Spring Semester 2024-2025
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Date:27/02/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "Mutual insurance and land security in rural Ghana"
Speaker: Early Career Researcher in Economics Georgios Manalis, University of Edinburgh.
Host: Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 2 Troias, Kimolou and Spetson Street, Room T106
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Date:06/03/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "Regression Modelling under General Heterogeneity"
Speaker: Professor George Kapetanios, King’s College London
Host: Assistant Professor Alexopoulos Angelos, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
Αbstract: This paper introduces and analyses a setting with general heterogeneity in regression modelling. It shows that regression models with fixed or time-varying parameters can be estimated by OLS or time-varying OLS methods, respectively, for a very wide class of regressors and noises, not covered by existing modelling theory. The new setting allows the development of asymptotic theory and the estimation of standard errors. The proposed robust confidence interval estimators permit a high degree of heterogeneity in regressors and noise. The estimates of robust standard errors coincide with the well known estimator of heteroskedasticity-consistent standard errors by White (1980), but are applicable to more general circumstances than just the presence of heteroscedastic noise and allow regression estimation with missing data. They are easy to compute and perform well in Monte Carlo simulations. Their robustness, generality and ease of use make them ideal for applied work. The paper includes a brief empirical illustration.
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Date:12/03/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Title: "Parental Investments in Private Tutoring: Compensating or Reinforcing?"
Speaker: Senior Research Associate Konstantina Maragkou, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
Host: Assistant Professor Efthymios Athanasiou, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
Abstract: Do parents use private tutoring to compensate or reinforce for their child's cognitive skills? We use linked survey and administrative data from schools in England to evaluate how parents' tutoring decisions respond to their child's abilities. We adopt a correlated random effect estimation which exploits within-child across-subject variation in test scores and tutoring investments. We find that parents use private tutoring to compensate for their child’s skills, but better educated parents do so more than low educated parents. While we show that tutoring improves educational progression equally across socio-economic groups, the differences in parental investment strategies are likely to amplify inequalities in children's educational outcomes, in addition to the vastly unequal levels of investment.
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Date:19/03/2025 - 15:00 - 17:00
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Title: "Cash and Cognition: The Impact of Transfer Timing on Standardized Test Performance and Human Capital"
Speaker: Assistant Professor German Reyes, Economics Department, Middlebury College
Host: Assistant Professor Efthymios Athanasiou, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
Attachments:
PDF of Relevant Paper
Abstract: This paper shows that the timing of monetary transfers to low-income families affects students' cognitive performance on high-stakes standardized tests. We combine administrative records from the world's largest conditional cash transfer program with college admission exam results of 185,000 high school students from beneficiary families. Exploiting random variation in payment dates, we find that receiving the transfer in the days preceding the exam increases test scores by 0.01 standard deviations relative to receiving it the subsequent week. Question-level analysis reveals that effects are concentrated in final questions and easier questions, suggesting improved cognitive endurance and effort allocation. The impacts are largest for recipients of larger transfers, who experience persistent gains in human capital accumulation: their college enrollment increases by 0.6 percentage points, with higher graduation rates and formal employment. Our findings show that short-term liquidity constraints during high-stakes events can have long-lasting implications, and suggest opportunities to improve social programs through improved payment scheduling.
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Date:20/03/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "Screening, Investment Incentives and the Welfare Trade-offs of Privacy"
Speaker: Associate Professor Anastasios Dosis, ESSEC Business School
Host: Assistant Professor Efthymios Athanasiou, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
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Date:27/03/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "tba"
Speaker: Associate Professor Petros Milionis, University of Groningen
Host: Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
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Date:03/04/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "tba"
Speaker: Assistant Professor Francesco Pappada, Ca Foscari University of Venice
Host: Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
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Date:08/05/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "tba"
Speaker: Professor Louis-Philippe Morin, University of Ottawa
Host: Assistant Professor Kospentaris Ioannis, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
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Date:15/05/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "tba"
Speakers: Professor Plutarchos Sakellaris & Dr Stelios Giannoulakis, Athens University of Economics and Business
Host: Assistant Professor Efthymios Athanasiou, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36
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Date:22/05/2025 - 15:30 - 17:00
Title: "tba"
Speaker: Professor Stelios Arvanitis, Athens University of Economics and Business
Host: Assistant Professor Efthymios Athanasiou, Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business
Time: 15.30 -17.00
Room: 76, Patission Str., Antoniadou Wing, 3rd floor, Room A36