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Welcome from the Chair

Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Students,

On behalf of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Economics, I am excited to welcome you to the inaugural (INSERT NAME) Newsletter.

Our goal is to highlight the exciting work in our department and by our alumni; these monthly letters will feature our current faculty’s research, and the successful careers of our alumni. The first edition will highlight research by Assistant Professor Douglas Hanley. His research shows how scientists, themselves, rely on Wikipedia for credible information, and the implications about the relationship between public goods and innovation.

Additionally, (INSERT NAME) will showcase the happenings of our exceptional undergraduate students. You will see and hear from undergraduates who are working on research, earning prestigious jobs and competitive internships, as well as those who are winning national and international awards. This month features Lia Petrose, (BS, 2017), a recent winner of one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards: the Rhodes Scholarship.

Another motive of this project is to feature an “Everyday Economics” portion which applies econ principles to policy, culture, work, and everything in-between. This edition is about health insurance mandatesrequiring  everyone to obtain a form of health insurance. Mandates like these are common in discussions of healthcare policy. In this Everyday Economics, one of our graduate students, Mark Azic, explains the economics behind such mandates. Whether you are an alumni looking to brush up on your economics, or just interested in learning about the happenings of today’s economic climate, we hope you enjoy the Everyday Economics portion of (INSERT NAME).

Furthermore, the (INSERT NAME)newsletter will serve to discuss the recent changes to our department. Over the next few issues we will introduce our new department faculty, inform you about our brand new Master in Quantitative Economics program, and relay several platforms for alumni connections to our department. I hope you enjoy the first issue of (INSERT NAME), we have much to look forward to.

Warm Regards,

David B. Huffman, Department Chair