Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Associated Press: Americans Ostrom, Williamson win Nobel economics Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for their analyses of economic governance — the way authority is exercised in companies and economic systems.

The Tennessean: For Predators, making playoffs is lifeblood Over the past five years, only four National Hockey League teams have made more playoff appearances than the Nashville Predators. But after failing to reach the postseason last year, those numbers shouldn't necessarily make the franchise feel comfortable. John Vrooman, senior lecturer in economics and expert on the business of professional sports, is quoted.

USA Today: Obama: 16 medal recipients exemplify 'a life well lived' Grameen Bank founder Mohammed Yunus, a Vanderbilt alumnus and Nobel laureate, was awarded the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work to provide lines of credit to third-world entrepreneurs.

The Tennessean: Policy extremes worsen recession Eric Bond, Joe L. Roby professor of economics, wrote this opinion piece about the problematic imbalance between the United States’ deficit and China’s surplus.

Inc Magazine: Online bartering grows
In an effort to keep as much cash on hand as possible during the recession, small businesses and individuals are increasingly looking to barter. Craigslist, for example, has seen its barter listings grow 120 percent in the last year. Trading on BizXchange, an online bartering network, has climbed 68 percent over the same period. Professor of Economics Peter Rousseau is quoted.

The Tennessean: Tennessee may fold in GM bidding war Tennessee may not have the will — or the cash — to continue in the incentives race that has helped keep GM's Spring Hill auto plant up and running in the state for two decades. Malcolm Getz, associate professor of economics, is quoted.

Best Graduate Schools: U.S. News & World Report shows the Graduate Program in the Department of Economics at Vanderbilt jumped significantly in rankings. Click here for more information.

U.S. News & World Report: For economists, a moment in the sun Despite a diminished employment outlook for many academics, economists remain in demand in government, business, and nonprofits and as consultants or policy analysts. John Siegfried, professor of economics, and William Collins, director of graduate studies in economics, are quoted. Shabana Singh and Caleb Stroup, both students in the Economics Ph.D. program, are pictured. Vanderbilt’s joint J.D.-Ph.D. program in law and economics is also mentioned.

Associated Press: Do smokers cost society money? A recent bill debated in Congress that would give the FDA the power to regulate tobacco products has raised the question of whether smokers really do cost society money or if their premature deaths result in savings. Kip Viscusi, Distinguished University Professor of Law, Economics and Management, is quoted.

City Paper: Not too little, but too late? Across the country, high-priced building projects have been heralded as a way for regions to reignite stagnant industries and kick-start consumer spending. Malcolm Getz, associate professor of economics, is quoted.

The Tennessean: Unions find signs of hope The pressures created by the recession are pushing against rising interest in unionization and a new political alignment in Washington, D.C., that could prove to be the friendliest to labor organizations in decades. T. Aldrich Finegan, professor emeritus of economics, is quoted.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The fridge didn’t cause the baby boom, scholars say Household technology advanced so rapidly between 1940 and 1960, according to a popular theory, that it made having children—or having more children—more attractive and manageable for housewives, leading to the baby boom. In a new working paper, University of Michigan economist Martha J. Bailey and Vanderbilt University economist William J. Collins debunked the theory, showing that the baby boom also occurred among old-order Amish, who do not use modern technology.

The Tennessean: Bartering stretches Tennesseans' cash Middle Tennesseans with skills or goods are surfing Craigslist, eBay and a variety of other sites looking to trade their products and services instead of using cash to purchase them. Jeremy Atack, professor of economics, is quoted.

National Public Radio interviewed John Vrooman, senior lecturer in economics, on the New York Jets’ auction of personal seat licenses and how the economic downturn would affect sales. The story is available online here.

BusinessWeek: Muhammad Yunus on the financial crisis Nobel laureate and Vanderbilt alum Muhammad Yunus discusses the current financial crisis and how his insight is influenced by his experience in extending tiny loans to the very poor.

The Tennessean: Property tax increases hit suburbs Booming growth in Nashville’s suburbs has pushed lawmakers to increase property taxes to support the growing population. Malcolm Getz, associate professor of economics, is quoted.

The Tennessean: As domestic markets sink, companies soar overseas In Tennessee, exports were up 10 percent during the first half of the year, tracking an overall increase in exports from the U.S. Eric Bond, Joe Roby Professor of Economics, is quoted.

Wiley-Blackwell celebrates the Journal of Public Economic Theory’s 10th Anniversary! For the past decade, JPET has been dedicated to stimulating research in the rapidly growing field of public economics. The journal has been selected for coverage in Thomson Scientific’s ISI Citation Index, beginning with Volume 9, Issue 1, 2007. To read a sample issue online, please click here.

The Tennessean: Fleeing teams create a dent in city's image In the past few years, Nashville and the surrounding area also have lost two professional golf tournaments, the Arena Football League twice, and an American Basketball Association team—although the ABA is scheduled to return this fall. John Vrooman, senior lecturer in economics, is quoted.

Chattanooga Times-Free Press: Nashville: Gas crisis from 1970s has lessons for today Although the economy is not doing as poorly as it was in 1973, the high price of gas and memories of rationing provide insight into current problems. Jeremy Atack, professor of economics, is quoted.

Chattanooga Times-Free Press: $4 gas will pinch rural America most Rural Americans in the South will bear the brunt of rising gas prices, economists say. Malcolm Getz, associate professor of economics, is quoted.

Nobel Prize winner outlines plan for ending poverty A new book by Muhammad Yunus, a Vanderbilt alumnus who won the Nobel Peace Prize for a bank he founded in Bangladesh that specializes in making microloans to the very poor, is previewed.

Globe and Mail (Toronto): NFL owners decide they 'can't live with' collective agreementWhen the NFL agreed to a new collective labor agreement with its players in the spring of 2006, many owners of both big-market and small-market clubs grumbled about the deal, albeit for different reasons. John Vrooman, senior lecturer in economics, is quoted.

The Tennessean: A better course is to cut summer travel Malcolm Getz, associate professor of economics, wrote this opinion piece about the futility of a “gas tax holiday” being proposed by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

The Tennessean: Consumer growth, biofuels are factors Kathryn Anderson, professor of economics, wrote this opinion piece explaining recent food price inflation.

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