As several NFL franchises are competing to relocate to the Los Angeles area, Dennis Coates, a professor of economics, argues that facts do not support the claim that professional football would be an economic goldmine for Southern California. Coates wrote an op-ed published in The Orange County Register in which he argued public subsidies for professional sports franchises do not always provide the economic boom that officials hope for. In the column, Coates referenced a study he did with a colleague that was recently updated to examine the economic impact of professional sports teams in major cities across the country: “Our findings were … Continue reading Dennis Coates weighs costs and benefits of public subsidies for sports franchises in OC Register op-ed

Douglas Lamdin, Economics, had his recent study featured on the website of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). The article, “New Evidence on Whether Gold Mining Stocks are More Like Gold or Like Stocks” was co-authored with Mark Johnson of Loyola University, Maryland, and is forthcoming in the journal Alternative Investment Analyst Review. The study examined the role of gold and gold mining stocks in diversified portfolios. Lamdin and Johnson found that neither gold nor gold mining stocks are a hedge against declines in the stock market. Both gold and gold mining stocks, however, do provide diversification benefits, with … Continue reading Economist Douglas Lamdin shares analysis of gold mining stocks

Douglas Lamdin, economics, was selected as the annual recipient of the Abramson Award for the outstanding article published in the past year in Business Economics, the journal of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE). The article, “Gauging the Financial Capability of Americans,” was coauthored with Mark Johnson, a faculty member in the Sellinger School of Business at Loyola University, Maryland. The past two recipients of this award were Lawrence Summers at Harvard University, and John Taylor at Stanford University. Continue reading Douglas Lamdin, Economics, Receives NABE Abramson Award

Social Sciences Forum Gregory Clark, professor of economics, University of California-Davis  Wednesday, September 9 | 4 p.m. Albin O. Kuhn Library 7th Floor  How much of our fate is tied to the status of our parents and grandparents? Using a novel technique–tracking family names over generations to measure social mobility across countries and periods—renowned economic historian Gregory Clark argues that social mobility rates are lower than conventionally estimated, do not vary across societies, and are resistant to social policies. Sponsored by the Department of Economics.  Continue reading Social Sciences Forum: Surnames and Social Mobility: Why So Much Persistence of Status Across Generations? (9/8)

A new study by Christelle Viauroux, an associate professor of economics, found that requiring recreational boat operators to wear life jackets would increase the odds of surviving a boating accident by 80 percent. Viauroux conducted the study with Ali Gungor of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Standards Evaluation and Analysis Division and the findings were published in Risk Analysis. The researchers used data from 2008 to 2011 from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Boating Accident Report Database (BARD) and compared life jacket use to other factors affecting fatalities in recreational boating. A major goal of the research was to assess the impact of … Continue reading Christelle Viauroux, Economics, Finds that Mandatory Life Jacket Use Could Reduce Recreational Boating Deaths by 80 Percent

With buzz surrounding last week’s 2015 home opener for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, economics professor Dennis Coates was in the news discussing what the recent success of the team means for business. In a Baltimore Sun article, Coates shared that if the team weren’t doing so well, money spent in and around Camden Yards would simply be spent in other areas of the city. “All we’ve really seen is a shift from one set of entertainment activities to another,” Coates said. “That’s not creating any big boost to the economy; it’s just moving around.” Coates added that out of town visitors … Continue reading Dennis Coates, Economics, Provides Perspective on Economic Impact of the Baltimore Orioles

On Thursday, February 12 at 4:00 p.m., Peter Blair Henry, Dean of New York University’s Stern School of Business, will present the Social Sciences Forum “Data and Discipline: Sampling the Science of Economic Turnaround.” The event will be held in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. The mathematical underpinnings of the “dismal science” can yield surprising results with the power to impact millions of lives around the globe. Using examples from his book, Turnaround: Third World Lessons for First World Growth, Peter Blair Henry discusses how scientific analysis of economic policy experiments can determine which policies, implemented under what conditions, create … Continue reading Social Sciences Forum: Data and Discipline: Sampling the Science of Economic Turnaround (2/12)

As the discussion continues surrounding a potential new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, an article published January 24 in The Buffalo News examines the possible economic impact of a major sports and entertainment district in the city’s downtown. Economics Professor Dennis Coates was interviewed for the article and shared that new stadiums don’t necessarily generate job growth and economic development: “If the argument is being put forward that there’s going to be ancillary benefits and job growth discount all of that completely. There’s no evidence that they ever happen,” said Coates. “What I and many others have found is that using stadiums … Continue reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in The Buffalo News

UMBC has become the latest university to be welcomed into the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute University Recognition Program. The B.S. in Financial Economics program has been acknowledged as incorporating at least 70 percent of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK), which provides students with a solid grounding in the CBOK and positions them well to sit for the CFA exams. This program sets up students well to obtain the CFA designation, which has become the most respected and recognized investment credential in the world. Entry into the CFA Institute University Recognition Program signals to potential students, employers, … Continue reading UMBC Welcomed Into CFA Institute University Recognition Program

An article published December 16 by the Pew Research Center examines the relationship between lower gas prices and consumer confidence in the economy. The article cites research by Douglas Lamdin, professor of economics, and Mark Johnson, a professor at Loyola University Maryland. Their research found a negative relationship between changes in gas prices and their impact on consumer sentiment. The excerpt from the Pew Research Center article can be found below: “[The Pew Research Center] plotted the monthly consumer-sentiment index against the monthly average price of regular gas (adjusted for inflation) and found a moderately strong negative correlation — that … Continue reading Douglas Lamdin, Economics, in Pew Research Center News

In a recent article published in Capital New York, Economics Professor Dennis Coates discussed the economic impact of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, home to the New Jersey Nets. The article described how businesses within and immediately surrounding Barclays have been benefiting from the Nets recent move from North Jersey to Brooklyn, but Coates described how it’s unclear that the arena’s impact on business is a sign of economic growth. “Did people not eat dinner before the Barclays Center?” said Coates. “Did they not go out to restaurants before the Barclays Center? They did, just not there.” He added, “if the eating and … Continue reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in Capital New York

Baltimore’s City Paper published an article on November 25 that examined the city’s current public construction boom, which by some estimates may exceed $10 billion, comparable to what was spent nationally by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Economics Professor Dennis Coates was interviewed for the article and explained that the public projects would likely increase the local economic growth rate by close to 15 percent. “It is certainly a construction jobs program, and I would contend it will affect growth positively, though precisely how much, especially in the short term, is questionable,” he said. “Avoiding broken water mains and the … Continue reading Dennis Coates, Economics, in City Paper