UVM Economics

That's a wrap on the fall semester. Congratulations, Catamounts.

(P: Adam Silverman Photography)

Prof Nathalie Mathieu-Bolh talks about her research on obesity and health policy!

Prof. Nathalie Mathieu-Bolh of University of Vermont on the economics of obesity, food and policy We are what we eat: Obesity, income, and social comparisons, Could obesity be contagious? social influence, food consumption behavior, and body weight outcom...

Economist John List writes, "I just finished a Forbes interview where they asked me why so many of the billionaires in the US have economics degrees. My response: that fact is likely due to 1 part value-added and 2 parts selection.

"The value-added part revolves around economics courses teaching critical thinking, which are key to success in every walk of life. See this paper for a discussion of how to develop individual skills that facilitate logical and informed decision amongst your students and workers: https://lnkd.in/e4tcgQ2.

"The selection aspect revolves around 2 parts: i) smart and motivated people typically select into studying economics because they know it is a difficult subject and ii) those entrants are considerably culled because it takes intelligence and motivation to actually earn an economics degree.

"Why is economics so difficult? Because any new economics class at once teaches:
i) a new language (economese),
ii) to apply abstract and conceptual reasoning,
iii) to apply mathematical concepts that they memorized mechanically in High School,
iv) to become competent at drawing, manipulating, and understanding graphs/figures, and
v) to use logic in places that they have never attempted to apply such concepts"

Enhancing Critical Thinking Skill Formation: Getting Fast Thinkers to Slow Down Downloadable! In the past several decades academics and policymakers have grappled with how to augment the traditional classroom approach to enhance critical thinking skill formation. In this not, I take a different approach. I begin by developing a Critical Thinking Hierarchy, where from the bottom...

With nine years left to achieve the Sustainable Development, how are we doing?

Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2021 | Digital library: Publications The pandemic has tested and even reversed progress in expanding women’s rights and opportunities. “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2021” presents the latest evidence on gender equality across all 17 Goals, highlighting the progress made since 2015 but also th...

Recent grads! The Economic & Labor Market Information Division of the Vermont Department of Labor is looking to fill an open Labor Market Research Analyst position: https://careers.vermont.gov/job/Montpelier-Labor-Market-Research-Analyst-VT-05601/756783200/.

Labor Market Research Analyst Labor Market Research Analyst

Some UVM economics majors are providing tax assistance through this great program. Many programs designed to boost the income of moderate income people work through the tax code, so if people don’t file, or don’t know about them, they don’t get benefits they are entitled to. A great learning opportunity for our students, and, just as important, an opportunity to serve others.

More of Professor Seguino’s important work on racial bias in policing!

“Driving while Black” isn’t just a phrase used to address racial bias in traffic stops. In Vermont, Black drivers are arrested at a rate 70% greater than white drivers.

Prof. Stephanie Seguino examines more than 800,000 vehicular stops over five years in a new study: http://on.uvm.edu/hIlY50Dj6Bd

Beautiful snowy photo of our gorgeous building, Old Mill! Today the days begin to get longer. We will enjoy the break and get ready to welcome students back for the spring semester.

Many UVM offices will be closed beginning next week through the holidays, reopening Monday, Jan. 4.

Have a healthy and restful break. We’ll see you in 2021. (P: Sam Yang)

Professor Stephanie Seguino studies bias in policing

New Study: Despite Years of Training, Police Departments in Vermont Still Exhibit Widespread Racial Bias In the wake of the George Floyd killing and other incidents of racially motivated police violence, communities across the country are examining the practices of their local police departments more closely. Some are undertaking comprehensive training and education programs to address racial bias on t...

Read about Economics major Jack Rutherford’s virtual internship and others!

An Internship Summer Like No Other Jack Valentine was eagerly looking forward to the summer internship he’d landed working for Shutterstock, a multinational tech firm headquartered in the Empire State Building in the heart of Manhattan.

Research by Professors Stephanie Seguino (UVM Economics) and Nancy Brooks (Cornell) has a big impact in Vergennes, Vermont!

This Vermont City Tried to Confront Race and Policing—and It Imploded The county sheriff says the chief of police should be fired, while city government has ground to a halt. One resident says the crisis in Vergennes is a “microcosm of America.”

Five questions for Professor of Economics Stephanie Seguino!

Five Questions about Reparations, with Stephanie Seguino The City of Asheville, North Carolina, made headlines on July 14, when its city’s council unanimously approved a resolution to provide reparations to its Black residents. The resolution apologized for the city’s role in slavery, segregation and for “carrying out an urban renewal program that d...