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A wealth of research has been conducted on optimal procedures for government procurement of services and the best use of public resources. However, education policy is almost never discussed in these terms, even though many governments in developed countries spend more on education services than any other good or service, with the exception of healthcare. In order to establish an optimal procurement system for education services, features such as performance incentives should be considered. While we move towards developing the optimal education procurement system, simple reforms should allow governments to avoid waste and improve equity. 


Derek Neal is a Professor in the Department of Economics and on the Committee on Education at the University of Chicago.

Derek Neal in front of bookshelves

He researches the design of incentive systems for educators, exploring design flaws in performance pay and accountability systems, and highlighting the advantages of providing incentives through contests among schools. He is currently involved in research projects on increasing student learning in China and Uganda. He is a past President of the Midwest Economics Association and a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He is a former editor of the Journal of Political Economy, the Journal of Labor Economics, and the Journal of Human Resources. 

Professor of Economics
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Philippines Conference Room

Encina Hall 
616 Serra St.
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

Derek Neal Professor of Economics University of Chicago
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The lecture aims to introduce the prevalence of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Zhejiang Province in China, and also share experience of Control and Prevention of NCDs. The lecture is composed by five parts. Firstly, NCDs surveillance system in Zhejiang will be introduced, including its establishment history and system coverage. Then, epidemiological characteristics of major NCDs (such as diabetes, cancer, stroke, and acute coronary heart disease events) will be presented, as well as NCDs related behavioral risk factors and hospital-based injury surveillance. Next, current work of NCDs prevention and control in Zhejiang Province will be described, including work network, human resources, community management and pilot programs for NCDs. Fourthly, economic cost of diabetes will be illustrated. Finally, countermeasures for NCDs Prevention and Control will be discussed.

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Min Yu is deputy director of Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He was awarded as New-Century 151 Talents of Zhejiang Province, China. He is a committee member of Epidemiology Branch of Chinese Preventive Medicine Association. He is the leader of key discipline of Non-Communicable Diseases epidemiology (NCDs), and led the establishing of NCDs and behavioral risk factor surveillance system in Zhejiang province.  

Yu got Medical degree in Zhejiang University and Master degree of Public Health in Peking Medical University. Now his research focuses on epidemiology of NCDs, strategy for NCDs control and prevention, and disease burden.

Min Yu Deputy director of Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention
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Co-sponsored by the Asia Health Policy Program & the Southeast Asia Program
 
This paper analyzes the effects of an early-life shock in Indonesia on children’s human capital formation and parental responses to these shocks. We exploit the geographical variation of Indonesia’s forest fires during the El Nino phenomenon in 1997, as well as cohort variation in exposure. Children affected by these shocks in utero and in early years have worse health outcomes relative to children not exposed to these shocks. We find that the health effects persist, but other factors mitigate the initial effect on cognitive skills.
 
My main research interest lies at the intersection of development and health economics. I am particularly interested in how social policies affect health outcomes for the poor, early health investments, and health-seeking behavior in limited resource settings, focusing on the evaluation of different strategies that seek to promote health investments and the effects of these interventions. Specifically, I have analyzed the effects of Indonesia’s household conditional cash transfer program on health outcomes, local health care price, and quality of care. I have also analyzed the long-term effects of a large-scale midwifery program in Indonesia. Current projects study the effects of early life shocks on children’s human capital outcomes in Indonesia and the Philippines.
 
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Margaret Triyana is currently Assistant Professor of Economics at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Triyana graduated from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. She was previously the Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center in 2013-14.
Margaret Triyana Assistant Professor of Economics, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
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-This event is now full and we are no longer able to accept RSVPs-
 

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Image of the front cover of Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-Heritage Societies
Please join us as we celebrate the publication of David Laitin and co-authors Claire Adida (UC San Diego) and Marie-Anne Valfort's (Paris School of Economics and the Sorbonne) recent book Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-Heritage Societies which will be released in January 2016 by Harvard University Press.  

Amid mounting fears of violent Islamic extremism, many Europeans ask whether Muslim immigrants can integrate into historically Christian countries. In a groundbreaking ethnographic investigation of France’s Muslim migrant population, Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-Heritage Societies explores this complex question. The authors conclude that both Muslim and non-Muslim French must share responsibility for the slow progress of Muslim integration.

Book signing to immediately follow.  Copies of the book will also be available for sale.

 

David D. Laitin is the James T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science at Stanford University. His specialty is comparative politics. In that field he conducts research on political culture, ethnic conflict, and civil war. His field expertise spans Somalia, Nigeria, Catalonia, Estonia and France.

