Economics Newsletter Summer Term 2012

’

Department agrees to reloca on to Land Registry building

ECONOMICS TO MOVE TO LINCOLN S INN FIELDS

Following lengthy nego a ons with the School, the Department of Economics has agreed to relocate to 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the former home of the UK Land Registry.

The Department will occupy floors 1 – 5 of the building, alongside the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), the Suntory and Toyota Interna onal Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD), the Interna onal Growth Centre (IGC) and the Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE).

The bo om three floors of the building will provide new teaching space, including two Harvard‐style (three‐sided) lecture theatres, a cafeteria and break‐out spaces.

In addi on, a modern Entrance Pavilion will be constructed in the gap between 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields and the Royal College of Surgeons to give easy access to the building from both Portugal Street and Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

LANDMARK BUILDING

Formerly the home of the UK Land Registry, the Grade II listed building is located on the south‐eastern side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London’s largest public square. The square was originally laid out in the 1680s on the site of two Crown‐owned pastures adjoining Lincoln’s Inn called Cup Field and Purse Field.

The building itself dates from the early 20th

IN THIS ISSUE

Reloca on of Economics Department

1

New Appointments 3

Alan Manning on stepping down as HoD

4

LSESU Economics Society Interview

5

End of Year Review 6

How External Rela ons can help you

7

Summer Term Diary 8

1 © Department of Economics, LSE 2012

VOL. 1 ISSUE 2 SUMMER TERM 2012

The Economics Newsle er

aims to keep members of

the LSE’s Economics

Department updated on

departmental business. If

you have any queries or

comments about it, or

would like to submit

something for the next

issue, please email

[email protected]

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century and is a fine example of the “Jacobethan” style that was popular throughout the Victorian era; it possesses numerous period features including mosaic terrazzo flooring in the ves bule, marble columns, decora ve plasterwork and wooden panelling, most notably in the Chief Registrar’s Room on the first floor, where fragments of shrapnel from bomb damage sustained during World War II can s ll be seen embedded in the oak.

ENHANCED FACILITIES

The School took vacant possession of the building in May 2011, and since then, it has been engaged in sympathe c refurbishment of the site in order to suit the needs of staff and students.

Apart from the obvious benefit of bringing the Economics Department and the research centres together under one roof, the new building will offer:

▹ Enhanced service provision for students, including new social and study spaces;

▹ A range of modern, fully furnished mee ng rooms, including a seminar room sea ng 70 people suitable for Departmental seminars, commi ee mee ngs and conferences;

▹ A café, which will also provide catering for Departmental events;

▹ A 2 storey entrance pavilion giving access to the building from Portugal Street as well as from Lincoln’s Inn Fields, allowing staff and students to travel to and from the main campus quickly;

▹ Integrated social areas on each floor enabling colleagues to meet informally outside their offices.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

If the Estates Division manages to meet its schedule, the Department of Economics will be relocated to 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields by January 2013. Colleagues can expect regular updates on progress at Departmental mee ngs and via email. In the mean me, queries about the move can be addressed to the Economics Departmental Manager, Charlo e Knights, who represents the Economics Department on the Project Development Board. Although there is s ll much to be decided, we can be cau ously op mis c that the move to 32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields will be a very good thing for the Economics Department.

ET

32 Lincoln’s Inn Fields was designed in 1903

by Henry Tanner to house the headquar‐

ters of the UK Land Registry. It was con‐

structed in two phases: the western and

central por ons were erected in 1903‐5

and the eastern por on was built in 1912‐

1913. The building contains approximately

11,500msq. of internal space over eight

storeys, with three principal facades (the

fourth adjoins the Royal College of Sur‐

geons).

Constructed from Leicestershire red brick

and Stancliffe Derbyshire sandstone, the

Grade II listed building features a number

of classic Jacobean‐style characteris cs

including Dutch gables, 9 mullioned bays

and polychroma c banding in the brick and

stonework.

