Economics & Statistics
NSF: New forecasting algorithm helps predict hurricane intensity and wind speed
The National Science Foundation has covered the hurricane modeling research of SMU engineers Yu Su, Michael Hahsler and Margaret Dunham in a Dec. 5 “Discoveries” article on its web site.
Su, Hahsler and Dunham have written a white paper on their method for predicting hurricanes: “Learning a Prediction Interval Model for Hurricane Intensities.” The three scientists are in the SMU Lyle School‘s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Continue reading
Public health insurance provides insured infants better, less costly care than private plans
In the fierce national debate over a new federal law that requires all Americans to have health insurance, it’s widely assumed that private health insurance can do a better job than public insurance.
But a first-of-its-kind study of newly available government data found just the opposite for infants covered by insurance, says economist Manan Roy in SMU’s Department of Economics. Continue reading
A mathematical model determines which nations are more stable and which are more likely to break up
Thanks to a new model created by an international research group that includes SMU economist Shlomo Weber, it is now possible to predict which European countries are more likely to become united or which are more likely to break up. It does so by not only considering demographic and economic criteria but, most ingeniously of all, culture and genetics. Continue reading
The Guardian: Weatherwatch — Can the intensity of a hurricane be predicted?
Science journalist David Hambling has covered the hurricane modeling research of SMU engineers Yu Su, Michael Hahsler and Margaret Dunham in the U.K. daily newspaper The Guardian.
The article published in Hambling’s Oct. 12 column “Weatherwatch.”
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Salon: What baseball tells us about racism
Best-selling author, syndicated columnist and progressive talk-radio host David Sirota has covered the research of SMU’s Dr. Johan Sulaeman, an expert in labor economics and discrimination. The article published in the Sept. 30 issue of Salon.
An assistant professor of finance in the Cox School of Business, Sulaeman and his co-authors analyzed 3.5 million Major League Baseball pitches and found that racial/ethnic bias by home plate umpires lowers the performance of Major League’s minority pitchers, diminishing their pay compared to white pitchers.
The study found that minority pitchers reacted to umpire bias by playing it safe with the pitches they throw in a way that actually harmed their performance.
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In These Times: How Baseball Explains Modern Racism
Best-selling author, syndicated columnist and progressive talk-radio host David Sirota has covered the research of SMU’s Dr. Johan Sulaeman, an expert in labor economics and discrimination. The article published in the Sept. 30 issue of In These Times.
An assistant professor of finance in the Cox School of Business, Sulaeman and his co-authors analyzed 3.5 million Major League Baseball pitches and found that racial/ethnic bias by home plate umpires lowers the performance of Major League’s minority pitchers, diminishing their pay compared to white pitchers.
The study found that minority pitchers reacted to umpire bias by playing it safe with the pitches they throw in a way that actually harmed their performance.
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Dallas Morning News: Economic Freedom is Waning in the United States
Dallas Morning News editorial writer Jim Mitchell has written about the research of SMU economist Robert Lawson, co-author on the new report Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report.
Lawson is the Jerome M. Fullinwider Chair in Economic Freedom in the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom at the SMU Cox School of Business.
The research shows that the average economic freedom score fell to its lowest in nearly three decades, with the United States in particular dropping from No. 6 to No. 10.
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Inside Higher Ed: NSF Aims For Family Friendly Science
Inside Higher Ed cites the research of SMU’s Anne Lincoln in a Sept. 27 article announcing new efforts by the National Science Foundation to make research grants more accessible to female scientists.
The move by the NSF is an effort to stem the tide of female scientists fleeing the fields of science, technology, engineering and math when forced to choose between their career and motherhood.
Lincoln, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, has done extensive research on how science careers can be incompatible with both women and men who also want to have a family.
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Report: U.S. Economic Freedom Continues Fall; Global Average Declines
Levels of economic freedom have decreased around the globe, says SMU economist Robert Lawson, co-author on the new report Economic Freedom of the World: 2011 Annual Report.
The research shows that the average economic freedom score fell to its lowest in nearly three decades, with the surprising news being that the United States in particular continues dropping, going this period from No. 6 to No. 10.
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