Economics

The 2022 Calderwood Lecture in Economics

Algorithms and People:

How Machine Learning Can Change Society and Science, For Better and Worse

Professor Sendhil Mullainathan

University of Chicago Booth School of Business


Tuesday April 5 at 4:15pm via Zoom

RegisterHERE

The 2022 Calderwood Lecture will be given by Sendhil Mullainathan, the Roman Family University Professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 5 at 4:15pm via Zoom.

The topic of Dr. Mullainathan's talk is "Algorithms and People: How Machine Learning Can Change Society and Science, For Better and Worse." In his talk, Dr. Mullainathan will survey the important issues that sit at the intersection of economics, psychology, and algorithm design. As algorithms come to dominate our social lives, it is clear we require frameworks and tools that capture both the vagaries of human psychology and the inscrutability of algorithms: whether we seek to do good science or build a good society, we must understand these two together.
Dr. Mullainathan's current research uses machine learning to understand complex problems in human behavior, social policy, and medicine. His past work has used insights from economics and behavioral science along with tools of causal inference to study social problems including discrimination and poverty. His research has appeared in theAmerican Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics,andScience. Dr. Mullainathan is a MacArthur Fellow ("Genius grant" winner) and a co-founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Welcome to the Wellesley College Department of Economics.

经济学是一门社会科学,分析如何society makes resource allocation choices through the production and distribution of goods and services. The appeal of economics lies in its application of theory and quantitative techniques to contemporary problems. Indeed, many students conclude that it would be difficult to be informed citizens without having at least a basic understanding of economics. Economics differs from the study of business in that its scope is broader and more analytical, encompassing the firm, labor and capital markets, consumer choice, and government economic policy.

How We Study Economics

The study of economics has two main branches, each of which identifies one type of decision-maker and the alternatives available to that decision-maker. Microeconomics looks at choice problems and the economist's rules and concepts for solving them in the realm of individual decision-makers: the individual, the firm, the household, the college community, the labor union. Macroeconomics deals with the same general problems—choices and how the economist's set of tools helps in making decisions—at a more aggregated level: a country or a broader political entity such as the European Community.

Why Study Economics?

Economics can give you invaluable insight into how the contemporary world works, excellent training and practice in qualitative and quantitative reasoning, and an understanding of the complex political economic issues that face the United States and the world today.

After graduation, what you "do with economics" depends on you. Many economics majors go on to graduate school and accept positions in economics, law, or business; others become journalists, artists, social activists, and more. If you do not enjoy the study of economics, you should not feel compelled to continue beyond the introductory level even if you are interested in business; it is simply not true that an economics major or minor is needed for admission to a management trainee position or to graduate schools of business.

Department Events

The Economics Department hosts a number of exciting events throughout the year highlighting prominent speakers in the field of Economics through our annual Goldman Lecture and the Calderwood Speaker series. In various lectures, seminars and discussions, topics of interest are explored in detail by our distinguished faculty giving our students multiple opportunities to enhance what they have learned in the classroom.

Katherine Baicker, Dean and the Emmett Dedmon Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy delivered the 2021 Goldman Lecture in Economics on November 16, 2021. The topic of
the lecture was Health Policy in a (Post) COVID-19 Era.
.

The 2021 Calderwood Lecture was held virtually April 7, 2021. The speaker was Melissa Dell, Professor of Economics at Harvard University. The topic of the lecture was Nation Building through Foreign Intervention.

The 2020 Goldman Lecture was held virtually November 11, 2020. The speaker was Lisa D. Cook, Professor of Economics and International Relations at Michigan State University. The topic of the lecture was 150 Years of Violence and Economic Implications for Today.

The Impact of the Global Pandemic and the Policy Responses
Economics Department Faculty Zoom Panel, April 16, 2020

Faculty members Joe Joyce, Robin McKnight and Dan Sichel discuss the Covid-19 pandemic and policy responses and answer student questions. Panel moderated by Kristin Butcher.

Watch recorded panelhere.