VOL. 1 ISSUE 2 ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER SUMMER TERM 2012


(con nued from previous page)

Ar st’s impression of the new

entrance pavilion

’ ECONOMICS TO MOVE TO LINCOLN S INN FIELDS

Alan, Oriana and Gerard looking

round the unfurbished building,

accompanied by Keith Clarkson





NEW APPOINTMENTS Dr Camille Landais joined the Department of Economics on 1 May 2012 as a lecturer. Camille received his PhD from the Paris School of Economics and spent two years as a post‐doctoral fellow at the Stanford Ins tute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University. His main fields are public finance and

labour economics, and his research interests cover topics such as taxa on, social insurance, and pro‐social behaviours. Camille’s office is STC.467, ext. 7864, and his email address is [email protected]

Katharine Buckle took up her new role as Faculty Administra ve Assistant on 26 March. Since gradua ng from the University of Southampton with a BSc in Geography, she has been working in the central public library in Kingston upon Thames. Her interests include live music and art, and she says she’s looking forward to

moving to central London so that she can make the most of city life.

Katherine is one of two specialist administra ve assistants whose role is to provide support to the faculty. The second is due to be appointed later this term (see below). You can find her in STC.679, on ext. 7766; her email address is [email protected]

Lastly, Sarah Johnson has taken over from Andrew Sherwood as the Undergraduate Programme Manager. Sarah’s du es include the management of all aspects of the undergraduate programme and General Course, and the administra on of undergraduate exams. Sarah joined the LSE in 2005, star ng in the Student Services Centre before

transferring to the Research Degrees Unit in 2008; most recently, she worked in the Teaching Quality Assurance and Review Office (TQARO). Cat‐lover Sarah lives in Ealing, is a bit of a globe‐tro er and loves “all things historical”, par cularly Victoriana. Sarah is based in STC.664, on ext. 7680; her email address is [email protected]



DR MYUNG HWAN SEO RECEIVES YOUNG SCHOLAR AWARD Warm congratula ons to Dr Myung Hwan Seo, who has been awarded the Korea ‐ America Economics Associa on’s Young Scholar Award 2012, jointly with Kyoungwon Seo (Northwestern University). The award seeks to recognize young scholars’ academic accomplishments, and to foster scholarship in economics. Myung, who joined the Economics Department in 2004, specializes in mes series econometrics, especially threshold models; his research has been published in Econometric Theory and the Journal of Econometrics. He was presented with the award at a ceremony held during the Annual Mee ng of the KAEA in Chicago on January 6, 2012, so apologies to Myung for the delay in acknowledging his well‐deserved achievement.

APPOINTMENTS PENDING

Esteban Aucejo, currently at Duke University, and Ma hew Gentry of Vanderbilt will be joining us at the start of the next session, and Michael Peters, our fi h hire from this year’s junior recruitment round, has postponed joining us un l August 2013. Charlo e Knights will send round an email informing colleagues of their office number and contact details when they arrive.

Finally, we are close to appoin ng a second Faculty Administra ve Assistant, to work alongside Katherine. Interviews take place next week, and the successful candidate will be in place by the start of the summer vaca on. More in the next issue of the Economics Newsle er.

New faculty, from le to right: Esteban Aucejo, Ma hew

Gentry and Michael Peters




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Prof Alan Manning reaches the end of his term as Head of Department

PARTING WORDS FROM A HAPPY HEAD I have been asked to write a few words of reflec on as my me as Head of De‐partment comes to an end. My first reac on was that a few words is simply not possible – it seems like it has been so even ul. However, a predecessor told me that it was ever thus. I am sure he is right but I s ll can’t resist trying to make people have some sympathy for me.

From the highs of Chris Pissarides’ No‐bel prize to the lows of the Libya affair. Trying to navigate some big changes ‐ Helen Gadsden leaving a er 13 years, and a possible move, eventually con‐firmed, to a new home in the old Land Registry building on Lincoln Inn’s Fields. I think we have found a great replacement in Charlo e and I am op ‐mis c about the new building.

As Head of Department one spends a lot of me dealing with things that oth‐ers want from you (surely, if there is to be a part of the anatomy in the job tle, there must be a more accurate part to

use than ‘Head’). So I can’t resist the tempta on to use this opportunity to talk about me. In my three years, I have learned a huge amount. About the way the LSE works and some mes doesn’t. About other members of the department about whom I have gener‐ally (but not always!) ended up with a more posi ve view than when I started.

But most of all about myself, my strengths and weaknesses. Unfortu‐nately mostly weaknesses in my case but that is useful stuff to know.

