News and Events
2025 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
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2025 Nobel Prize Discussion
February 25, 2025, Olin 101
The Babson Economics Club recently welcomed Professor Mahdi Majbouri for an enlightening lecture on the findings of this past year’s Economics Nobel Prize Laureates, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson. Professor Majbouri’s lecture, held on February 25th, 2025, delved into the disparities in wealth between countries, highlighting the pivotal research on the correlation between current institutions and economic performance.
Professor Majbouri discussed the Instrumental Variable Method and explained how the prize winners identified the European Settler Mortality Rate as the significant variable influencing this correlation. Approximately 30 attendees participated in the event, engaging in thoughtful questions throughout the lecture. Many of the students expressed their fascinations with the findings of the lecture afterwards, and it was a lovely event overall.
2024 College Fed Challenge Boston
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2024 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2023 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
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2022 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
What Are the Odds? The Past, Present, and Future of Sports Betting in the U.S.
April 6, 2022, Winn Auditorium, Olin Hall
Victor Matheson, a prominent sports economist and Professor of Economics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, was the guest at the Economics Division and the Babson Econ Club's Speaker Series on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at the Winn Auditorium.
Professor Matheson is the editor of the Journal of Sports Economics, the past President of the North American Association of Sports Economist, and the author of The Economics of Sports, 6th Edition. He has also been widely quoted in the media including among many others The New York Times, National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, and has been featured on podcasts such as Planet Money and Freakonomics. In addition to his academic work, he has worked as high-level soccer referee for over 30 years officiating matches in Major League Soccer and numerous top collegiate conference including two NEWMAC championship games.
Megan Way, Associate Professor & Economics Division Chair (left), and Lidija Polutnik, Professor, Economics Division2022 The Case Centre Awards and Competition
February 22, 2022
The 2022 Global Case Awards and Competition which celebrates excellence and impact in case writing and teaching was announced today. The Category Award winner on Economics, Politics and Business Environment was given to the case: Apple Watch (A) – The Launch, written by Lidija Polutnik and Megan Way, Babson College.
The press release states: “while the Awards are judged based on anonymised data recording the uptake of cases for teaching at schools worldwide, the Competitions are judged by bespoke panels of international experts.”
The Secrets of Subscriptions: Four Lessons Learned
July 15, 2021
Professor Lidija Polutnik is featured in an article on the campus Babson Thought & Action page. The article, The Secrets of Subscriptions: Four Lessons Learned, was written by John Crawford on July 15, 2021.
2021 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2020 College Fed Challenge Boston
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2020 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2019 College Fed Challenge Boston
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2019 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2018 College Fed Challenge Boston
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Babson Economics Club
Tuesday, October 23, 2018, Reynolds Global Lounge, Babson College
The first event of the newly-formed Babson Economics Club was held at the Reynolds Global Lounge on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. Spearheaded by Ashish Tejpal, (club President) with the help of Hai Peter Pham (Vice President) and Shanshan Li (Treasurer), the hour long information session was attended by more than 30 undergraduate students. A successful beginning!
Photo credit: Ashish Tejpal2018 Carpenter Lecture Series
Health Care in America: A Play in Two Acts
David M. Cutler, Harvard University »
2018 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2017 College Fed Challenge Boston
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2017 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
Brexit’s Fallout: Answering Your Questions.
Friday, June 24, 2016
Professor Kent Jones was interviewed live at the Harvard Business Review studios in Brighton, MA regarding the “Brexit Fallout” the day after the referendum. On Thursday, June 23, 2016 a reference was held to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union.
Watch the interview on Facebook: Brexit’s Fallout: Answering Your Questions. With Babson political economist Kent Jones.
Economics Required Courses and Recommendations for Electives and Concentration
Download Economics Required Courses and Recommendations (pdf)
2016 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2016 Carpenter Lecture Series
How Machine Intelligence Can Produce Smarter Policies
Sendhil Mullainathan, Harvard University »
“A Career in Economics … it’s so much more than you think.”
A video from the American Economic Association—A Career in Economics​
Spring 2016 Recommended Graduate-level Electives
ECN7555 Health Economics
Professor Yunwei Gai
With health care approaching 20% of U.S. DP, health care sector provides unparalleled job and entrepreneur opportunities. Between 2010 and 2020, jobs in the healthcare sector will grow by 30%—twice as fast as the general economy, Entrepreneurs with foresight to lower cost while delivering quality health care services are sure to benefit immensely. This course will examine major players in this industry including pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, insurance companies, physicians, patients and the government. You will use big data techniques to analyze problems and opportunities facing each player.
ECN7550 Business Strategy and Game Theory
Professor Kankana Mukherjee
This course makes extensive use of Game Theory to analyze strategy in a competitive context. The emphasis is not only on how to play a given ’business game’ well but understanding the strategies behind how to shape the ’business game.’ It will enable you to give expert decisions, entry deterrence, mergers, product positioning, diversification, make or buy decisions, negotiating, and bidding. The framework will help you better assess business opportunities and make strategic decision as a business startup in diverse situations. This course is extremely valuable for career paths such as General Management, Strategy Consulting, Entrepreneurship, Business Development, and Strategic Planning.
2015 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
EDUNIVERSAL Ranks Babson #15 for Best Masters Ranking in Economics
EDUNIVERSAL is a global ranking and rating agency specializing in higher education. The company has established strong expertise in evaluating academic institutions and programs in France since 1994, and internationally since 2007. ​With headquarters in Paris, they ranked Babson #15: a regional ranking for the top 200 North America MBA programs with Managerial Economics courses within 8 geographic zones.
