Middlebury College Economics

We are thrilled to welcome our new members on the advisory board of @rhi-ihr.bsky.social !! (@rug.nl, @middecon.bsky.social, @melanie-xue.bsky.social)

For those in the neighborhood, @willhpyle.bsky.social will give the next talk in the 2025/26 Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in Hillcrest 103. The topic is Russian Public Opinion, the War in Ukraine, and the Lingering Effects of the Soviet Collapse.

@middecon.bsky.social is delighted to report that Kristina Sargent has been awarded tenure. Congratulations, Kristina!!

Y’all, this CSWEP newsletter is a banger. Five women economists generously share their stories about navigating family and career. 🔥 @jialanw.bsky.social @kmpjones.bsky.social Sarah Hamersma, Kosali Simon, and Sarah Baird. It was an honor to "edit" (which mostly involved sitting back for good reads)

@middecon.bsky.social's department chair, @andrearobbett.bsky.social, has also been busy this fall. Here is her newest, on partisan discrimination in hiring, co-authored with former colleague Martin Abel and @dfstone.bsky.social of Bowdoin.

bsky.app/profile/j-hu...

The history that moves us: Colonial duration, era of occupation, and migration Colonialism has important effects for former colonies, and despite the long colonial history between Europe and Africa, the nuances of the impacts of that history are relatively understudied. The c...

@middecon.bsky.social's Kristina Sargent has had a very busy fall! Read her newest, on migration and colonial occupation in Economic History of Developing Regions. Congratulations, Kristina!

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A one way ticket to gig? We propose a search and matching model to explore the labor market implications of a growing gig economy. The economy has conventional and gig sectors…

Read all about it, read all about it! @middecon.bsky.social's Kristina Sargent's new paper about the gig economy is now out in JEBO. Congratulations, Kristina!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

When the party line changes: state media, immigration, and public opinion in Russia We document and assess the effect of a short-lived campaign on Russian state television to re-orient coverage of immigrants. Building on prior research – including a historical narrative and eviden...

We can't think of a better way to start the new school year than to settle in with the work of @middecon.bsky.social colleagues @willhpyle.bsky.social and Kristina Sargent in the newest issue of Post-Soviet Affairs: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/AQFTF...

At one elite college, over 80% of students now use AI – but it’s not all about outsourcing their work Survey shows students rapidly picked up chatbots, but perhaps surprisingly, they more often used it to augment their learning, rather than hand work off.

Read @middecon.bsky.social's Germán Reyes's summary of his fascinating work with colleague Zara Contractor on student use of AI.

theconversation.com/at-one-elite...

Congratulations, @drerinwolcott.bsky.social!

Abortion and Economic Policy, Part III: How Dobbs Rewrote the Economics of Reproductive Health, with a 275-Mile Price Tag In the three years since Dobbs, much has changed. Professor Caitlin Myers joined us again to discuss how she collects data on abortion and economics, and what that data shows us about the new normal f...

@middecon's Caitlin Myers was interviewed by Hannah Groch-Begley of the Roosevelt Institute about abortion access now:

www.firesidestacks.com/p/abortion-a...

A more joyous life Economist Will Pyle explains new research that shows satisfaction and economic optimism rising among Russians since the invasion of Ukraine — Meduza Despite massive military spending, tens of thousands of deaths, and a vast array of international sanctions, Russians’ sense of stability and life satisfaction has reached its highest level in the pas...

Read our own Will Pyle's (@willhpyle@bsky.social) interview in Meduza on the current climate in Russia:

meduza.io/en/feature/2...

And here's some wonderful news for the department: Erin Wolcott has received tenure! Congratulations, @drerinwolcott.bsky.social!

www.middlebury.edu/announcement...

Coming this week: April's PCE and a clearer picture of U.S. GDP in the first quarter They’re backward-looking indicators, but economists can’t know where we are unless they know where we’ve been.

It's been a busy semester, full of teaching, research and rabble-rousing, and we've fallen behind, so here are some recent bits of news.

First, Kristina Sargent on Marketplace (again!):

www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...