As for the department, I hope I leave it as I found it ‐ s ll the best economics department in Europe and holding its own against departments in the US. In research but also in the quality of stu‐dents from undergraduates through to PhD. But that is not achieved without a huge amount of running to stand s ll – not primarily my efforts but the effort of so many others in the department, whether on the academic or the admin‐istra ve side.

I have every confidence this will con n‐ue under my successor Michele Pic‐cione and I wish him ….a quiet life. But wishes don’t always come true.

AM

Prof Michele Piccione will take up his new post in August 2012.

BEFORE YOU GO

The data held on the School’s database is used by the School in case of emergencies, so it is VITAL that you keep the personal informa on sec on of your LSEforYou page up‐to‐date, par cularly the name of your next of kin and your mobile phone number.

If you need help doing this, please contact a member of the Economics support staff.

ORA REMINDER FROM THE OPERATIONS MANAGER

Don’t forget that requests for new ORA contracts or renewals of standing contracts must be submi ed to Sam Keenan by 25 June 2012, so that she has me to draw up the contract, pass it to Human Resources and get it signed by the ORA before the last payroll of the year. Contracts for Occasional Research Assistants (ORA) or Occa‐sional Research Support (ORS) must be discussed with Sam before any work is car‐ried out, as pay cannot be backdated.

Also, if you are thinking of employing an ORA/ORS over the summer vaca on, please bear in mind that the start and end dates of the contract will affect whether the funding for it will be taken from this year’s research fund, or next year’s. If you need advice on any of these issues, Sam would be happy to help. K

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The LSE Student Union Economics Society, its membership soaring above 1500, has had another very successful and remarkably ac ve year. Judith Shapiro, the Economics Department’s Undergraduate Tutor, spoke with newly‐elected President, Zahrah Ismael and Events Officer, Saugata Sen—both students in the Economics Department—to find out where the largest academic society at the LSE plans to go from here.

“We want to build on last year’s successes, first and foremost, by asking our members and a representa ve cohort of the general LSE student body what they want in a society,” explained Zahrah, a second‐year BSc Economics student. Zahrah noted that the Economics Society (ES) has experienced real success in expanding the range and standard of its ac vi es through much greater devolu on to sub‐commi ees this year. This ensures that ac ve members of the ES are not concentrated within its execu ve panel. In so doing, Zahrah explains that the society manages to “empower its members and gives them a fair and equal chance in affec ng the key decisions made by the Society”. Now, she believes, there is a need for more co‐ordina on.

The Society’s “Student CPI” project is another ac vity which has successfully been undertaken for several years, pioneered by Serena Tang, who is now a graduate with an on‐going interest in the Economics Society’s developments. The SCPI collects data on the weekly expenditure of students from a sample of the LSE student popula on who submits expenditure diaries. As the report’s research director, Shalini Mi al, summarised, “the es mated LSE Student Consumer Price Index for the year 2011, using a sample size of 81 students, sample period 28th November 2011‐4th December 2011, was 5.7% which is considerably above the UK es mate of CPI over the same sample period.”

For compe ons, such as the “Economics Policy Challenge,” the Society invites teams na onally and even interna onally, and has featured excep onal judges too. (Last year saw Alistair Darling join LSE Professors Julian Le Grand and Francesco Caselli to confer in Room U8). Ques ons are posed by the LSE faculty, and LSE graduate students assist with the short‐lis ng. Department student, Amy Richards, has been the force direc ng this for two years.

Saugata noted that the Society

was making a decisive turn towards specialising in the sort of event not found elsewhere at the LSE. The best example of this was the remarkable mee ng with Tim Harford at the end of Lent Term, which saw the launch of his paperback of Adapt! How success always starts with failure. In contrast with the usual venue for Harford, the Old Theatre of the Shaikh Zayed, students were able to interact with him in a room in Clement House. If Harford was not so eager to agree for a small event at the start of nego a ons with Saugata, he was clearly won over to the reason this beats the big venues ‐‐ by the lively, recep ve and knowledgeable young audience. He has happily agreed to come again. Saugata, who introduced Harford, and Zahrah, who also spoke, indicated this was indeed a good model.

A reason both new officers ac vely work to make the Society a focus for students to enjoy Economics, is that both Zahrah and Saugata are focused on careers in Economics research. Having found the Society par cularly helpful in developing their own passion for Economics, both officers are now keen on offering a space to the Society’s members to “share and discuss their diverse opinions about key real‐life issues, with the aim of making their university experience more s mula ng and enjoyable.”

