093 La Jolla, CA 92093 La Jolla, CA 92093 9500 Gilman Dr. gdahl@ucsd.edu
pniehaus@ucsd.edu kamurali@ucsd.eduLa Jolla, CA 92093 (858) 822-0644 (858) 534-3190 (858) 534-2425
ctmcintosh@ucsd.edu(858) 822-1125 T
EACHINGR
EFERENCE:
Marc Muendler Dept. of Economics UC San Diego 9500 Gilman Dr.
La Jolla, CA 92093 muendler@ucsd.edu (858) 534-4799
D
ESIREDT
EACHING ANDR
ESEARCHPrimary Fields: Development, Health Economics, Economics of Education Secondary Fields: Labor Economics
T
EACHINGE
XPERIENCE2008 – present
Teaching Assistant for UCSD Economics Department: Microeconomics, DecisionsUnder Uncertainty, Global Integration of Latin America, International Trade, Economics
of the Environment, Demographic Analysis and Forecasting, Economics and Network
Industries, Economic Growth, Operations Research
K ETKI S HETH
R
ELEVANTE
XPERIENCE2011 – present Principal Investigator, ILO/EUDN Grant
2009 – 2012 Research Assistant for Professor Karthik Muralidharan (UC San Diego, Economics) 2011 World Bank Consultant, Regional Study on Education Quality
2010 World Bank Consultant, South Asian Human Development Sector 2006 – 2008 Consultant, Chaitanya (Non-profit women’s MFI) (Maharashtra, India)
2005 – 2006 Research Assistant, Peterson Institute for International Economics (Washington D.C.) 2004 Research Assistant for Professor Edward Miguel (UC Berkeley, Economics)
2002 – 2003 Research Assistant for Professor Dacher Keltner (UC Berkeley, Psychology) H
ONORS ANDA
WARDS2011 – present Research Grant from ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility and EUDN 2010 UCSD Student Research Grant
2009, 2010 UCSD Summer Graduate Student Research Fellowship 2003 Emerging Leaders Scholarship (UC Berkeley)
P
UBLICATIONS“Gender Discrimination in the Family” (with Prashant Bharadwaj and Gordon Dahl), in Family Economics, ed.
by Esther Redmount, ABC-Clio Publishers, forthcoming.
“US China Trade Disputes: Rising Tides, Rising Stakes” (with Gary Hufbauer and Yee Wong). Institute for International Economics, Washington D.C., 2006.
R
ESEARCH INP
ROGRESSThe Distributional Consequences of Micro Health Insurance: Health Care and Income Inequality [Job Market Paper]
Despite the rapid growth of micro health insurance (MHI), there is little empirical evidence on whether poorer households experience greater health care gains. Additionally, if health care consumption increases with income, MHI may unintentionally lead to poorer households cross- subsidizing wealthier households. This paper assesses these two related distributional impacts: Health care inequality (horizontal inequity) due to heterogeneous effects and its consequence on income inequality from premium redistribution. Partnering with a microfinance organization in rural Maharashtra, India, I exploit the staggered expansion of their health insurance program to separately identify the following: 1) the initial health care consumption distribution among targeted households, 2) differential insurance demand, and 3) heterogeneous insurance effects. I estimate a health care consumption Concentration Index of .149 and find that households Below the Poverty Line (BPL) spend 34% less on health care than non-BPL households. Though insurance demand increases with income, selection does not alter the relationship between health care consumption and income. Using panel data with household fixed effects, I estimate that insurance improves health care consumption more for BPL households by USD 2 per month of coverage. This suggests that poorer households are more sensitive to cost reductions in health care and that MHI narrows the gap in health care inequality among the insured.
Twenty months after the introduction of insurance, there is no significant relationship between health
care consumption and income among the insured. Thus, while ex-ante health care consumption suggests
the poor will cross-subsidize wealthier households, ex-post behavior suggests the insurance is properly
priced to avoid increased income inequality.
K ETKI S HETH
Evaluating health-seeking behavior, utilization of care, and health risk: Evidence from a community-based insurance model in India
This paper assesses the extent to which micro health insurance (MHI) reaches its objective of reducing vulnerability and increase access to health care in low-income populations. Partnering with a women’s microfinance organization in rural Maharashtra, India, I exploit the expansion of their health insurance program by randomizing which villages were offered the insurance contract. Collecting primary data and combining it with institutional data, I estimate how insurance coverage changes health shocks and health seeking behavior. Due to potential differences between the treatment and control arms of the research design, I further corroborate my findings using panel data analysis. I fail to find support for increased use of health care, but instead find suggestive evidence of reduced health shocks, health care utilization, health expenditure, and health related debt. This suggests additional indirect benefits of increased health to insured members and improved financial sustainability of MHI contracts.
Bridging the Education Gender Gap in Developing Countries: The Role of Female Teachers with Karthik
Muralidharan. (submitted)Recruiting female teachers is frequently suggested as a policy option for improving girls' education outcomes in developing countries, but there is surprisingly limited evidence on its effectiveness in doing so. We study gender gaps in learning outcomes, and the effectiveness of female teachers in reducing these gaps using a large, representative, annual panel data set on learning outcomes in rural public schools in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. We report six main results in this paper. (1) We find a small but significant negative trend in girls' test scores in both math (0.02σ/year) and language (0.01σ/year) as they progress through the primary school system;
(2) Using five years of panel data, school-grade and student-gender by grade fixed effects, we find that both male and female teachers are more effective at teaching students of their own gender; (3) However, female teachers are more effective overall, resulting in girls' test scores improving by an additional 0.036σ in years when they are taught by a female teacher, with no adverse effects on boys when they are taught by female teachers; (4) The overall gains from having a female teacher are mainly attributable to their greater effectiveness at improving math test scores than male teachers (especially for girls); (5) We find no effect of having a same-gender teacher on attendance or school retention, suggesting that the mechanism of impact on learning outcomes is not on the extensive margin of school participation, but on the intensive margin of classroom learning; (6) Finally, we estimate that 10-20% of the negative trend in girls' test scores as they progress through school can be accounted for by the increasing probability of having a male teacher in higher grades.
