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What to do at ASSA 2014

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By Carolyn Napolitano


The 2014 Allied Social Science Associations meeting will be held from 3-5 January at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. More than 50 associations nationwide will come together for three days of engaging lectures, thought-provoking sessions, and networking with some of the top figures in the field.

This annual conference is hosted by the American Economic Association. Originally formed in 1885 by a tight-knit group of economics enthusiasts, the AEA has since expanded exponentially and is now composed of over 18,000 academics and business professionals alike.

With over 500 sessions to choose from, the ASSA 2014 Conference has something for everyone to enjoy. Read below for suggestions tailored toward your personal interests:

Do you love social media and anything tech-savvy? Don’t forget to download the ASSA 2014 Annual Meeting App. Described by ASSA as “your Swiss Army Knife for the event,” this free app is a great way to keep track of the sessions you want to attend, network with speakers and fellow attendees, and take notes that can be easily exported to your email. You’ll be kept in the loop on anything and everything you could ever want to know about the conference, via reminders and updates directly accessible on your phone. Quick links to social media channels will also allow you to share your experience with friends and co-workers who are not in attendance and show them all the cool events that they’re missing out on!

Hungry for information about federal finance? Head over to the AEA/AFA Joint Luncheon’s “Banks as Patient Fixed-Income Investors” by Jeremy Stein. Jeremy Stein has a diverse background in economics: he’s currently a member of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors, after working previously as the Moise Y. Safra Professor of Economics at Harvard and the former president of the American Finance Association. His wide-ranging experience has given him a unique perspective in regards to banking, behavioral finance, financial regulation, and corporate investment. This luncheon will be on Friday, 3 January at 12:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom (Salons G & H).

Is networking on your top list of priorities for the conference? You can’t miss the Professional Placement Service for Academic and Non-Academic Job Openings. Illinois Job Link has generously offered this complimentary service to be available for all conference attendees. If you are an employer looking to hire, or a job seeker who wants to meet potential employers, you should definitely check out the placement center. Trained IJL staff will be ready and eager to help you find just what you’re looking for. This four-day service will be available from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm each day in Ballroom AB of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Do you want to hear more about retirement security? The Richard T. Ely Lecture this year will be “Retirement Security in an Aging Population,” presented by James Poterba, the Mitsui Professor of Economics at MIT and current president of NBER. For the past two decades, Poterba has contributed a great deal of research on tax-deferred retirement saving programs and the importance of annuities in retirement planning. His insight is sure to shed light on this critical topic of much recent debate. This lecture will take place on Friday, January 3rd at 4:45pm in the Grand Ballroom (Salons G & H).

Are you curious about the relationship between the economy and gender? Be sure to check out the AEA Awards Ceremony and Presidential Address by Claudia Goldin on “A Grand Gender Convergence: The Last Chapter.” Claudia Goldin, the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard, has dedicated a substantial portion of her career to investigating the role of women in the American economy. She’s written about a wide-range of issues that have affected ambitious, career-driven women over the past century, including female access to education, the impact of birth control on family planning, and the recent increase in the female to male undergraduate ratio at select universities. Claudia’s talk will be on Saturday, January 4th at 4:40pm in the Grand Ballroom (Salons G & H).

Are you interested in learning about innovative teaching methods for your economics students? The AEA is hosting the Continuing Education Program, which will take place after the conference, from 5-7 January. There will be three sessions, each taught by distinguished scholars in the field of economics: “Cross-Section Econometrics” [Alberto Abadie (Harvard) and Joshua Angrist (MIT)], “Education and the Economy” [Susan Dynarski and Brian Jacob [both from the University of Michigan)], and “Economic Growth” [Oded Galor and David Weil (both from Brown)]. The AEA hopes that this program will “help mid-career economists and others maintain the value of their human capital.” Please note: this event requires a separate reservation and will take place at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown.

We hope that you enjoy the conference and look forward to seeing you at the Oxford Booths #507-511. We will be giving attendees of the conference a 20% discount on our new and bestselling titles, as well as offering sample copies of our latest economics journals and online products.

See you in Philadelphia!

Carolyn Napolitano is a Marketing Assistant for Social Sciences at Oxford University Press.

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