Department of Political Science
Stanford University
Encina Hall, W423
Stanford, CA 94305-6044

(650) 725-9556 (650) 723-1808
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James T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science
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David Laitin is the James T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science and a co-director of the Immigration Policy Lab at Stanford. He has conducted field research in Somalia, Nigeria, Spain, Estonia and France. His principal research interest is on how culture – specifically, language and religion – guides political behavior. He is the author of “Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-heritage Societies” and a series of articles on immigrant integration, civil war and terrorism. Laitin received his BA from Swarthmore College and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Affiliated faculty at the Center for International Security and Cooperation
Affiliated faculty at The Europe Center
James T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science Speaker Department of Political Science
Associate Professor of French and Director, Department of French and Italian Discussant Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages
Amalia Kessler Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies Discussant Stanford Law School
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Abstract:

Joshua Tucker and his colleagues have introduced a novel classification of strategies employed by autocrats to combat hostile activity on the web and in social media in particular. Their classification looks at these options from the point of view of the end internet user and distinguishes online from offline response and exerting control from engaging in opinion formation. For each of the three options - offline action, infrastructure regulation and online engagement - they provide a detailed account for the evolution of Russian government strategy since 2000. In addition, for online engagement option they construct the tools for detecting such activity on Twitter and test them on a large dataset of politically relevant Twitter data from Russia, gathered over the period of nine month in 2014.
 

Bio:

Joshua Tucker
Joshua Tucker is a Professor of Politics and, by courtesy, Russian and Slavic Studies at New York University with an affiliate appointment at NYU-Abu Dhabi.  He is a Co-PI of the NYU Social Media and Political Participation laboratory (SMaPP), a Co-Author of the award winning politics and policy blog - The Monkey Cage at The Washington Post, and the Co-Editor of the Journal of Experimental Political Science. 
 

 

Wallenberg Theatre,

Wallenberg Hall (Main Quad)

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"Preventing Cardiovascular Disease: Pathways through Diagnostic Testing, Clinical Guidelines, and Patient Decision Making"

 

Please note: All research in progress seminars are off-the-record. Any information about methodology and/or results is embargoed until publication.

 

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and consumes 17% of our national healthcare expenditures. Diagnostic testing in clinical settings—particularly for coronary heart disease—and incorporation of economic evidence into professional society guidelines represent underdeveloped opportunities to catalyze adoption of preventive health measures. Financial incentives that influence patient decision-making may also be an effective tool to increase adoption of preventive health measures, and we are currently testing their effectiveness and return on investment in high-risk, hospitalized smokers.

Joseph Ladapo New York University
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Abstract: Cybersecurity depends heavily on civilian cyber defense, which is decentralized, private, and voluntary. Although the structure of this field stands to have a profound impact on national and international security, its history is rarely subject to critical or comparative analysis. Why is civilian cyber defense organized this way? There are at least three plausible explanations for the origins and evolution of cyber defense as an organizational field: technology, bureaucracy, and ideology. I examine the influence of each factor during the formative years of the Internet in the United States. From the beginning, malware was described in terms of infectious disease (viruses and worms), so I use public health to provide comparative context for cyber defense. I find that technological determinism explains far less about the genesis of this field than often assumed. Bureaucratic politics are also insufficient. Therefore, I argue that the American ideology of anti-statism is necessary to explain civilian cyber defense, and this family of ideas has important implications for security cooperation at home and abroad.

About the Speaker: Frank Smith is a Senior Lecturer with the Centre for International Security Studies and the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. His teaching and research examine the relationship between technology and international security. His book, American Biodefense, explains why the U.S. military struggled to defend itself and the country against biological warfare and bioterrorism. His current research examines cyber security cooperation; he is also analyzing the potential impact of quantum computing on international relations. Previously, Smith was a visiting scholar with the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs, a research fellow with the Griffith Asia Institute, and a pre-doctoral fellow with the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He has a Ph.D. in political science and a B.S. in biological chemistry, both from the University of Chicago. 

Frank Smith Senior Lecturer Speaker Centre for International Security Studies; Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney
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Kenji Kushida will provide an overview of canonical works of Silicon Valley, including work of Martin Kenney and his classic co-edited volume "Understanding Silicon Valley" and other more recent work drawn from the Stanford Silicon Valley - New Japan project’s "Top Ten Reading List of Silicon Valley." He will also share insights from a recent report co-authored with Richard Dasher, Nobuyuki Harada, Takeo Hoshi, and Tetsuji Okazaki entitled "Institutional Foundations for Growth" which partially draws from research on Silicon Valley.   

