2007 Conference Press Centre

Media briefings on papers presented at the conference are in seven broad subject areas and are now available - see below. The Royal Economic Society Media Consultant, Romesh Vaitilingam, may be contacted on [link expired].

THE ECONOMICS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• Smoking during Pregnancy: Giving up by month five can prevent underweight babies
• Higher Divorce Risk Raises Women's Working Hours
• The Impact of Political Institutions on Suicide Rates: Evidence from Switzerland
• 'Ask and You Shall Receive': Charitable donors very responsive to requests to give
• When Households Default on their Debts
• Researchers find 'No Clear Link' between Abortion and Crime in the UK
• 'Show Me' Economics: TV show Deal or No Deal as a testbed for theories of decision-making under risk
• More Evidence on People's Economic Decision-making from TV Show Deal or No Deal
• Mapping Happiness across Europe - and why trust is so important for a nation's wellbeing
• Child Targeting to Relieve Poverty: Price subsidies may be more effective than cash transfers

Also on the programme:

• Husbands and Wives: Who does what and who gets what, a plenary lecture by Professor Martin Browning from Oxford University
• A special session on The Economics of Crime, chaired by Professor Stephen Machin from the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE
• A special session on Family Economics, including Professor John Ermisch from the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.

THE ECONOMICS OF BUSINESS AND CONSUMERS
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• Exchange Rate Movements have Little Impact on UK Exports
• Carbon Emissions Trading: The European Union should auction permits, not give them to firms for free
• Competition Commission Investigations: More experienced chairmen deliver tougher verdicts
• Mobile Phones: How consumers choose their operator
• Electricity Customers Not Seeing Expected Price Benefits of Competition
• Energy Supply: Switching behaviour reveals surprising consumer choices

Also on the programme:

• A special session on Supermarket Competition and Buyer Power, discussed by Professor John Vickers from Oxford University

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.

THE ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• Underpaid Academics - and the damaging consequences for the quality of UK higher education
• Kids need Child Support Payments
• Selective Education: Who benefits from grammar schools?
• Wide Access to Education Brings Democracy
• Islamic Religious Schools can help Close Gender Gaps in School Enrolment in Muslim countries
• Official Duty versus Private Practice: Teachers and markets for tutoring in poor countries
• Migrant Networks Boost Education in Sender Countries

Also on the programme:

• A special session on Using Experimental Economics for Education in the Classroom and Beyond

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.

THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: TRADE, AID AND GROWTH
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• IMF Loans Linked to Membership of the United Nations Security Council
• Paris Club Involvement: Helping or harming IMF attempts to 'catalyse' private capital flows?
• Can Trade Hurt?
• No Evidence that Foreign Direct Investment Drives Growth in Developing Countries
• Shrinking Home Bias in International Portfolio Investment
• Increased Aid to Africa can Cause Political Instability and Harm not Help Economic Growth
• Democracy Reduces Infant Mortality in Africa
• Lower Tariffs will not Hit Developing Countries' Revenues Too Hard

Also on the programme:

• Theory and Practice of Anti-Corruption Policies, a plenary lecture by Professor Abhijit Banerjee from MIT

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.

THE ECONOMICS OF LAW, MEDICINE AND MEDIA
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• Market Design: A new approach to school choice, recruiting junior doctors and kidney transplants
• Financial Incentives Can Help to Control MRSA Infections in NHS Hospitals
• Going with the Winner: Experimental evidence that voters will turn out even when polls indicate a sure victory
• Ideal Ownership Patterns for Media Freedom
• Can You Keep a Secret? The economics of the reporter's privilege
• The Economics of Judicial Councils
• The Optimal Amount of Falsified Testimony
• An Economic Perspective on Religion

Also on the programme, special sessions on:

• Tax Modelling
• Civil Justice
• Endogenous Political Institutions

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.

INTEREST RATES, CURRENCIES AND GLOBAL IMBALANCES
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• 'Opportunistic Monetary Policy': Why UK interest rates are often constant for long periods - and why they are likely to rise soon
• Global Imbalances: Asset price movements play a much bigger role than exchange rates
• Tax Competition Tames Big Government
• Asia's Choice of Exchange Rate Regime: The impact on Europe's exposure to US shocks
• US Household Debt and the Damaging Impact of Tax Cuts on the Trade Balance

Also on the programme, special sessions on:

• Unified Growth
• Tax Modelling
• Fiscal Policy and Public Debt

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.

THE ECONOMICS OF JOBS AND PAY
NEW RESEARCH AT THE RES ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

• The 'Part-time Occupational Penalty': Lower quality jobs for British women who don't want to work full-time
• Part-time Work for British Women: Dead-end or career interlude?
• Changing Rates of Self-employment among Britain's Asians suggests Assimilation by Some but Discrimination against Others
• Ethnic, Educated and Ambitious? Go public, young man!
• The Minimum Wage has Reduced Sickness Absence
• Flexibility at Work Makes Both Male and Female Employees Happier
• The Benefits of Using a Computer at Work
• When Equal Pay is Unfair
• The Economics of Exclusive Superstars
• Designing the Ideal Work Contract: Trust is good - but a little bit of control is better
• Training Programmes can Reduce Unemployment Spells: Evidence from Germany
• Unemployment Benefits: Trap or bridge? Evidence from the Dutch experiment

Also on the programme:

• A special session on Wages in the Public Sector, chaired by Professor Peter Dolton from the Centre for Economic Performance
• A special session on Incentives in the Public Sector, chaired by Professor Simon Burgess from the Centre for Market and Public Organisation

For Further Information: contact Romesh Vaitilingam.