January 12

House of Debt

7:30-9:00 a.m.
UC San Diego Faculty Club

Atif Mian

John H. Laporte Professor of Economics

Princeton University

Since receiving his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 2001, Atif Mian has taught at the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, and Princeton, where he currently holds the John H. Laporte chair.  He is the author of dozens of widely cited academic studies and the influential book, "House of Debt," which documented the role that growing household debt loads played in precipitating the Great Recession of 2007-2009.  In this talk he will explore how debt and financial markets have driven business cycles, interest rates, and economic growth over the last four decades.

May 9

The Future of Work: Implications of Income Volatility and the Gig Economy

7:30-9:00 a.m.
UC San Diego Faculty Club

Fiona Greig

Director of Research

JPMorgan Chase Institute

Big data is bringing big changes both to the American economy and how economists study it.  As Director of Research at JPMorgan Chase Institute, Fiona Greig has been using data from millions of financial transactions to get new insights into online labor platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit, sometimes referred to as the gig economy. In this talk, Dr. Greig will share some of the Institute's findings about changing trends in income volatility and the future of work. 

July 31

U.S. Immigration Policy

7:30-9:00 a.m.
UC San Diego Faculty Club

George Borjas

Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy

Harvard University

What have been the consequences of historical U.S. immigration policy?  Who would gain and lose under some of the changes currently being proposed?  Harvard Professor George Borjas is one of the world's leading experts on these questions.  He has published over 150 articles in the economic profession's top journals and is author of a number of books, including the leading textbook on labor economics.  His most recent book is We Wanted Workers: Unraveling the Immigration Narrative.

November 14

The Future of U.S. Trade Policy

7:30-9:00 a.m.
UC San Diego Faculty Club

Gordon Hanson

Professor of Economics 

UC San Diego

Presentation Slides

New technologies and the spectacular growth of the Chinese economy have forever changed the world.  What trade policies make sense in this new environment, and who would gain and lose under some of the changes that have been proposed? Gordon Hanson has published studies on these questions in the top academic journals in economics.  His research is widely cited by scholars from across the social sciences and is frequently quoted in major media outlets.  He currently holds the Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations at UC San Diego.