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Events

Grossman Lecture

Inaugurated in 1978, the Grossman Professorship Lecture is an annual event in the honor of Nissie Grossman (class of 1932).  From its inception until 2001 Grossman Professor Emeritus Jan Hogendorn gave the lecture.  The current Grossman Professor, Patrice Franko, gave 5 annual addresses; the lecture is now given either by a prominent visitor or any member of the economics faculty.

Nissie Grossman earned his BA from Colby College and his MBA from Harvard University. He dedicated his life to Grossman’s, the family building materials business. Starting as a yard worker, he moved up through the company to become Chairman of the Board in 1968. Twice elected to the Colby College Board of Trustees, he established the second endowed chair in the history of the College, the Grossman Professorship.  Mr. Grossman’s Colby legacy endures through his son Tom Grossman (class of 1963), niece Barbara Starr Wolf (class of 1950), grandson Scott Kadish (1994), great niece Alessandra Grossman(2019) and the Grossman Professorship.

  • 2024: Melissa Kearney, University of Maryland, “The Two Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind”
  • 2023: Dr. Atif Mian, Princeton University, “Does Inequality Matter for Macro, Finance and Stability?”
  • 2022: Dr. Bridget Terry Long, Harvard Graduate School of Education, “Supporting College Access and Success: Promising Research from the Economics of Education”
  • 2021: Dr. Trevon D. Logan, Ohio State University, “Competition and Discrimination in Public Accommodations: Evidence from the Green Books”
  • 2020: Kimberly Clausing, Reed College, “Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital”
  • 2019: Ethan Lewis, Dartmouth College, “Who Wins and Who Loses from Immigration Restrictions”
  • 2018: Eric Rosengren, Boston Federal Reserve Bank, “Monetary, Fiscal and Financial Stability Policy Tools: Are We Equipped for the Next Recession”
  • 2017: Gautam Gowrisankaran, University of Arizona, “Hospital Competition and Bargaining: Higher Prices or Greater Innovation”
  • 2016: Jens Ludwig, University of Chicago, “Machine Learning and the Economics of Crime”
  • 2015 Hillary Hoynes, Goldman School of Public Policy University of California, Berkeley, “Poverty, the Social Safety Net, and the Great Recession” 
  • 2014: Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics & Yale University, “Continued Existence of Cows Disproves Central Tenets of Capitalism”>
  • 2013: Scott Barrett, Earth Institute & Columbia University, “Avoiding Climate Catastrophe”
  • 2012: James Meehan, Wadsworth Professor of Economics, “Why Economists Should Be Humble When Giving Policy Advice.”
  • 2011: Professor Brendan Walsh (UC Dublin) “From Celtic Tiger to Celtic Catastrophe: What We Can Learn from Ireland’s Economic Crash.”
  • 2010: Senior Fellow Alice Rivlin (Brookings), “Can Our Political System Handle the Economic Challenges We Face?”

Past Grossman Lectures

Co-Sponsored Conferences

Our Department actively supports local conferences that will give faculty and advanced students opportunities to present their latest research.  In particular, we have co-sponsored annual events that bring professional economists and experienced students in Maine together to share ideas.  The following is a listing of recent conferences we have been an active part of organizing and supporting:

2023 Maine Economics Conference – Bates College
2019 Maine Economics Conference – Bates College
2018 Maine Economics Conference – UMaine Orono
2017 Maine Economics Conference – Colby College
2016 Maine Economics Conference – Bates College
2015 Maine Economics Conference – Bowdoin College
2014 Maine Economics Conference – Colby College
2013 Maine Economics Conference – Bates College
2012 Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Conference – Colby College
2011 Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Conference – Bowdoin College
2010 Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Conference – Bates College

 
 
 

 

Conference on Auctions, Firm Behavior, and Policy

June 7 & 8, 2023
Colby College

 

A Conference on Auctions, Firm Behavior, and Policy will be held June 7 and 8, 2023, in-person at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. We are particularly interested in applied research using different methodologies (structural econometrics, reduced-form approaches, experiments, applied theory). If you are interested in presenting your research, participating in some capacity, or if you have questions, please email [email protected]. Researchers hoping to present their work should attach their paper as a PDF and send an email by April 24. Young scholars are especially encouraged to submit their work for consideration.

This conference is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Funds are available to provide accommodations and subsidize travel expenses for presenters, with special effort to support the attendance of presenters without their own source of travel funding. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by May 1 with the program announced by May 8. All interested are welcome to join, regardless of their role at the conference. To aid with planning, all attendees will be asked to complete a conference registration form by May 22.

Please visit the conference website for complete details.