Kanetaka Maki will present his new research from a paper entitled "Milestones to University-Based Startup Success: What Is the Impact of Academic Inventor Involvement?” Based on the data analysis of 533 University of California startups, he will explain the impact of inventor involvement in the growth and success of university-based startups.

RSVP Required

 

Agenda
4:15pm: Doors open
4:30pm-5:30pm: Lecture, followed by discussion
5:30pm-6:00pm: Networking

 

For more information about the Silicon Valley-New Japan Project please visit: http://www.stanford-svnj.org/

Philippines Conference RoomEncina Hall, 3rd Floor616 Serra StStanford, CA 94305
Kenji Kushida, Research Associate, Shorenstein APARC Japan Program and Stanford Silicon Valley - New Japan Project leader
Kanetaka Maki, Research Associate, Shorenstein APARC Japan Program
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Technological advances have brought us to a potential tipping point in the delivery of financial services that will affect the individual, firm, the industry and the country. How important will this development be for potential growth in developed and developing countries? Will the changes occur without official intervention, or will they need the state’s guiding hand to ensure that they provide their benefits with minimal risk? What measures are needed from policy makers and regulatory authorities to clear the path for faster growth?

This seminar, co-sponsored by the Stanford Center for International Development and the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, will look at how a group of companies, an industry and a country have effectively capitalized on conducive regulatory environment the opportunities offered by the technological advances and related disruptions. The talk will focus on the strategy of M-Pesa/Alibaba, Chinese Financial Sector and Singapore. The combination of Silicon Valley Technology and Smart Nation/City initiative may overcome some challenges of low productivity and low growth in many parts of the world especially in Asia and ASEAN.

David LEE Kuo Chuen is a visiting scholar at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) for the fall of 2015.  He is currently the Director of Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics.  He holds the appointment of Practice Professor of Quantitative Finance, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, in Singapore Management University.  He is also the founder of Ferrell Asset Management Group. His research interests encompass digital and Internet finance, digital banking, Asia finance, impact investing, financial inclusion and asset allocation. During his time as a Fulbright Scholar at Shorenstein APARC, his research will focus on harnessing Silicon Valley technology for connectivity and financial inclusion in ASEAN and Singapore. David is also an Independent Director of two SGX-listed companies and sits on the Investment Committee and Council of two charitable organizations. He is the Vice President of the Economic Society of Singapore.  He was the Founding Vice Chairman of the Alternative Investment Management Association (Singapore Chapter), a member of the SGX Security Committee, and MAS Financial Research Council.  He was also the Group Managing Director of OUE Limited and Auric Pacific Limited, as well as the Non-Executive Chairman of MAP Technology Limited. David speaks frequently in international conferences with occasional appearances in Bloomberg, Reuters and Channel NewsAsia.  He has published in Financial Analyst Journal, Journal of Investing, Journal of Wealth Management, Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation, Applied Financial Economics, and several books and chapters on Household Economics and Hedge Funds.  His two books on Asia Finance focus on Banking, Sovereign Wealth Funds, REITs, Financial Trading & Markets, and Fund Performance. His latest book is on Digital Currency. He graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a BSc (Econs), MSc (Mathematical Economics and Econometrics) and a PhD in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics.

Smart Nation, Silicon Valley Technology and Asia Growth Strategy
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Philippines Conference Room3rd floor, Encina Hall616 Serra StreetStanford, CA 94305
David LEE Kuo Chuen, Director of Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics and APARC Visiting Scholar
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Mathias Hoffmann is Professor of Economics at the University of Zurich. His research focuses on the macroeconomic aspects of international financial integration and on the link between financial markets and the macro-economy more generally. His recent published articles include papers on the determinants of international capital flows and imbalances, the international transmission of business cycles, on international risk sharing and banking regulation. Prior to arriving in Zurich, he was Professor at the University of Dortmund in Germany and a Lecturer at Southampton University (UK). He holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence and obtained his undergraduate education in economics and mathematics at WHU School of Management, Brandeis University and the University of Bonn.

Mathias Hoffmann is a fellow of CESifo Munich and has held visiting positions, at the University of California at Berkeley, the Deutsche Bundesbank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Keio University.

http://www.voxeu.org/person/mathias-hoffmann

http://www.econ.uzh.ch/faculty/hoffmann.html

Philippines Conference Room3rd floor, Encina Hall616 Serra StreetStanford, CA 94305
Mathias Hoffmann, Professor of International Trade and Finance, University of Zurich
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