The Department, of course, is keen to do all it can to make this a reality.

JS

Another successful year for the LSESU’s largest academic society

ECONOMICS SOCIETY GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH



Zahrah Ismael,

President of the LSESU

Economics Society

Tim Harford addressing a mee ng of the LSESU Economics

Society earlier this year

Saugata Sen, Events

Officer of the LSESU

Economics Society



Department of Economics to publish its first annual review

ECONOMICS TO PUBLISH END OF YEAR REVIEW This year, for the first me, the Economics Department is planning to publish an end of year review for 2011‐12.

The Annual Review will offer a summary of the Department’s ac vi es over the previous year, including ar cles on lectures, conferences and seminars, awards and appointments, prizes, student ac vi es and other academic highlights.

It will also feature profiles of Economics students, faculty, visi ng academics and alumni, an overview of our programmes, and a look ahead to the coming year; in fact, pre y much anything you can think of.

The bulk of the work for the Review will be carried out over the summer by Economics support staff, and (unlike the Newsle er) it will designed and published by the LSE Design Unit.

If you would like to join the editorial board for the Review, or you want to suggest a subject suitable for inclusion, please contact Emma Taverner or Charlo e Knights. We are par cularly keen to get hold of photographs of events and ac vi es, so if you have any snaps lurking on your hard drive, please send them to Emma.

TIME FOR AN UPGRADE?

The end of year deadline for purchasing IT equipment and making expenses claims is approaching, so make sure you get your orders in before the rush.

Most urgently, the deadline for requests to purchase IT equipment, including desktop computers, laptops, iPads and peripherals is approaching fast. These must be submi ed to our IT Support Group by Friday 25 May in order to take account of the restric ons on deliveries resul ng from traffic disrup on caused by the Olympics and Paralympics.

Ordinary expenses claims will need to be submi ed to Elizabeth Mirhady by Monday 23 July 2012 in order to allow me for both Departmental and Finance Division staff to process them before the end of the School’s financial year.

Lastly, if you need to know the current balance on your School or Departmental Research Fund, if you have any ques ons about what sort of goods and services the School allows you to claim for, or if you’re not sure abou he procedure for making a claim, both Sam Keenan and Elizabeth can advise.

CHRIS PISSARIDES APPOINTED SCHOOL PROFESSOR We are delighted to report that Chris Pissarides was appointed as a School Professor of Economics and Poli cal Science on 1 April 2012. The posi on of School Professor recognises those individuals who are of world stature in their field, with a he y body of publica ons behind them, and a reputa on for forging significant links with other disciplines. School Professors have direct responsibility to the Director for ini a ng and fostering interdisciplinary research and teaching in order to strengthen the intellectual life of the School as a whole. Chris was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 2010 for his work on the economics of unemployment, especially job flows and the effects of being out of work.







Knowledge exchange at LSE takes many forms, including seminars, workshops, secondments, web and other media dissemina on and individual discussions and interac ons.

The External Rela ons Division’s (ERD) role is to use these avenues to help increase the impact and influence of the LSE and its work externally. In this ar cle, External Rela ons Execu ve Hilary Weale highlights some of the services it can offer to academic staff.

PRESS OFFICE

Sue Windebank and Jo Bale of the Press Office work with academics to disseminate research to broader audiences, at home and abroad. They can produce press release packages, dra feature‐style ar cles and comment pieces, and provide advice on media rela ons, if you are asked to give an interview. Call them on ext. 7060, or visit their offices on the 4th floor of Tower 3.

LINKING UP

Engagement with organisa ons and individuals outside the academic world is one of the School’s three priori es, as set out in the Strategic Plan, and the External Rela ons Division is keen to encourage this.

Alumni are o en our first port of call, as they really appreciate the

intellectual interac on that mee ng an LSE academic provides, and the various alumni country groups are always keen to arrange events around your visits. However, we are also developing rela onships with the World Economic Forum, the Hay Fes vals and the OECD, and many more.