The lasting effects of fires on local labor markets - Marketplace Large fires can impact the job market of a local community for up to three years after the event, said Raphaelle Gauvin-Coulombe.

More from @middecon.bsky.social's Raphaelle Gauvin Coulombe and @akhilrao.bsky.social on the local labor effects of the California wildfires, on @marketplace.org!

www.marketplace.org/2025/02/18/t...

Governing the Satellites that Orbit Earth, with Akhil Rao Akhil Rao discusses the accumulation of satellites and debris in Earth’s orbit and the governance of layers in the Earth’s orbit.

@akhilrao.bsky.social, aka the redoubtable Akhil Rao, on RFF's Resources Radio discussing (of course) space!

The Long-Run Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Act on Women's Careers and Childbearing: New Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design and US Tax Data (February 2025) - We use administrative tax data to analyze the cumulative, long-run effects of California's 2004 Paid Family Leave Act (CPFL) on women's employment, earnings, and childbearing. A regression-discontinuity design exploits the sharp increase in the weeks of paid leave available under the law. We find no evidence that CPFL increased employment, boosted earnings, or encouraged childbearing, suggesting that CPFL had little effect on the gender pay gap or child penalty. For first-time mothers, we find that CPFL reduced employment and earnings a decade after they gave birth.

Big congratulations to @middecon.bsky.social's own Tanya Byker, whose paper with Martha Bailey, Elana Patel and Shanthi Ramnath on California's paid family leave policy was published in the current AEJ: Policy @aeajournals.bsky.social.

www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

We'd be grateful if you added us! @middecon.bsky.social

Economic Toll of Los Angeles Fires Goes Far Beyond Destroyed Homes The ongoing disaster will affect residents’ health, local industries, public budgets and the cost of housing for years to come.

The work of current and former @middecon.bsky.social @middlebury.bsky.social economists Raphaelle Gauvin-Coulombe and @akhilrao.bsky.social on wildfires and economic activity is featured in today's New York Times. Bravo, Raphaelle and Akhil!

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/b...

Economics Seminar: Amanda Gregg, "Shareholder Democracy under Autocracy: Voting Rights and Corporate Performance in Imperial Russia" Join us foran exciting seminar by Amanda Gregg, an Associate Professor of Economics at Middlebury College!

In the Burlington (VT) area next week? Come listen to @middecon.bsky.social's @amandagregg.bsky.social present on corporate performance in Imperial Russia!

events.uvm.edu/event/econom...

Big congratulations to @middecon faculty member Erick Gong, who was just promoted to full professor!

Bravo, Erick!

Job churn is up, but only in some parts of the U.S. - Marketplace It's a signal that the labor market is normalizing, said Kristina Sargent, an economics professor at Middlebury College.

And what better way to end the Department's first weekend on BlueSky than with Professor Kristina Sargent's appearance on Marketplace this week, where she dissected recent labor market data:

www.marketplace.org/2024/12/03/j...

A behaviorally validated warm glow questionnaire - Journal of the Economic Science Association Measuring the social preferences of economic agents using experiments has become common place. This process, while incentive compatible, is costly and time consuming, making it infeasible in many sett...

More collaborative research published! The newest issue of JESA contains work by Jeff Carpenter of Economics, Alex Lyford of Mathematics and a student, Mingling Zhang, on the measurement of "warm glow."

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Middlebury economists often work with students and/or international collaborators. Or, in this case, both! Obie Porteous' note on climate adaptation was co-authored
with Agnes Roche '24, Manon Le Bourgeois '32, Hubert Kpoumie Mounmemi and Christiane Laurette Mayumgo Kamga.

rdcu.be/d1TWJ

How deforestation drives malaria in Nigeria, affecting women and children most Forest loss in Nigeria raises neonatal mortality and worsens birth outcomes by increasing malaria exposure among pregnant women.

Our inaugural post! The important work of Middlebury economists Tanya Baker and Julia Berazneva on the effects of deforestation on malaria in Nigeria has been featured on VoxDev!

voxdev.org/topic/health...