UBC IDEA

09/29/2016

We are thrilled by your initial response. Keep them rolling. Applications for Econ Cafe facilitators close Thursday!

09/26/2016

IDEA is hiring discussion facilitators for its Econ Cafe initiative! Interested in learning more about the Vancouver Downtown Eastside and the development issues we face at home? Econ Cafe is an opportunity for students to interact with residents and engage in meaningful discussions about the inherent economic obstacles in the community and around the world.
Make sure to check out the link below for more details!
Application deadline is Thursday September 29, 2016

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B84GyQudXfo_RTlyVmpEaEVSQzA/view?usp=sharing

06/06/2016

A leader in his field, Austrian neuroeconomist Ernst Fehr from Zürich University challenges the simplistic assumption that preferences are homogeneous and static.

In his research, Fehr provides empirical evidence that preferences are shaped by societies and gives a nod to behavioural economists before him who have aimed to explain inconsistencies in human rationale.

While addressing a room full of economists, Fehr, with humour, points out that "there is the economist way of thinking and there is everyone else's thought process. To the majority of the world, we're"
[the economists] the crazy ones".

On immoral and sometimes reckless behaviour in the financial sector, alluding to the 2008 global financial crisis, Fehr critiques the banking culture and in one experiment finds that bankers are as honest, if not more honest, that workers in other professions but are corrupted by a culture which encourages risky behaviour. He says "we found that bankers typically don't cheat lest they are reminded they are bankers"

Fehr is published in the most prestigious journals in economics and is widely acclaimed for his work on ethics.

06/05/2016

VSE's Nicole Fortin prepares to address inequality and the gender pay gap.

Although we are experiencing tremendous progress in bridging the gender pay gap, the progress is mostly concentrated in the first 90 percentiles of earners.

In a time where women vastly outnumber men in universities, it is important to ask why women are underrepresented in high paying jobs.

Nicole Fortin discusses preferences, the glass ceiling, and what it means to "think like a man" in the workplace in her research.

06/03/2016

A room full of economists

06/03/2016

Day one of the 51st CEA annual conference is underway!

06/01/2016

The Canadian Economics Association's (CEA) annual conference starts tomorrow in Ottawa. VSE director Thomas Lemieux, profs David Green, Matilde Bombardini, Hugh Neary and many more will be joining their collegues from around the world to present their research. The conference runs from June 2-5 and IDEA will be there to cover it.
Click the link to see if your favorite prof will be there:
https://economics.ca/2016/en/program.php

Room Locations will be available in the printed program, which is available at the onsite registration. To view your personal session(s), login at my.economics.ca and look under "Conference Schedule". Registered participants can see their room assignment on that page.

05/04/2016

A big thank you to the UBC Learning Exchange for having us over for the New Perspective on Learning in the Downtown Eastside conference today

04/23/2016

***WE'RE HIRING***
IDEA is looking for motivated volunteers to facilitate economics discussions with residents of the Vancouver Downtown Eastside as a part of our ongoing Econ Cafe project.
Check out the link below for details and application forms:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B84GyQudXfo_RTlyVmpEaEVSQzA/view?usp=sharing

02/18/2016

Do you nerd out over economics?
Do you drop "consumer theory" and "comparative advantage" on the daily?
Did you wreck monopoly as a kid?

Here is your chance to win some extra cash and earn some decent bragging rights (or maybe even a shout out from Gateman).
Moblab is putting up a long term case comp to determine which University econ's hardest.
Check out the link for more details:
https://www.moblab.com/community/blog/

01/30/2016

Our friends at FoMSF put up a mock refugee camp earlier this week.
Big kudos to them and all the clubs who participated.
Look out for more really cool stuff coming up.

01/28/2016

Come visit us at in the lower atrium of AMS Nest at the Economics Station hosted by
Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières UBC and learn some facts about the economics of a refugee camp.
Make sure you also check out this great article from The New Yorker about the Economics of Syrian Refugees!

From a financial perspective, there is little doubt that the U.S. has the capacity to absorb many more Syrian refugees.