2014 College Fed Challenge Boston
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William L. Casey, Jr. Retires
May 13, 2014, Glavin Chapel
William L. Casey, Jr., Professor of Economics, retires from Babson College after 50 years of service (1964–2014). A “Thank You” celebration honoring Professor Casey was held at the Glavin Chapel in campus where many of his Babson friends and family were present. Economics Division Chair, Lidija Polutnik started the tribute followed by his colleagues (John Marthinsen, Kent Jones, Joe Ricciardi, Brian Barefoot, and Robert McAuliffe).
Professor Polutnik spoke of Bill Casey’s 5 Research Lessons:
- A research career is a marathon, not a sprint.
- Focus is great, but do not hesitate to take a detour (if interesting and productive).
- In marketing the products of your research, do not ignore the demand side of the market.
- “Milking” a particular line of research can be productive and rewarding.
- Develop synergies with your teaching and research but do not hesitate to lead a two-track professional life. Babson will reward both and one may be more exportable than the other.
2014 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
Professor Megan Way Presented with the Nan Langowitz Women Who Make a Difference Award, 2014
March 4, 2014, Knight Auditorium
Sponsored by the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, this annual award honors women whose work has had a significant, positive impact on the Babson Community in the last year. Megan Way, Economics Division faculty, was nominated this year and was honored at a reception held at the Knight Auditorium on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. (Picture shows Professor Way and her daughter, Helen)
2013 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
2013 Carpenter Lecture Series
The Emergence of a New Economy: How scale, connection and time are the keys to a sustainable future
Juliet Schor, Boston College »
The IMF and Global Financial Crisis
February 5, 2013, Olin 120
Joseph P. Joyce is a Professor of Economics at Wellesley College and the Faculty Director of the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs. Professor Joyce’s research deals with issues in financial globalization. His book, The IMF and Global Financial Crises: Phoenix Rising?, has been published by Cambridge University Press.
The IMF’s response to the global crisis of 2008-9 marked a significant change from its past policies. The Fund provided relatively large amounts of credit quickly with limited conditions and accepted the use of capital controls. Professor Joyce’s book traces the evolution of the IMF’s actions to promote international financial stability from the Bretton Woods era through the most recent crisis. The analysis includes an examination of the IMF’s crisis management activities during the debt crisis of the 1980s, the upheavals in emerging markets in the 1990s and early 2000s, and the ongoing European crisis.
2012 College Fed Challenge Boston
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2012 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
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On Moral Inconsistencies: Dishonest Altruists, Honest Egoists and Reciprocating Cheaters
November 28, 2011, Olin 120
Gizem Saka, Visiting Professor of Economics, Wellesley College
Behavioral economics is a new field that draws on economics and psychology. Whereas traditional economic models portray individuals as rational, self-interested, self-controlled human beings, behaviorists know that people are deficient when it comes to these desirable characteristics. We are far less rational than we think (and hope) we are. Yet, our situation is not hopeless, because we are irrational in specific, systematic ways. That makes behavior, even in its irrationality, predictable. In this presentation, we will touch on three specific issues. We will discover why people procrastinate even when it is not in their long run best interest to do so. We will discuss ways of overcoming procrastination. Last but not least, we will analyze experimental results that show altruists to be cheaters and egoists to be truth-tellers.
2011 College Fed Challenge Boston
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India’s Business Cycles: Evidence and Theory
October 26, 2011, Horn 159
Rucha Bhate, Part-Time Lecturer
India is one of the fastest growing emerging economies in the world today with an average quarterly GDP growth of 8.1 percent between 2004-2010. We use annual time series data and filtering methods to document the key statistics of India’s business cycle. Output, consumption and investment are more volatile in India as compared to the developed economies. Like in the developed countries, consumption is less volatile and investment is more volatile than output in the Indian data. Unlike in the former, investment is not highly correlated with output. We test whether a standard real business cycle model subject to technology and fiscal shocks, with parameters calibrated for the Indian economy can replicate the key features of India’s business cycle.
The European Debt Crisis and the New Economic Architecture in the EU: The Need for New Institutions and Structural Change
October 3, 2011, Olin Auditorium
Dr. Kostas Axarloglou is a professor of International Business and Strategy at Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. From 1994 to 2002, he was a Professor of Economics at Babson College, holding the Michael Gerrits Term Chair. Earlier, he taught at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Axarloglou earned his Bachelors Degree from the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece and his Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Economics from the University of Michigan. He is currently doing research and consulting work in the areas of International Business (Foreign Direct Investments), Strategy (Options Theory), and Pricing.
Dr. Axarloglou will provide an insider’s view of the Public Debt Crisis in the E.U. and a blueprint for needed policy reform and institutional change.
2011 Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ)
Babson College Tau Chapter Induction Ceremony »
Faculty News
Nestor Azcona
Nestor Azcona’s paper “Self-Fulfilling Currency Crises with Borrowing Constraints and Domestic Currency Debt” was accepted for publication in Open Economies Review.
Bill Casey
“The Success of Ireland’s Foreign Direct Investment Strategy: A Reconsideration,” was accepted for publication by The Journal of International Business Research, publication date forthcoming.
“Inward Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S.: An Empirical Analysis of their Impact on State Economies,” accepted for publication by The Eastern Economic Journal, co-authored by Kostas Axarloglou and Hsiang-Ling Han, publication date forthcoming.
“FDI Spillovers in Member Countries of Integrated Markets,” completed but unpublished conference paper to be delivered in the spring of 2011.