Source: Estadística de Variaciones Residenciales y Estimaciones de la Población Actual, INE.

Patterns in immigration around the world naturally ebb and flow with time. In South America however, the trend in recent decades has been distinctly for more individuals to take their leave of the continent than to move to it. But now in the context of the global economic crisis and the problems in the euro zone, the migration patterns in this region are notably changing, and the destination of migrants is now shifting from well-known countries in the developed world to countries with emerging economies, especially in South America. Read more

Leave a comment

Image Credit: Liz Fosslien

Have you ever considered dating an economist, and if yes, what did you decide? If you are puzzled by this question, there are plenty of resources, which can help you to find an answer. The amount of material on this topic found by searching Google and the number of jokes made clearly indicate that it is indeed a hot topic, even more so on a Valentine’s Day.

Some articles, like 21 Reasons Why You Should Never Date an Economist by INSEAD, give quite an explicit answer. Others take a more scientific approach, but still agree on one thing: if you are dealing with a dilemma as to whether you should go for an economist or not, you should be prepared that an economist will be very unlikely to resist a temptation to apply professionally learned principles to their love life, too. Surprisingly for some, many of their assumptions might turn out true. Read more

1 Comment

As we reached the end of the year 2012, we decided to compile a list of the top INOMICS blog posts, those that received a record number of visitors throughout the year.  Enjoy your reading and Happy New Year to everyone!

1. Supply and Demand for New Ph.D’s in Economics
Based on the Survey of the labor market for new Ph.D hires in economics 2011-2012

2. Ranking Economics Departments: Number of Top Institutions by Country
The percentage of Economics Departments by Country in the World’s “Top 100 Economics Departments” (based on RePEc rankings).

3. Where are the economists coming from?
A list of countries with the highest number of Economics graduates.

4. Top Apps for Economists
A list of economics apps for Android available in the market.

5. Salaries for Econ PhDs in the US
How much do Economics PhDs earn in the US?

6. Has Economics Education become too mathematical?
Justin Campbell’s post on the role of mathematics in economics education.

7. Top Economics Podcasts
A collection of free economics podcasts.

8. Top Economics Conferences 2012
Recently we also published a list of Economics Conferences in Asia 2013 and Top Finance Conferences 2013

9. Nobel Prize in Economics 2012: Winners Announced
A tribute to Alvin A. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley.

10. Google Economics
A contribution from guest blogger Max Berre on why Google hires economists.

11. Infographic: Economics Job Market 2012
Findings from the Economics Job Market Report 2012 in one picture.

Photo Credit: Maguis & David

Leave a comment

Sources: Christmas Spending Survey 2012, Deloitte; NRF’s Holiday Survival Kit  (US only); HSBC Christmas Spending Survey 2012 (UK only)

Read more

Leave a comment

Halloween is a highly commercialized holiday in the US, with people of all ages celebrating and spending. Expected Halloween spending of US consumers in 2012 almost equals government expenditures of Kenya. According to surveys conducted Read more

Leave a comment

It was great to see everyone at the AAEA Conference in Seattle last week and to meet our readers in person! We are happy to introduce three economists who were the lucky winners of INOMICS gummy bears: Anne, Jacob and Derrick. The luckiest of all, Jacob, won first prize, the giant blue gummy bear! If you want to know the story about blue gummy bears, read our previous post here.

Our next stop is the European Economic Association and the Econometric Society European Meeting (EEA-ESEM) in Malaga next week! If you happen to be there, don’t forget to pass by our stand and pick up some top freebies.

Leave a comment

At first glance, economics may appear to be little more than endless equations, calculations and decisions guided by intense mathematical analysis. But if you think there’s nothing more to economics than math, think again. Economics has broad applications that can venture into unconventional fields where math skills and economic know-how can complement other essential characteristics. Professional sports, for example, may seem like the antithesis to algorithms and equations, but it’s an industry where economics has triggered a revolution.

Using math to build winning rosters
Today, many professionals with educational backgrounds in economics go on to apply their expertise in unorthodox ways outside of traditional economic industries. Many have found great success and even sparked revolution in their fields. Perhaps no widespread change has been more visible than the statistical revolution in professional sports.  Read more

Leave a comment

‘Open Access’ has been a bit of a buzzword in academic circles over the last couple of years. Its rise to popularity has come from a combination of factors including the increased price to access academic journals, as well as increased access to the internet, which has had the effect of speeding up the rate at which information travels.

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) defines ‘Open Access’ as “journals that use a funding model that does not charge readers or their institutions for access,” which encompasses both ‘self-archiving’ and ‘gold access’ publishing. The former is done by an author uploading their work on a website accessible to the public whereas the latter is a model whereby the author pays to submit their article to an established journal which will then be accessible to the public. Read more

1 Comment

The China Economic Review from last month ran an interesting piece by John van Fleet about the 150,000+ Haigui (海归) currently studying in the USA (Haigui, literally “Sea Turtles” is the name given to Chinese students studying abroad). Van Fleet discusses not only the challenges of interaction between international and domestic students, but also the economic impact for both host and origin country.

Citing data compiled by the Institute of International Education (IIE) as part of its “Open Doors”, van Fleet notes that contributions from visiting Chinese students alone is currently worth around $5bn per year to the US economy. The total contribution from students from all countries, according to the IIE report is in excess of $20bn.

It is perhaps this prize that is encouraging governments around the world, not to mention Read more

Leave a comment

Read more

Leave a comment