To this end, the Linking Up fund was established, to which faculty may apply when going overseas if they are willing and able to undertake ERD‐related ac vi es, such as mee ng up with alumni, government figures, NGOs, business, media, etc. The fund covers all direct costs (for example, an extra night in a hotel in order to carry

out a Linking Up ac vity), and in many cases, part of the original cost of the trip.

Even if you can’t add extra ac vity to your schedule, please let the ERD know about your ac vi es, as it helps them to get a picture of the LSE’s reach and iden fy where opportuni es lie or need to be created.

You can find out more about the ERD’s work on its website. Finally, if you would like advice on any aspect of outreach, please email Hilary or call her on ext. 3742.

HW

Hilary Weale outlines some of the ways that faculty can reach a wider audience

MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD

SILVANA TENREYRO JOINS MAURITIUS’ MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE

Following a review of its composi on by Sir Alan Budd (formerly of the MPC at the Bank of England), Dr Silvana Tenreyro has been appointed to the Monetary Policy Commi ee of the Bank of Mauri us. Silvana, who is also the Director of the Macroeconomics Programme at the Interna onal Growth Centre, and sits on the editorial board of several journals, will serve as one of its five new independent external members. We wish her every success in the role.

LSE Research Online is a one‐stop database of the LSE’s research ac vi es, and it couldn’t be easier to have your work included.

Simply send your CV to LSE Research Online, and they will source your papers, ar cles, books, blog entries etc., and arrange for them to be added to the database. Want to know more? Call Natalia Madjarevic on ext. 3528.

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▹ TBC: Economics Departmental Mee ng to discuss 32LIF. Please check your email for date and me. All members of the Economics faculty and support staff. Contact: Charlo e Knights

▹ Tuesday 29 May: Economics Public Lecture: “End This Depression Now!”, Paul Krugman, 18:30‐20:00, Peacock Theatre. All welcome. Reserved seats for Economics faculty from Emma Taverner. See Events for more details. #lseKrugman

▹ Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June: SPRING BANK HOLIDAY AND DIAMOND JUBILEE HOLIDAY

▹ Monday 11 June: Professors of Economics Commi ee Mee ng, 13:00, VAR. All Professors of the Department of Economics. Contact: Emma Taverner.

▹ Friday 29 June: End of Summer Term.

▹ Thursday 12 July: Economics Gradua on Ceremony, 14:00 Peacock Theatre. Recep on details to be announced.

▹ Monday 27 August: SUMMER BANK HOLIDAY

SUMMER TERM DIARY

ABOUT THE ECONOMICS NEWSLETTER

The Economics Newsle er aims to keep members of the LSE’s Economics Department updated on departmental business. It is distributed early each term via an email link to faculty, support staff and students, and is also available for anyone to download from the Economics Department’s website at h p://www2.lse.ac.uk/economics/home.aspx

Submissions, ques ons and comments are always welcome; please email the editor at [email protected]

The contributors to this issue were Sam Keenan, Alan Manning, Judith Shapiro, Emma Taverner (Editor) and Hilary Weale (External Rela ons Division).

The Economics Newsle er was designed and produced using MS Publisher 2007. Images are from iStockphoto.com and the LSE Image Bank.



DANNY QUAH WINS GPPN BEST ARTICLE PRIZE More good news: Global Policy and the Global Public Policy Network (GPPN) have awarded the 2011 GPPN Best Ar cle Prize to Prof Danny Quah of the Department of Economics. The ar cle, “The Global Economy’s Shi ing Centre of Gravity” (Vol. 2, Issue 1, January 2011) finds that in 1980 the global economy’s centre of gravity was mid‐Atlan c yet, by 2008 that centre had dri ed to a loca on east of Helsinki and Bucharest. Extrapola ng growth in almost 700 loca ons worldwise, it projects the world’s economic centre of gravity to be located between India and China by 2050, and predicts that the source for global and poli cal influence may be also gradually shi ing east over the next 50 ‐ 100 years. The ar cle concludes that policy formula on for the en re global economy will no longer be the domain of the last century's rich countries but will require more inclusive engagement of the east.

PSST! Do you know someone in the Economics Department who has done something worth shou ng about, but is too modest to come forward? Don’t keep it under your hat: email the editors of the Economics Newsle er at [email protected], and tell us about it on their behalf. The deadline for the next issue (Michaemas 2012) is 17 September 2012. Discre on guaranteed!






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Economics Newsletter Summer Term 2012

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