On Friday April 6, the Department of Economics presented the Bernard I. Fain Lecture, delivered this year by Benjamin Nadareski.

In an article titled "Why driverless cars may mean traffic jams tomorrow", The Economist (January 20, 2018) cites research by Brown's Matthew Turner and co-author Gilles Duranton of the University of Pennsylvania as identifying a "fundamental law of road congestion," to wit: building more highways attracts more driving and drivers, thus failing to alleviate congestion. "The technology of driverless cars may make us safer and more productive, but not necessarily less traffic-bound", states The Economist.

In an op-ed piece in the Providence Journal, professors Neil Mehrotra and Matthew Turner argue that the proposed line will require large subsidies and is unlikely to stimulate much economic activity. Better to spend the money on snow removal, pothole repair, and subsidizing conventional buses.

Harvard’s Drew Fudenberg and University of Zurich’s Ernst Fehr will be featured speakers at a conference hosted by Brown’s Economics Department on May 15 – 16 of this year.

Announcing recent appointments and reappointments of Brown economics faculty to editorial boards.

On Tuesday, March 31st, Robert Stavins will present the Bernard I. Fain Lecture, “What Can an Economist Possibly Have to Say about Climate Change?

The Brown Department of Economics welcomed four new faculty members at the beginning of the 2014 – 15 academic year.

Glenn Loury debates the merits of an increase in the minimum wage with Timothy Noah (MSNBC, The Great Divergence).