R
ESEARCHP
RESENTATIONSNortheast Universities Development Consortium Conference, Harvard University (scheduled November 2013) Pacific Conference for Development Economics, San Francisco State University (2013)
Gender Beyond Boundaries, UC San Diego (2013) A
DDITIONALS
KILLSProficient in STATA
Languages: English: Native; Marathi: Competent; Gujarati: Competent; Hindi: Beginner; Spanish: Beginner
Myungkyu Shim UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
Placement Director: Michelle White (858) 534-2783 miwhite@ucsd.edu Placement Assistant: Suzi Harlow (858) 534-1867 sharlow@ucsd.edu
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Department of Economics, 0508 University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
Phone (Cel) : (858) 776-5510 Email : mkshim@ucsd.edu Website : http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~mkshim/
EDUCATION:
Ph. D. in Economics, University of California, San Diego, 2014 (Expected) M.A. in Economics, University of California, San Diego, 2009
B.A. in Economics and B.S. in Business Administration, Yonsei University, Summa Cum Laude, 2007 DISSERTATION:
THESIS TITLE: Essays in Macroeconomics EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE: June 2014 THESIS COMMITTEE AND REFERENCES:
Prof. Valerie Ramey (Chair)
Economics Department UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0508 (858) 534-2388
econ.ucsd.edu/~vramey vramey@ucsd.edu
Prof. Giacomo Rondina Economics Department UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0508 (858) 534-1059
econ.ucsd.edu/~grondina grondina@ucsd.edu
Prof. Irina Telyukova Economics Department UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0508 (858) 822-2097
econweb.ucsd.edu/~itelyuk ova
itelyukova@ucsd.edu DESIRED TEACHING AND RESEARCH:
Primary: Macroeconomic Theory, Global Games, Macro Labor Secondary: Labor Economics
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Spring 2010, 2011, 2012 Tutor for Macroeconomics Qualifying Examination, UCSD Fall 2008- Present Teaching Assistant, UCSD
- Graduate Level Macroeconomics Sequence A/B/C (Ph.D. core)
(Full Year: 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, Fall 2012, Fall 2013)
- Undergraduate Level Market Imperfections and Policy, Econometrics, Operation Research, Macroeconomics, Monetary Economics
Fall 2006- Spring 2008 Teaching Assistant for Prof. Seonghoon Cho, Yonsei University - Undergraduate Level Macroeconomics
RELEVANT POSITIONS HELD:
Myungkyu Shim
September 2011 Research Assistant for Prof. Paul Niehaus Summer 2010 – Winter 2010 Research Assistant for Prof. Valerie Ramey HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND FELLOWSHIPS:
Fall 2008- Present Tuition Scholarship, Department of Economics, UCSD 2013 Clive Granger Research Fellowship, UCSD
Summer 2013 Society for Economic Dynamics Graduate Student Travel Grant Spring 2013 Dean of Social Sciences Travel Grant, UCSD
Spring 2012, Spring 2013 Department Travel Grant, UCSD Spring 2013 Department Research Grant, UCSD
2009, 2010 Summer Graduate Research Fellowship, UCSD
2009-2010 Economics TA Excellent Award (for Graduate Course), UCSD
2008 Excellence Award, Minister of Employment and Labor Paper Competition, South Korea
Spring 2006, Spring 2007 Scholarship for Academic Excellence, Yonsei University 2004-2007 Honorable Mention, Maeil Business Economics Thesis Contest,
South Korea
Labor Economics (2004, 2005, 2006) Venture Capital (2007)
JOB MARKET PAPER:
“Incentives and Dynamics: Job Polarization as Dynamic Response of Firms to Interindustry Wage Differentials,” with Hee-Seung Yang
We study how job polarization, which is a phenomenon that employment for routine occupations has disappeared, is connected to interindustry wage differentials. Our paper shows how the rigid wage structure at industry level has affected firms’ dynamic decisions when facing exogenous changes in technology. Our main empirical finding is that, between 1980 and 2009, the progress of job polarization was faster in industries that paid relatively higher wages to workers in 1980. We explain this finding with a formal model; firms that pay relatively high wages to workers want to find alternative ways to cut
production costs and, in particular, they try to replace workers who perform routine tasks with Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) capital. Before 1980, the price of ICT capital was high, but since then it has fallen and thus, this type of substitution has increased. As a result, firms that had higher incentives to replace workers (in high wage industries) experienced faster job polarization than other firms (in low wage industries).
WORKING PAPER:
“Precision of Market-Generated Information in Economies with Coordination Motives,” Submitted with Giacomo Rondina
(This is a revised version of a paper that previously circulated under the title “Market Prices and Information Acquisition in Economies with Coordination Motives”)
We study the interaction between the precision of exogenous and market-generated information in a class of economies where firms display coordination motives in presence of dispersed information and where the outcome of the coordination is traded in a competitive asset market á-la Grossman and Stiglitz (1980). We show that when more private information is injected in the coordination economy the equilibrium asset price becomes less informative. To showcase the relevance of our result we present an application to a problem of endogenous information choice where the “Knowing What Others Know” property of information acquisition derived by Hellwig and Veldkamp (2009) breaks down in presence of market-