Write up about the Conference
The WEIA International Conference (formerly Pacific Rim) was started in 1994 and brings between 300 and 500 economists from around the world together in Hong Kong (1994, 1996 and 2005), Bangkok (1998), Sydney (2000), Taiwan (2003), Beijing (2007), Kyoto (2009), Brisbane (2011), Tokyo (2013), and this year in New Zealand (2015). This conference offers an exciting opportunity for the exchange of ideas amongst economists from both sides of the Pacific.
Keynote Addresses hosted by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Treasury will be given by Nobel Laureates Robert F. Engle, New York University, and Christopher A. Sims, Princeton University, by WEAI President John Pencavel, Stanford University, and by WEAI President-Elect David Card, University of California, Berkeley. A featured Professional Development session organized by former JPAM Editor Maureen Pirog, Indiana University, is entitled “Shaping the Field of Scholarly Publishing.”
Future directions of research presented
In the future, we plan to discuss some pros and cons of alternative public policies to reduce household vulnerability, including the role of discounting.Since a similar conceptual framework can be applied at the national level, we will also comment on insights for disaster risk management.
Potential foreign collaborators
Arthur Grimes of Motu Policy Center
Other important contacts and insights
I’ve also met with with Susie Kerr of Motu Policy Center and Frank Fraser and Tim Street from New Zealand Electric Authority. Also met with the Ambassador of the Philippines to Wellington, Virginia Benavides.
Short write-up of one’s participation (to be used to feature/publicize the grantee’s participation in the conference)
The paper that I presented provides an initial framework regarding priorities for government programs to reduce the natural-disaster vulnerability of farm households in the Philippines. We begin with the likelihood that climate change will increase the probability of flooding, since rainfall is expected to both increase and be more concentrated (more storms).We then turn to a conceptual framework for understanding resilience at the household level and evidence from the PCED Social Protection Survey about coping strategies of farm households. The framework will be used to shed light on pros and cons of alternative public policies to reduce household vulnerability, including the role of discounting.Since a similar conceptual framework can be applied at the national level, we will also comment on insights for disaster risk management.
There are other complementary papers focusing on disaster mitigation and management that were presented in the conference. Several papers focused on New Zealand experience on rehabilitation and rebuilding Christchurch after the earthquake in 2010 where the Philippines can share and learn lessons.
The keynote papers provided the frontier of knowledge in economics. The Keynote Address of David Card, University of California, Berkeley, titled “Model Based or Design Based? Competing Approaches in Empirical Microeconomics” provided different perspectives on methodologies of empirical work. Likewise, the Keynote Address of Robert Engle, NYU Stern School of Business, “Latest Results in Systemic Risk” has been equally interesting and informative.
