Rensselaer Economics Professor Receives 2015 Upjohn Institute Award
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July 28, 2015
Rensselaer Economics Professor Receives 2015 Upjohn Institute Award
Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced that Assistant Professor of Economics Russell Weinstein is the recipient of a 2015 Upjohn Institute Early Career Research Award for his work on the labor-market effects of the relocation of financial firms to Delaware in the 1980s.
Weinstein’s project studies the initial impact of such relocations, which caused “short-run increases in total employment growth, decreases in the unemployment rate, and an in-migration of new workers” to Delaware. He also studies the long-run (20+ years) effects, and has found that employment growth returned to pre-relocation levels, while the unemployment rate was persistently lower and the population higher.
“Many jurisdictions actively compete to attract firms, through fiscal or regulatory policies. Understanding the long-run impact of these policies is crucial for policymakers,” said Weinstein. “I am grateful to the Upjohn Institute for the Early Career Award, which provides important support for conducting this research.”
“Dr. Weinstein’s research is well positioned within our expanding Department of Economics that is focused on the economics of innovation and technological change,” said Mary Simoni, dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Rensselaer. “His application of sophisticated mathematical modeling will aid in our understanding of employment trends that advance economic growth and influence policy development.”
The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan, independent research organization devoted to investigating the causes and effects of unemployment. The Institute’s Early Career Research Grants are intended to provide resources to junior faculty to carry out policy-related research on labor market issues. The Institute encourages research proposals on all issues related to labor markets and public workforce policy.
Weinstein’s research has been covered by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post, Inside Higher Ed, and The Washington Post, and has been referenced by the White House’s Economic Report of the President, and the U.S. Senate. His research has also been accepted for presentation at the Society of Labor Economists/European Association of Labor Economists World Conference, Econometric Society World Conference, and the Urban Economics Association.
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