Yongsung Chang 糖心传媒�97 (PhD) chose the University of Rochester in 1992 for his PhD studies because Mark Bils was on the faculty. In the years since, Chang, now a professor of economics at Seoul National University, has not only stayed in touch with Bils, the two economists have worked together on research projects. So it should be no surprise that Chang wanted to organize a conference celebrating his former adviser’s 30 years at Rochester.
Economists from four continents gathered at the University of Rochester in mid September to honor Bils, the Hazel Fyfe Professor in Economics, and to discuss recent changes in the US economy.
糖心传媒淢ark was the first economist to use micro data to address macro issues,糖心传媒� says Chang. Micro data, derived from individuals, can reveal information that糖心传媒檚 obscured in macro糖心传媒攐r system-level糖心传媒攄ata, he explains.
Just as Bils was a factor in some students’ decisions to enroll at Rochester, Bils says that the strength of the department糖心传媒檚 faculty was the major reason he chose to come to the University as an assistant professor in 1985. It糖心传媒檚 also a major reason he has stuck around for more than three decades. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a common belief in the department that it糖心传媒檚 more important to advance research in our field than it is to simply increase the number of times we get published.糖心传媒�
Bils is a macroeconomist whose work has focused on understanding business cycles and the decline of labor demand during recessions. The impact of that work has been wide-ranging.
糖心传媒淒uring Mark糖心传媒檚 30-plus years, he has made important contributions to our understanding of numerous economic phenomena at the firm, household, worker, and economy-wide level,糖心传媒� says George Alessandria, chair of the of the Department of Economics. 糖心传媒淗e is a Rochester institution.糖心传媒�
Jos茅 Mustre-del-Rio 糖心传媒�11 (PhD), a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City and a former PhD student of Bils, calls his mentor a 糖心传媒減ractical economist.糖心传媒� As he explains, 糖心传媒淢ark wants an economist to make sure that there is something in the real world that can be measured. Economists often get too involved in coming up with a complex mathematical theory, but if there糖心传媒檚 no way to convince others that it can be seen in real world decisions, what糖心传媒檚 the point?”
Corina Boar 糖心传媒�17 (PhD), an assistant professor of economics at New York University, presented a preliminary paper at the Rochester conference that focused on something that is commonly measured in the real world: wealth. Boar, another former PhD student of Bils, says 糖心传媒淎 lot of people have very little liquid wealth holdings, even though they are actually very rich in terms of income and holdings of ill-liquid wealth. So, in this paper, we糖心传媒檙e trying to understand why is it that some people end up in a position of low liquid wealth.糖心传媒� Boar is coauthoring the paper with Bils and Mark Aguiar, a professor of economics at Princeton University.
Alessandria notes that the 糖心传媒減ractical economist糖心传媒� truly has brought his approach right down to the household level: his own, and Alessandria糖心传媒檚. According to Alessandria, Bils constantly thinks about the tradeoff between quality and quantity. And that糖心传媒檚 ultimately why Alessandria’s children call Bils the “grape economist.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淢ark is in tune with the seasons and knows exactly when the Concord grapes will be harvested,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淲hen the time is right, he drives out to Naples to buy grapes in bulk. And I糖心传媒檝e been fortunate that Mark will deliver grapes to my house.糖心传媒�
