8 April 2013: Marti MESTIERI

Marti holds a junior chair (assistant professorship) at TSE. He began his studies at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona before carrying out his PhD in economics at the MIT. Marti joined TSE in 2011.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE?

TSE seemed like the best place where I could grow as an economist and learn from my peers. I really liked the atmosphere here. 

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public?

Within the field of macroeconomics, I study various issues linked to technology and how the use of technology generates winners and losers. To give three main examples:

(3) How does this research impact on society?

Before the industrial revolution the wealth gap between rich and poor countries was less than 2-fold. Today it is 7- or 8-fold. The benefits of the industrial revolution have been heterogeneous across countries, and we document that the late and slow diffusion of technology in poor countries accounts for most of these differences. I believe this analysis may help to centre the debate on the relevant policies to help poor countries become richer. We document that the technology channel is very important, and we are currently in discussions with a large NGO in Peru that is trying to implement new technologies to improve methods of agriculture and light manufacturing.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am very pleased to be a member of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity group, initiated by the Nobel prize-winning economist Jim Heckman (University of Chicago) with the aim of bringing together theoreticians and empiricists to work together on models of human capital. This is an exciting project and in June I will spend one week with the group in Capri thinking about models – I am expecting it to be a very fruitful week.

(5) Crema catalana or Crème brûlée?

Crema catalana! That said, I don’t really know what the difference is, perhaps the addition of lemon peel and cinnamon in the crema catalana. In any case, this dessert is very special to me as in my region it is typically eaten at the time of Sant Josep, and as my father’s name is Josep it has always been a family tradition to prepare Crema Catalana together for that occasion!

Jean-Paul began his studies in Toulouse before carrying out his MSc and PhD (1980) at London School of Economics (LSE). After a 13-year position as Professor of economics at the University of Auvergne (Clermont Ferrand), Jean-Paul came to TSE in 1997 on the request of Jean-Jacques Laffont in order to found the ARQADE research group in development economics, which he directed until 2010. Jean-Paul is director of the Public Policies & Development Masters programme at TSE.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE?

The project that Jean-Jacques invited me to lead was very exciting: the creation of an imaginative, independent centre of applied development economics. For this rather crazy project Jean-Jacques knew he could count on me to take up the challenge!

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public?

An underlying theme to my work is the economics of peace, war, and violence in developing countries. At the moment I am in a transition phase: having spent much time working on terrorism, I am now working on the link between infrastructures and peace; how infrastructures, notably transport networks, create obligations for different groups to peacefully cohabit.

In a recent paper I studied the unexpected democracy that recently developed in Somaliland. After the secession from (former Italian) Somalia, the nation organised itself, without international aid, in an exemplary manner, creating efficient and safe transport infrastructures such as the road into the Middle East via the port of Berbera. My work used a simple game-theoretic model to explain why the home-grown democratic institutions that developed in Somaliland are a key factor for sustaining an efficient political equilibrium.

(3) How does this research impact on society?

In the Somaliland example, local tribes play a significant role in the efficient functioning of the democracy. This is an important point that I try to bring to the attention of the international aid organisations; we have a lot to learn from the people of the countries we aim to “help”, and sometimes intervention is not the best solution, and it’s important to recognise the democratic structures such as the tribes that provide health and educational services, rather than trying to impose an external, bureaucratic organisation that is not in phase with the country’s needs, like an elephant in a china shop! 

In 2010 I published a paper showing that while foreign aid potentially reduces terrorist attacks, military interventions are liable to increase them. Just after publishing the paper, I was invited to Washington to present this work directly to the U.S. Agency for International Development in front of the National Security council and the Defence department. These discussions directly influenced the reform of the U.S. military strategy.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

In April I will present a recent paper at a conference held by the European Public Choice Society.  The paper exposes a conflict affecting an indigenous population in India, victims of violence, terrorism and state corruption.

(5) I hear you are passionate about wine?

The passion comes from my roots. My grandfather produced wine in the Gaillac region, close to Toulouse, and when I had the opportunity to return to my native region and rediscover its vines, I was delighted. I am proud to be Vice-Chancellor of the “Brotherhood of the Divine Gaillac Bottle”, an activity which brings me great pleasure.

Bruno is Director of Research in finance (CRM-CNRS) and member of the finance research group at TSE. PhD in finance from the École des hautes études commerciales de Paris (HEC), Bruno had been in Toulouse since 1994, carrying out various visiting positions over the years (Carnegie Mellon, Yale, ECB, New York Stock Exchange, Oxford…).

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE?

Thanks to a chance meeting with Jean-Jacques Laffont at DELTA (now PSE) in the 1990s. Jean-Jacques suggested I should come to Toulouse. I was thrilled, as I was very interested intellectually by the work of his group in Toulouse, involving a number of researchers that I was keen to work with: Jean Tirole, Jacques Crémer, Jean-Charles Rochet, Eric Renault… so I jumped at the opportunity!

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public?

I work on finance from an economist’s perspective: trying to understand the economic mechanisms of the financial system in order to identify the extent to which the system plays a useful role for society. The relevance of this kind of questioning was brought sharply into light by the financial crisis which began in 2007, and it’s even more crucial today to identify and correct any anomalies in the financial system.

To give a specific example, today I am studying an important technical question: the role of clearing houses, or central counterparties. When financial firms carry out transactions with one another, for example over complicated products such as credit default swaps, there is a risk that a firm may fail to honour its obligations towards the others, because it goes bankrupt or in financial distress. This failure has direct repercussions on the other firms involved in the transaction, and these negative consequences can spread to the entire financial system, creating systemic risk. One of the roles of clearing houses is to provide insurance against potential failure of the other parties. My co-authors and I are studying how to structure these insurance systems and organise the clearing houses in order to reduce risk for the financial system and allow optimal risk sharing.

(3) How does this research impact on society?

After the crisis, it was suggested that rather than a bilateral or decentralised clearing system, it would be wise to centralise clearing in order to better control risks. This is a real policy issue today as this proposal is yet to be put into practise. Our research addresses this issue, and we have regular exchanges with different actors of the regulatory debate such as the IMF, the French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Banque de France, the ECB, and the Federation Bancaire Française (FBF). 

(4) A current highlight in your work?

Two activities in particular spring to mind: the first is my role as Editor of the Journal of Finance since 2012, and the second is my role as Program Chair of the upcoming European meeting of the Econometrics Society, to be held in Gothenburg on 26-30 August 2013. Both of these roles generate a lot of work; for example over the past 3 days I have received 1018 papers submitted to the congress which I have had to allocate to 78 referees.

(5) What is your favourite dish?

I very much enjoy cooking, so I would say my favourite dish is one I will have prepared in my own kitchen, without a recipe, testing out new, original ingredients. And if it’s good then the greatest pleasure is to share it with friends!

11 March 2013: Jacques CREMER

Jacques is Director of Research (CNRS) in economics within the TSE-GREMAQ research centre, and Scientific Director of TSE. He is also member of the IDEI, which he directed from 2002 to 2007. After obtaining his PhD in economics from the MIT in 1977, Jacques began his career at the Laboratoire d’Econométrie of the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and then undertook an assistant professorship at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a professorship at Virginia Tech until 1989, when he took up his position in Toulouse.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE?

I came to Toulouse for a sabbatical year on the invitation of Jean-Jacques Laffont, who was setting up the IDEI at the time. My family and I came for the year, and when I realised how exciting Jean-Jacques’ project was, we decided to stay for good! 

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public?

As TSE Scientific Director, I’m currently a bureaucrat! But when I can concentrate on my research, I essentially work in two areas:

1. The internal organisation of firms: why are they structured in a certain way and why are different stages of production within a particular firm integrated, separated or subcontracted?
2. The economics of networks & the internet: at the moment, I am working with Gary Biglaiser (Univ. North Carolina) on competition within network industries, looking at the effect of new market entrants on the existing players. An example is the mobile phone industry: when Apple entered the market a few years ago, this considerably altered the structure of the network and its competition model.

(3) How does this research impact on society?

My work on the economics of networks should lead to a better understanding of competition mechanisms in industries where firms tend to have a monopoly but are nevertheless under pressure from potential competitors. An example is Facebook: as yet, there seem to be no serious competitors threatening this monopoly. But to a certain extent, Facebook is obliged to pay particular attention to its consumers’ interests in order to try to prevent market entrants from breaking its monopoly. Our findings should facilitate the decisions of regulators, competition authorities, and legislators. 

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

My colleague Paul Seabright and I are currently organising the 7th bi-annual conference on the economics of intellectual property, software and the internet; the most reputed academic conference in Europe within this field. This year the conference is to be held within the exciting new TIGER Forum organised by TSE on 5-8 June 2013. 

(5) What lessons do you think one can learn from the American higher education system?  

Firstly, the USA invests an enormous amount of resources into its higher education system, which I think stems from the fact that intellectual life is taken more seriously than in France, where we tend to separate theory from application. Secondly, the professionalism of the US university system is very impressive in comparison to the sometimes amateurish management of French research and higher education institutions. TSE is of course an exception to the rule!

Pierre is Professor of Economics at the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole. Research-wise, he is a member of the TSE-GREMAQ laboratory and the IDEI. PhD from the EHESS Paris, Pierre joined TSE in 2000 as INRA researcher before taking up his professorship in 2009. He has held various positions of responsibility within the University, notably as Deputy director of GREMAQ and then as Director of the DEEQA doctoral programme.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE?

After my PhD in Paris, I was offered an Assistant Professor position within the University of Montréal’s Department of Economics. I was pleased to accept their offer, but very shortly after I was also offered a research position at INRA Toulouse. At that time research positions in France were scarce, and this particular opportunity to work within the attractive research environment created by Jean-Jacques Laffont was too great to refuse. What’s more, at the time I was doing research on applied contract theory in development and agricultural economics, and Toulouse offered one of the best environments for these fields.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public?

In a broad sense, I work on empirical microeconomics, from development economics, household behaviour and agricultural contracts to industrial organization, health and pharmaceutical economics. I like to maintain a certain diversity in my research areas and always try to link the theory to data and empirical facts.

Three main focuses of my work at the moment include:

1. Household behaviour: developing new food shopping demand models in order to better understand consumer decisions and their determinants.
2. Health and pharmaceutical economics: estimating the effects of price-setting regulations on innovation and the functioning and efficiency of pharmaceutical markets.
3. Risk-sharing in developing countries: studying how poor households manage the high risks presented in their everyday lives, in order to improve their welfare by adapting mechanisms aimed at smoothing income and consumption to very risky environments.  

(3) How does this research impact on society?

It depends on the projects. Some of my research aims to improve empirical methodology, but I usually like to start projects with policy questions in mind. For example, my research on food demand is useful for designing policies aiming to reduce the numerous health problems related to food consumption (junk food taxation etc.) 

My recent research on pharmaceutical economics highlights the effect on demand of prescription drug price regulation in France, and indicates the actual savings brought about by the regulation. It could be used by the French national health insurance to identify the best regulatory policies to reduce pharmaceutical drug spending.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

With co-authors from IFS London, I am currently working on the impact of public health information campaigns on food consumption and diet. Such campaigns exist in the UK and France and it appears they haven’t had the expected effects.  

(5) If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

I guess I would have a different answer each time you ask but today I would enjoy being a mountain guide for the job of hiking, climbing, skiing in wonderful landscapes.

Pascal is Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University Toulouse 1 Capitole and member of the CeReMath research lab. He obtained his PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Paris VI in 2001, and then undertook various post-doc and teaching positions in France and in Madrid before taking up his UT1 position in 2008.

(1)   Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

Shortly after I joined UT1 the CEREMATH research lab in mathematics offered the possibility for its members to become affiliated with TSE. I hadn’t previously had any contact with economists, but the idea of developing maths applied to economics was very appealing. I have since discovered that there are many areas where maths and economics are intrinsically intertwined. Maths are everywhere!  

(2)   How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I work on Schrödinger equations, which is a branch of maths linked to physics named after an Austrian physicist who developed a number of fundamental results in the field of quantum theory. The basic aim is to use equations to reconstruct a clear picture from a limited amount of information. Imagine you are standing in front of a wall which reflects a partial view of a car behind you. From this blurred, incomplete image, you need to deduce the colour, make, model, and other technical specifications of the car. In my field, certain properties are known to physicists and mathematicians use equations to see if we can rebuild complete images from those properties.

(3)   How does this research impact on society? 

By definition, pure mathematics is the study of entirely abstract concepts, and the notion of application is rather far down the chain from my work. To quote Cédric Viliani, laureate of the Fields Medal in 2010, “My work impacts other mathematicians whose work in turn impacts other mathematicians whose work in turn impacts other mathematicians whose work in turn impacts engineers, whose work in turn impacts society!” I’d like to think my work can have this kind of effect, in its own modest way. 

(4)   A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I have just submitted two papers co-authored with Jesus Ildefonso Diaz of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid, the fruit of many months of work together.

(5)   If you had not chosen to be a Professor in Mathematics, what would you have done?    

Musician or oenologist! 

Stéphane is Professor of Economics at the University Toulouse 1 Capitole and director of the TSE-ARQADE research lab in development economics. Before entering academia, Stéphane embarked on a “first life” involving a 10-year residence in Paraguay in the 1990s, with positions as varied as rural saw-mill owner, NGO advisor, and economic advisor to the planning minister. He then undertook a PhD (2002) with Jean-Jacques Laffont on “Incentives, Institutions and Development”, followed by visiting professor and lecturer positions at the University of Michigan (2002-3) and the University of Edinburgh (2003-8). In 2008 Stéphane joined TSE, becoming ARQADE director in 2010.

(1)   Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

For the size and diversity of the research centre; there are many researchers here working on a wide array of economics specialities, and one can constantly exchange and interact via the numerous seminars. It’s much more stimulating than in a small research department such as I had previously worked in. In development economics alone, we have a considerable group here that is thriving. 

(2)   How would you describe your research to the general public? 

In a general sense, I study the behaviour of economics actors, notably businesses, in developing countries. In a developed economy we can reasonably assume that all parties will respect the legal context and obligations of a business contract. However, in a country with a relatively low level of development there can be imperfections, caused by legal loopholes and corruption, which complicate the application of contracts. I study the impact of this kind of environment on business behaviour. 

My work in this area looks for example at public-private partnerships in the infrastructure sector: what happens when weak or corrupt states try to enter into contracts with private agents for long-term construction projects such as transport, water and electricity networks? How can contracts be successfully negotiated and regulated? What is the impact on society and citizens?

(3)   How does this research impact on society? 

I am currently working with a public structure in Brazil, the IPEA, to try to develop and implement rules to regulate corruption in public procurement. We are looking for evidence of “revolving door” practises, where employees of public administrations in charge of procurement of goods or services (pencils, computers, milk for schools, road construction…) have been found working, often years later, in firms that won public tenders at an earlier stage, or vice-versa. We have access to a large database in Brazil and are capable of linking individual career paths to public procurement operations with specific firms. 

(4)   A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

Another exciting project underway at the moment in Brazil studies the impact of road construction since the 1970s at the local level: how have aspects such as the concentration and geographical spread of local economic development and of population evolved over time as a result of the road constructions? We are organising a workshop on this subject on 14-15 March here in Toulouse.

(5)   What is the main difference you noticed between life in Paraguay and in France?    

Rather curiously, in Paraguay I never felt this kind of exhaustion at the end of a working day that I feel in France, nor a real need for regular holidays. People there seem to be carefree, less stressed, despite very long working hours and very few holidays. One cannot say the same in France!

I recall many souvenirs of my 10 years spent in Paraguay in my book, Frontières. 

21 January 2013: Christine THOMAS-AGNAN

Christine is Professor of Statistics at the University Toulouse 1 Capitole and member of the TSE-GREMAQ research centre. After studies in Mathematics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the University of Paris 6, Christine initially embarked on a high school teaching career in the 1980s across different regions of France before completing a PhD at the University of California in 1987. Christine then returned to France to take up a lecturer-researcher position at UT1 in the late 80s, becoming a full professor in 1994.

(1)   Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

After completing my PhD in the USA I was keen to come back to France with my family. Toulouse was a natural choice for us, as I am originally from Béziers and my husband is from Bordeaux, so it’s a good halfway house between our two origins! What’s more, Toulouse is an active, dynamic city with three Universities and the work environment here is very attractive.   

(2)   How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I try to provide support for decision-making when data and figures need to be handled and analysed before decisions can be reached.

To give an example, I am currently working with a PhD student, Do Van Huyen, on a method known as spatial interpolation. More concretely, public administration bodies today manage vast socioeconomic databases, and within the French decentralised administrative system each regional or local body has it’s own data with different but potentially overlapping geographical areas of application. When the authorities try to merge different data sets into one, problems arise. Our work is hence to find a method for merging the information in a relevant way to be able to analyse it statistically and facilitate decision-making. One solution is to draw a regular grid across the full geographical area and integrate the different data sets into this grid, but one needs to apply statistical methods to break down and reunite the data that doesn’t necessarily fit into a square of the grid, according to the relative size of the data sources and the grid squares.

(3)   How does this research impact on society? 

Most of my research is inspired directly by real-life problems brought to me by businesses and administrations, notably via the TSE Masters programme in Statistics and econometrics, which I direct. Via real-life case studies, the students are brought into direct contact with businesses, and these exchanges can lead to research projects with a ”from the field => through the lab => to the field” ethic. For the work highlighted above, we are in direct collaboration with the DREAL, the Regional Directorate of Environment, Planning and Housing, to improve their database management. 

(4)   A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am President of the organising committee of the French Society of Statistics 45th annual summit, to be held in Toulouse from 27 to 31 May 2013. This is a lot of hard work but a big honour to preside this event which will bring together more than 400 researchers, teachers and practitioners.

(5)   I hear you are a big music lover?   

Yes! I love all kinds of musical genres: classical, traditional, rock... and I have played the violin since my youth, firstly classical and then traditional style (fiddle) for many years. The Toulouse 1 Capitole University has given me the opportunity to take up classical violin again with the creation of its orchestra in 2011.

Fany is Professor of finance at the Toulouse 1 Capitole University Graduate School of Management (IAE). Research-wise, she is a member of TSE, the IDEI and the CRM. PhD from the University of Lille, Fany joined TSE in 2001 and has since held various positions of responsibility within the University, notably Director of the Finance department (2005-09) and Director of the Arts & Culture service (2009-12). She is currently Director of the Master in financial markets and risk evaluation.

(1)   Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

During my PhD I held a visiting researcher position at Euronext, the Paris stock exchange, where I met Bruno Biais and discussed research possibilities in his team at Toulouse. The opportunity of working alongside Bruno, Catherine Casamatta, Jean-Paul Décamps and Jean-Charles Rochet, the four members of the finance group at the time, was very exciting, and I jumped at the chance. The finance team has since grown considerably but the close-knit, dynamic environment and team spirit are ever present.   

(2)   How would you describe your research to the general public? 

In a broad sense, I empirically work on the design of financial markets from a microeconomic perspective: in a context of moral hazard and adverse selection, what is the optimal market structure to maintain liquidity and reduce costs?

Within this context, I am currently working on a paper with Sophie Moinas which considers the optimal fees that should be paid to submit an order on the stock exchange network. One can draw a parallel with credit card use – in a grocery store, should it be the customer and/or the shopkeeper that pays the credit card transaction fees when a purchase is made on the card, and how much should this fee be to ensure that the payment card system attracts both merchants and cardholders? On a financial market, there are two types of investors – a trader who places a market order, executed immediately at current market prices, hence consuming the liquidity of the market, and a trader that places a limit order, only executed above a specific limit price, hence injecting liquidity into the market. Of these two traders, who should pay the order fees, and how much, so that market liquidity is guaranteed?

(3)   How does this research impact on society? 

In theory, the financial market regulators should be the most interested in our findings on optimal financial design. In the USA it is the case: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regularly refers in its reports to a paper I published on why markets should not necessarily reduce tick size, that’s to say the smallest increment (tick) by which the price of stocks can move. In the EU, however, the regulators remain distant and it is rather the stock exchanges and the banks that approach us to fully understand our work. This has begun to change recently, and my colleagues and I are now engaged in regular discussions with the AMF, the French regulator. 

(4)   A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

Although my upcoming projects are mainly in the empirical corporate finance field, another current area of focus is High Frequency trading (HFT). In that context I am organising a conference with Bruno Biais on 18-19 April 2013, held at the NYSE-Euronext exchange in Paris. HFT is a powerful and sophisticated trading strategy which has been subject to much controversy since its apparition, and through the conference we aim to bring together researchers, practitioners and regulators in order to mutually further the understanding of the impact of HFT on market quality. The AMF, for example, is trying to regulate HFT, and is interested in the scientific community’s knowledge of the practise in order to establish effective policy.

Rather paradoxically, the increased financial market regulation implemented by the EU has reduced transparency, enhanced OTC market design, and made access to data increasingly difficult. For a finance researcher like myself, it is crucial to have access to data in order to analyse and understand how the markets work, if we are to be able to raise the alarm for future weaknesses. 

James is professor of economics and decision sciences at Harvard University, within the department of health policy and management. He is currently on a multi-year scientific visit to the TSE-LERNA research centre, leading a team of doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. His initial education was in applied mathematics and he obtained his PhD from Harvard (1988) in public policy. A former mathematician at the RAND Corporation, James is a prominent researcher in risk analysis and has published over one hundred articles in publications such as Nature, Science, and top economics journals. He is director of the Harvard Centre for Risk Analysis, fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), and member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency science advisory board.

(1)   Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

I came to TSE for a sabbatical year in 2005-06, and the reasons then were the same as now: interesting colleagues and research subjects, a wonderful environment at the school, a good region for my family to live, and a nice place to sail our boat to! The intellectual pull for me comes from the TSE colleagues doing great research on risk – especially Christian Gollier and Nicolas Treich . I owe a lot to Louis Eeckhoudt, a prominent Belgian risk economist, who introduced me to the French risk economists.

(2)   How would you describe your research to the general public? 

In a broad sense, I study how we as individuals, societies and groups should make decisions, bearing in mind that there is always uncertainty about the future. I use scientific models to predict the consequences of different decisions, representing the uncertainty as probabilities of different outcomes occurring.

I can give three main examples of my current work in decision analysis & risk assessment:

1) Global change and climate change: we know that we’re emitting greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but we are uncertain about the effects of these emissions and how costly it would be to reduce them. My work helps to decide what level of emissions we should permit now in order to find the right balance between environmental preservation and mitigation costs.

2) Health risks linked to food consumption: in our choice of diet, we often make risk trade-offs, choosing to eat something for its potentially positive health benefits, despite other potential harmful effects. For example, eating fish is known to be beneficial for preventing heart attacks, but it can also be harmful due to the exposure to mercury, particularly for babies. So is eating fish good or bad?

3) Value of life: individuals and groups may choose to take action to reduce health risks such as accidents, heart attacks etc. These mitigating actions often involve costs, so how much should we spend on them, given that we also have other things to spend our money on?

(3)   How does this research impact on society? 

My risk assessment research often feeds directly into public policy, particularly in environmental health and safety regulations, to help governments decide how to set standards for food safety, atmospheric emissions, etc. In the US there is a well-developed process of risk assessment in public policy, which I am involved in. In France and in the EU, this process is generally less developed, but with my French colleagues we are trying to improve this.

(4)   A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am organising a conference on 12-13 July with Christian and Nicolas in honour of Louis Eeckhoudt, a 2-day event bringing together colleagues to present scientific papers and celebrate Louis’ contributions over the years.

(5)   Sailing is your passion. Where is you favourite place to sail to?

Corsica! It’s warm, sunny, the water is warm and clear, it never rains, it’s never foggy, and the scenery is spectacular.

David has been an associate TSE researcher since 2007 and is currently on a 2-year full-time visit, based in Toulouse from 2011 to 2013. He received a PhD in economics from the University of Rochester in 1981 before embarking on a 30-year professional career combining research positions and senior consulting roles, particularly within the telecommunications industry (Bell Laboratories, GTE Laboratories, State University of New York at Buffalo). For the past 5 years David has been teaching a yearly course at the TSE school, "Topics in Applied IO".

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

I met Patrick Rey, TSE researcher and previous director of the IDEI, in 1991 at the EEA annual congress at the University of Cambridge. At that time, Patrick was working at the CREST in Paris and invited me to visit him there. After Patrick moved to Toulouse and the IDEI, we stayed in regular contact, working on a number of research collaborations over the years.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My work is mainly focused on industrial organisation, regulatory economics and, in particular, auction design. Over the years I have developed significant theoretical knowledge and skills in the area, through my research positions developing economic simulation models of wireless networks. I have also gained much knowledge of real-life auction implementation, through my extensive experience in the energy and telecommunications sectors. I therefore don’t fit into any particular box, as I work in both academic and industrial worlds!

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

The theory I develop in auction design is often directly inspired by my own actual experience in real-life auctions I have implemented and patented. So one could almost say it’s society that impacts on the research! Take for example work I have carried out on auction design in the energy sector. I have set up procurement systems to ensure reliable electricity provision to customers at competitive prices, with the aim of avoiding blackouts. I have then developed models to formalise these proven solutions to procurement problems.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

Market issues and auction design theory in the telecoms and energy sectors are still advancing. This is therefore a sector I am concentrating on during my stay in Toulouse. I am, for example, helping my TSE colleagues to set up an energy conference in January 2013. I am also working on experimental / behavioural auction design projects for the telecoms sector, with Roberta Dessi.

I am also currently working on a book, for MIT press, based on the class I teach at TSE: A primer for auction theory design management and strategy. The aim of the book is not to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject, but rather to provide the basics of what one needs to know about the workings and design of an auction. Working on the book feels like being in a long Swiss tunnel, but I am starting to see the light at the end of that tunnel!

(5) Your permanent residence is in San Francisco. Tell us about that.  

My family and I have been based in San Francisco for 15 years, and we love it. What I particularly appreciate about the city is the beauty and scope of the nature: there are many conservation areas very close to the city centre, such as the Marin headlands just north of the Golden Gate bridge, and the islands in the bay such as Alcatraz (the real one!) and Angel island…  

7 May 2012: Michel SIMIONI

Michel is an INRA research director within the TSE-GREMAQ research centre, and a member of the IDEI. He obtained his PhD in finance at GREMAQ in 1984 and entered the INRA shortly after, where he has carried out his entire career, initially at the regional INRA regional centre in Auzeville (Toulouse outskirts), and after 20 years back within GREMAQ, when the INRA Agricultural Economics department moved to TSE.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

After leaving GREMAQ in 1984, I maintained strong links with a number of GREMAQ researchers. I also had the chance to work with Jean-Jacques Laffont, a mentor for me, alongside Quang Vuong. My return to TSE-GREMAQ in 2007 was hence like a homecoming, the occasion to formalise a number of fruitful INRA-GREMAQ collaborations carried out over the years.  

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I consume and decode data! More specifically, I work in econometrics applied to agricultural and food markets. The guiding principle of my research is to use the most recent econometric tools to shed light on issues related to these markets.

The past ten years, one of my main research themes was asymmetric price transmission along food marketing chains. My work addressed the following question: when the cost of raw products increases, do food chain intermediaries (mainly retailers) transfer these increased costs to consumers more quickly than they would transfer a reduction in costs? Using econometric tools, I showed that price transmission was most often symmetric in the French fruit and vegetable market. This result was in total contradiction with general assumptions, but consistent with results found by researchers in other countries.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

My research on asymmetric price transmission was funded by the French Ministry of Agriculture and was presented during sessions of the Observatoire des prix et des marchés, an assembly made up of producers, manufacturers, and retailers involved in food marketing channels in France. Presenting my results to this assembly was a real challenge, as my results were somewhat controversial and led to serious debate within the assembly. I felt somewhat cast to the lions! Luckily, the tomato producers refrained from throwing their goods at me…

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am currently working on several projects linked to the productivity of firms in the food industry.

Within one project, funded by the French Research Agency (ANR), I propose a novel methodology using econometric tools to assess the impact of sanitary or environmental regulations on the productivity of food industry firms. Several of my GREMAQ and LERNA colleagues are involved in this project.

With French and Italian colleagues, I have recently begun to study the impact of pollution abatement investments on the performance of firms in the food industry.

(5) What do you do to escape research?

I sing! I’m a bass in two Toulouse-based choral groups. One of the groups is focused on classic pieces (renaissance, baroque), and the other, a group of 6 male voices, has a more varied repertoire, including Hallelujah, Stand by Me, Leonard Cohen, Schubert…

Pepita is an assistant professor of economics at the University Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), and researcher within the TSE-ARQADE group. Originally from the Catalunya region of north-eastern Spain, she grew up on the island of Mallorca and studied in Barcelona before moving to New York to complete a PhD in Economics at Columbia University. She worked at York University (Canada) for a while before taking up her UT1-TSE position in 2009.

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

One of my PhD advisors, Bernard Salanié, suggested that my profile would fit well here. He was right! The work of my colleagues in ARQADE fits perfectly with my research interests, and I feel like part of the development family here!

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I work in development economics, focusing on what could be done to improve the effectiveness of development aid. For example, I have studied the mechanisms behind contracts established for development aid projects run by bilateral or multilateral aid agencies, such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). I am interested in the incentive problems that ultimately determine the conditions of the contract, at all stages of the project cycle. I also study the reasons for project success or failure linked to these contracts.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

Research on development issues is always policy oriented and close to real world problems. For example, I am currently studying the behaviour of coffee farmers in Costa Rica, with Astrid Hopfensitz. The aim is to see how the farmers’ environment (with respect to cooperative rules, certifications,…) affects their behaviour, via a lab-based public good game. While this project is still work in progress, it should allow us to establish the effects of certifications (i.e. fair trade) on the governance of coffee cooperatives.   

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I would like to continue working on coffee producers and certifications, extending the analysis to other countries with very different market structures, such as Ethiopia and Colombia.

I am now also working on voting issues in multilateral aid institutions. As new donors enter or increase their participation in such agencies, the subsequent redistribution of power may have an impact on the effectiveness of fund allocations.  

5) So, do you actually like coffee?! 

I love it! When I wake up it’s the most important thing… in my view, the best is Ethiopian coffee.

Céline is an INRA researcher who has been a member of the TSE-GREMAQ research centre since studying for her PhD, which she obtained in 2004 under the supervision of Michel Simioni. She then took up a position at the regional INRA research centre (Auzeville, near Toulouse), returning to GREMAQ in 2007 when part of the INRA Agricultural Economics department moved its base to TSE. Over recent years Céline has carried out a series of visiting researcher positions at the University of California (Berkeley), as well as at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (London).

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

The decision was collective, alongside my INRA colleagues working in agricultural economics. Our department was somewhat isolated within the regional INRA centre, so coming to TSE brought us closer to other economists and econometricians in order to further our similar research topics.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My work aims to improve our understanding of the food industry, with two main focuses: 1) what determines consumer choices linked to food consumption, and 2) how do firms in the industry coordinate and compete amongst themselves. Within the food industry, I have studied these two aspects applied to various markets, including mineral water, soft drinks, coffee, and diary products.

I’m also currently working on the impact of food consumption on health issues, in particular obesity prevalence concerns.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

My current work on the impact of soft drink taxes on consumption is of particular interest to the French Ministry of Health, who recently introduced such a tax in order to reduce illness rates, within the framework of the national nutrition and health plan (PNNS). The Ministry invited me to present my research assessment of the foreseen measures, and to belong to a special commission in charge of examining the actual impact and efficiency of the tax following its implementation.

Various food industry stakeholders also take an interest in this research, with regard to both consumer choices and competition within the industry. For example, consumer groups are interested in the impact of the tax on the retail price, in order to defend the interests of consumers faced with rising prices. Similarly, manufacturers and retailers need to understand what influences consumer choice, in order to identify how to differentiate their products to continue attracting consumers despite the new tax.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

Several of my colleagues and I are involved in a new project[1] financed by the French research agency (ANR) which brings together a network of researchers to study the links between consumption, health and environmental concerns. The overall aim of the project is to build an economic model for sustainable nutrition, and my role is mainly to evaluate the efficiency of public policies designed to meet this objective.

This project will allow me to continue studying the impact of the soft drink tax on health, and also investigate other linked topics such as the health benefits of fruit and vegetable awareness campaigns. We aim to identify the extent to which the different actors of the food chain (manufacturers, retailers, consumers) have a role to play in the knock-on price, competition, and consumption effects of taxes and campaigns that aim to reduce health problems.

5) Football or rugby? 

Football! In fact, until the end of my PhD I played football in the French amateur premier league. My team was league champion several times, and reached the semi-finals of the European champions league. I stopped a few years ago in order to concentrate on work, and also on family, which is very important to me.

2 April 2012: Christophe BISIÈRE

Christophe is Professor of Finance at the University Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), within its Institut d’Administration des Entreprises (IAE). He is a member of the CRM research centre, and a member of the IDEI. He obtained his doctorate in economics at the University of Aix-Marseilles II in 1994 before taking up an Assistant professor position at UT1 until 1998 when he became a full Professor at the University of Perpignan. During his years at Perpignan he chaired the Department of Economics and Management, from 1999 to 2002, when he returned to Toulouse to take up his current position.

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

During my time in Perpignan I was highly involved in administrative roles, investing much time and energy in developing the Economics research department there. This was a great and fulfilling challenge, but I never lost contact with my research colleagues in Toulouse, and after a certain period I was keen to come back to the dynamic, high-standard research environment we have here.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I work in a branch of finance known as market microstructure, which is concerned with the ways in which the structure, rules and organisation of a financial market affect its qualities, notably in terms of liquidity and efficiency. This is very much empirical work - theory on market mechanisms is tested in real or simulated market situations in order to identify the most efficient trading structures and mechanisms.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

My applied research results can help market regulators in their decision-making, in order to identify and analyse the impact of different microstructure rules on markets. For example, in 2005 I was invited to undertake an 18-month visiting position as Economic Fellow at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, which is responsible for regulating the U.S. stock exchanges. This collaboration was very enriching from a research perspective, allowing me to apply theory to existent market data and analyse the impact of real-life rules enforced by the Commission on the markets. 

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I completed an in-depth study in 2010 with Bruno Biais and Chester Spatt on competition between different trading platforms and the consequent impact on liquidity supply. We specifically considered the competition between NASDAQ, the world’s second-largest stock exchange, and ISLAND, a small electronic trading platform which emerged in the early 2000s. Our results suggest that perfect competition cannot be taken for granted, even on transparent open limit order books. It is rather competition at the platform level which tends to push down rents.

Among other ongoing projects, I am currently working on a paper with my colleagues Bruno Biais and Sebastien Pouget on the impact pre-opening can have on liquidity. This allows us to involve our Masters students in our research, as we create an experimental market in our TSE finance lab, and invite the students to play the role of traders in our experimental auction.

5) What’s your favourite thing about Toulouse? 

For me, Toulouse is a very open city. On the one hand, it has a very distinct cultural identity (strong accents, rugby pride, gastronomy, colours…), but it also opens its doors to its many temporary, foreign residents and makes them feel at home here. I think we all feel “Toulousain” in our own way!

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

The research department here was attractive for the topics I work on, and also for the potential new collaborations with colleagues working on other subjects. It was also the chance to learn French!

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My PhD and early work was concentrated on online selling mechanisms. For example, internet search engines often use auctions to sell advertising space, and they have to design auction rules that generate revenue but at the same time select advertisers that internet users find useful.

More recently, I have begun to study the effect of different taxation policies on the choice of professions within a society (with Jean-Marie Lozachmeur). Taxation can affect occupational choices directly (as different professions are subject to different tax treatments) as well as indirectly (as  relative wage rates are distorted by the tax system).

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

Taking the example of the work on taxation, our findings could influence government decisions on income and payroll tax design. If they wish, for example, to encourage people to enter a particular profession, they could design their tax policy in such a way as to provide financial incentives towards that particular profession. This can help to meet government redistributive goals.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I will shortly be presenting a current paper on price discrimination (with Alessandro Pavan, Northwestern) at a conference in Gerzensee, Switzerland. I am looking forward to that, especially as it is to be held at a lakeside location and the food is supposed to be fantastic!

(5) If you were stranded on a desert island, what item would you wish for?

Some cigarettes!

Vincent is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole, and a member of the TSE-ARQADE research centre. He completed his PhD in economics at Paris School of Economics in 2008 before taking up a 2-year postdoctoral position at the European University Institute in Florence. He joined TSE in 2010 for his assistant professor position.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

I chose to come to TSE because it’s one the best economics departments in Europe. It was also an advantage for me to be situated not too far from Paris to be close to friends and family, and to stay in a warm climate after getting used to the nice weather in Florence!

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My work mainly focuses on the analysis of international trade. I study in particular how firms differing in efficiency and size behave differently in the export market and the consequences of this heterogeneous behaviour on aggregate trade patterns. For example, recently I have been studying the practice of offshoring production. I show that firms that choose to relocate their production are not necessarily the most nor the least efficient within their sector, and that these offshoring decisions tend to increase the elasticity of trade flows with respect to trade costs.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

I will take another example. I have been studying the heterogeneous impact that non-tariff measures can have on firms depending on their size. The introduction of a new regulation that is costly for all firms will cause difficulties for SMEs, whilst having a positive impact on large firms. This disparity in impact can explain why there is so much debate within the WTO about the harmonisation of standards and the possible protectionist consequences of such standards depending on the size distribution of firms between countries.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am currently working on a new paper with Nicolas Bernam on the investment behaviour of new exporters. Of those who attempt to enter new markets, generally only 50% succeed after one year, which highlights the high uncertainty associated with this new activity. We are interested in studying the extent to which success during these first years gradually reduces the uncertainty associated with exporting, in turn fostering new investments and ultimately leading to future firm growth. We will present this ongoing work in two conferences in May 2012. 

(5) What’s your next holiday destination?

I am going to Singapore this summer for a friend’s wedding. It’ll be my first trip to Asia so I’m looking forward to this new cultural discovery.

Takuro is an assistant professor of economics at TSE. He began his higher education at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, Japan, before undertaking a PhD in economics at Stanford University. He obtained his PhD in 2011, and then took up his TSE position at the beginning of the current academic year.

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

I work in mechanism design theory (a.k.a. implementation theory or contract theory), and TSE is very famous for that field – there are many good faculty members working on related topics, so it was a natural choice for me to come here.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

The aim of mechanism design theory is to design rules (or “mechanisms”) in order to reach a specific objective for situations where people want to make economic decisions to further their own interests, such as sellers and buyers who want to trade on a market. So, for example, if the aim is to improve trading efficiency, we want to design rules for the transactions that will incite people to make decisions that will improve the chances of an efficient outcome being attained.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

A government, for example, might be interested in designing rules to ensure transaction efficiency in some markets. Similarly, a private auctioneer selling a good might be interested in designing auction rules to achieve the highest revenue possible. Mechanism design theory allows us to identify the optimal rule properties in order to achieve such objectives.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

In the standard mechanism design literature, strong assumptions are made on the behaviour of the economic agents involved. I am currently working on robust mechanism design, which aims to find rules to achieve an objective when it is not possible to make those strong assumptions, and hence the rules can only be designed using weak assumptions on the potential behaviour of the agents. An example would be the online auction designer eBay, where there are many potential buyers and sellers who do not know each other and hence it may not be reasonable to make strong assumptions about their behaviour.

(5) What is the main cultural difference you find between Japan and France?

I find French people more energetic and communicative than the Japanese! The Japanese tend to keep themselves to themselves more.

30 January 2012: Carole HARITCHABALET

Carole is an associated TSE researcher within the GREMAQ group. She obtained her PhD in Economics here in 1998, under the supervision of the TSE director Christian GOLLIER, and then spent a year as Assistant Professor at the Institut d’Anàlisi Econòmica in Barcelona before coming back to take up an Assistant Professor position within GREMAQ. In 2006 she became Professor of Economics at the University of Limoges, remaining associated to TSE for her research activities.

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

As you can see, I am Toulousaine born and bred, and I carried out all my studies here. I am attached to Toulouse both personally and professionally, hence my wish to remain associated with TSE for my researcher on taking up my Professor position at the University of Limoges. This entails much organisation but for me it is worth it.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My work essentially addresses the notion of risk, insurance and industrial economics applied to highly innovative sectors. My research themes include questions related to the financing, insurance, pricing and knowledge acquisition of new products. In particular, the objective is to identify the price that should be set for a new product whose future value is unknown.

 (3) How does this research impact on society? 

My research is applied to innovative industries. A few concrete examples include: the capital risk sector, focusing on the financing strategies of innovative start-ups; the space industry, considering the risk linked to new rockets such as Ariane 5; and the pharmaceutical sector, looking at the strategies that regulatory bodies such as the FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration) use when designing market access authorisation procedures for new medicines.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am currently working with Isabelle Dubec from TSE on the interaction between regulatory instruments such as taxes or educational campaigns in the context of consumer misinformation about new products.

 (5) Is there a particular city in the world that you admire?

I have visited San Francisco a few times and really love that city, for its colourful atmosphere, seafront location, and general open and friendly environment.

Ingela joined TSE last year as a CNRS Research Director within the LERNA research group. She was already very familiar with the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole, having completed her PhD in Economics here in 1997, before undertaking a series of research positions in the UK and North America: Boston University (1997-98), LSE (1998-99), Boston College (1999-2007), and finally Carleton University. 

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

First of all, TSE offers an outstanding research environment. Secondly, my new position has a quite particular flavour to it – I am meant to promote dialogue between different fields of research, with a special focus on biologists and economists. Finally, being here brings me closer to family in Europe.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

Much of my research challenges the presumption in economics that people are selfish and care only about their material wellbeing. My current research combines existing theory from economics and biology to provide novel insights on the evolution of preferences. 

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

This approach can hopefully help economists understand the evolutionary foundations for the assumptions they make in models. It can also help to better understand how the environment in which a society evolves may impact its culture and preferences. For example, our research so far shows that we should expect evolution to lead to pure selfishness only in rare circumstances.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am particularly excited about the new insights we recently discovered on the evolution of moral preferences. I will present this work, joint with Jörgen W. Weibull (Stockholm School of Economics), at a conference on experimental and behavioural economics in Spain in March.

(5) What makes you proud about your native country of Sweden?

The sheer number of Swedish products that one finds abroad… from cars to vacuum cleaners to paper to food to music… and need I mention Bergman movies and the Nobel prize?!

16 January 2012: Christoph RHEINBERGER

Christoph is an INRA postdoctoral research fellow working at the Laboratoire d'Economie des Ressources Naturelles (LERNA ) within TSE. Originally from Liechtenstein, he carried out his higher education in Switzerland, obtaining an engineering diploma in environmental sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich in 2004, and then undertaking a PhD and post-doctoral studies in environmental economics at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos, from 2005 to 2009.

In 2010 he held a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) research fellow position at the Harvard Centre for Health Decision Science (CHDS), before taking up his TSE-LERNA position in 2011.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

After my PhD and post-doc at the SLF in Davos I was keen to work on the value of statistical life, and to work in particular with James Hammitt, Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences at Harvard. I was awarded a SNSF fellowship to work with Jim, who agreed to host me, but as he himself was about to take up his Professor position at TSE, the deal was that I would come with him! The INRA offered me a 3-year position after my SNSF fellowship to stay here and continue my work with Jim. 

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My research focuses on the economics of environmental and health risks, and more particularly on food safety, looking at the economics of health benefits and risks linked to fish consumption. Typically the benefits come from fatty acids, and the risks come from mercury content, potentially dangerous for pregnant women. We are using actual fish consumption data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to simulate the health benefits and risks and finally to look at how to monetise these effects.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

Our studies can provide information to regulatory bodies, to help them maximise social welfare by assessing what society wants them to spend on health risks, and how people perceive these risks; essentially whether they worry about them or not. Thus, we hope that our results will eventually provide feedback to help public decision-makers improve their choices.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am currently working on a stated preference survey, designing a choice experiment in order to simulate how French consumers perceive the general health risks linked to fish consumption. Would consumers be prepared to pay a premium in order to have better control of fish at the point of sale, such as an on-the-spot freshness test or mercury test? 

As always, the survey involves a lot of preparatory work, in order to ensure the underlying statistical design is comprehensive and robust enough to mimic a real market, allowing us to assess the trade-offs that people make between food risks and prices.

(5) How does living in France compare to Switzerland?

Life is cheaper in France!  My family and I very much enjoy living in Toulouse, as we just live across the Garonne and can walk to work. We hardly ever use the car, which is great, and we have a nice food market in our area.

Having grown up in the mountains I do miss that; I used to ski at least 3 days a week. Here we have the Pyrenees but they’re a 1-hour drive away, and the snow is rather rare!

9 January 2012: Pascal LAVERGNE

Pascal is Professor of Econometrics at the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole (UT1), and member of the GREMAQ research group within TSE. He completed his PhD in 1993 at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) of Toulouse, where he then undertook a full-time research position until becoming professor at UT1 in 2003. Pascal carried out a 5-year associate professor position at the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, from 2005 to 2010, after which he returned to Toulouse & his TSE professor position.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

I applied for professor positions in 2003 and I was offered a position at the UT1. At that time, TSE did not yet exist.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I work in theoretical econometrics, which is essentially statistics applied to economics. I am developing new methods for estimating economic models & verifying the hypotheses they are based on. For instance, I have recently focused on a new approach to regression checks with many variables, testing whether a postulated relationship among variables is correct.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

My “one for all and all for one” regression check method, developed with my colleague Valentin Patilea, can be used, for example, to test the popular economic model that links GDP growth to population growth, human capital, investment, etc. I also have another paper that develops new methodology to “confirm” some basic economic hypotheses, such as constant returns to scale in an aggregate production function.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am currently on a 6-month sabbatical teaching leave awarded by the Conseil national des universités (CNU) in order to work full-time on a number of ongoing research projects.

(5) You worked for 5 years in Canada. How was that experience?

2 January 2012: Anne RUIZ-GAZEN

Anne is originally from Toulouse, and she carried out her higher education at the University of Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, from her Masters degree in pure & applied mathematics (statistics major), to her PhD in statistics, obtained in 1993. She then took up an assistant professor position at the University Toulouse I Capitole (UT1), where she became a full professor in 2008. Anne is a member of the GREMAQ research group, and is currently head of the University’s mathematics department. 

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

When I was offered the assistant professor position in 1993, I had received other offers, but I was keen to join UT1 in order to apply statistics to economics and social sciences, rather than to physics etc. I became a member of TSE when the school was created in 2007; a decision motivated by the enthusiasm and the high level of the TSE research teams. I was already involved in a number of international collaborations, but joining TSE allowed me to be able to work in a dynamic international research environment on a daily basis.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I will take one of my current research themes, robust statistics, as an example. Statistical procedures are often based on hypotheses which may prove to be flawed. In these cases, robust statistics will attempt to offer alternatives so that the procedures can continue to function optimally. For example, a hypothesis may state that a set of data will be pure, with no atypical observations known as outliers, which deviate markedly from other members of the data set. When outliers do in fact appear in a data set, then robust statistics can help to identify them.

Another element of my work is survey sampling theory, where statistics are applied in order to create random representative samples of particular populations, and then to estimate, with the best possible precision, certain parameters of interest, such as the percentage of voters that may vote for a particular candidate in an election. Other more complex parameters of interest are inequality and poverty measures from income survey data.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

The robust statistics work has been patented and is currently being applied in the automobile industry, where we have been asked to work with an engineer in order to identify outliers in electronic chip production.

The survey sampling theory I am working on can be applied to measure and improve the precision of complex parameter estimation from any survey. For example, an INSEE (French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies) study on household wealth recently stated that the Gini index (a measure of concentration), had increased by 1.4% between 2004 and 2010. But in order to assert the significance of the increase, we need to measure the precision of the estimation.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I am currently working with colleagues on methods to increase precision when estimating inequality or poverty measures such as the Gini index or the at-risk-of-poverty rate. Our research provides a method that can be applied by national institutes in order to measure and optimise the precision of these estimations. Ideally, we would like our method to be applied to a current EU survey on income and living conditions in European countries.

(5) How do you feel about the current TSE education reforms?

 As you know, the “Ecole TSE” was launched this academic year. As a member of the teaching staff, I feel that it’s a real challenge, this creation of a structure that is completely revamping the economics educational scene in France. It’s an opportunity for positive change, and I hope to implement active learning in order to further involve the students in the process. It’s an exciting adventure that I’m really pleased to be actively involved in!

19 December 2011: Farid GASMI

Farid is Professor of Economics at the University Toulouse 1 Capitole, and researcher at the Atelier de Recherche Quantitative Appliquée au Developpement Economique (ARQADE). He has been a member of the Institut d’Economie Industrielle (IDEI), TSE’s industrial research branch, since its creation in 1990 by Jean-Jacques Laffont, and held a position within the Groupe de Recherche en Economie Mathématique et Quantitative (GREMAQ), one of the TSE founding research groups, for 14 years before moving to the ARQADE group in 2007.

 (1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

Thanks to Jean-Jacques Laffont! After my schooling in Algeria I went to the US for my Masters & PhD (1988) in economics, both at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech). During my last year of graduate school, Jean-Jacques visited CalTech and I was lucky enough that the topic I was working on in empirical industrial organisation attracted his interest. We then began to collaborate on applied economics research projects during a period that lasted more than 12 years. When Jean-Jacques founded the IDEI in Toulouse in 1990, he naturally invited me to join the team. I initially came as a visiting researcher from Bell Communications Research (NJ - USA), where I was working at the time, and never left!

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

My research was initially rather theory-oriented, but when I met Jean-Jacques I was significantly inspired by his strong desire to test theory in a rigorous way by applying econometric methods to real-life economic situations. I now always strive, as far as possible, to find an application for my reasoning. In the early days at the IDEI my work concentrated on infrastructure economics, notably via telecommunications and energy networks. Since joining the ARQADE group, I have extended this area of expertise to development economics – to determine, for example, the extent to which our understanding of how telecommunications and energy networks have developed in advanced economies can be transferred to developing countries.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

One example is the guidance this research can give to international financial institutions such as the World Bank in providing funds for the development of infrastructure sectors in third-world countries. More concretely, it can help to identity the areas of these countries’ economies (both in the infrastructure industries themselves and in the institutions that support them) that aid should focus on in order to generate the highest gains in terms of development for the countries in question.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

Although applied research occupies most of my time, I regard teaching as a very important part of my work. I must say that over the past few years during which I have been in charge of one our Masters programmes at TSE ("Economics of Markets and Organisations"), I have come to realise how excellent the training our students receive at TSE is, and how successful they are in the job market. This makes me particularly proud. You too right?

(5) A few words on your origins?

I was born in Algiers where my parents settled in the beginning of the 20th century coming from Kabylie, or Tamurt Idurar ("Land of Mountains") in the northern part of Algeria, which is the homeland of the Kabyle people, a Berber or Amazigh community in the Atlas Mountains. Needless to say, I am proud to share some roots with these people who managed (a miracle!) to preserve many aspects of their culture (language, living customs, music) across space (from the Egyptian Siwa Oasis in the East to the Canary islands in the West) and time (over 2000 years).

12 December 2011: Jérôme BOLTE

Jérôme joined TSE in 2010 as Professor of Mathematics at the University of Toulouse 1 Capitole. He studied for his PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Montpellier II (2003), followed by a year of post-doctoral positions at the University Simon Fraser (Vancouver) and the University of Chile. Before coming to TSE he held lecturer-researcher positions at the University of Paris 6 (2004-07, 2008-10) and the École Polytechnique (2007-08).

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

 When I came to look for Professor positions, I was attracted to TSE by a certain number of potential colleagues who were working on interesting mathematics questions applied to economics, within the “M@D” group, which deals with decision mathematics.

Coming from Paris, I was also impressed by the dynamic research environment in Toulouse, and pleased with the quality of life in the area.

(2) How would you describe your research to the general public? 

I look at dynamic processes which can help to optimise decision-making. Imagine an ant on top of a mountain that must reach the valley by its own means. The ant needs to decrease its altitude, but faces the barrier of not knowing the exact geographical configuration of the mountain, and hence is not sure which path to take. I can therefore use algorithms to help the ant to make optimal local choices in order to find the best direction towards the valley, rather than having to reply purely on its own intuition. Applied to the industry, this optimisation process could help reduce costs, in the same manner that the ant was able to reduce its altitude, via optimal local choices.

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

There are a number of potential fields of applications of this research. For example, it can be applied to signal processing, to compress/deblurr images or sound, or to the aeronautical industry, to design planes with reduced emissions, whether it be sound or fuel.   

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I have been invited to present my research at an upcoming conference on imaging science in Philadelphia. Whilst this is not my speciality, I am pleased that this field of research is interested in my work, and I am curious to see their reactions to it.

(5) Why did you choose to work in research?

That’s a mystery! In fact, even from an early age I have always made choices in order to continue doing mathematics! But I never thought that research could become my career, as I simply didn’t even know it was possible to be a professional researcher in maths. I hence began my career by teaching maths, and I then realised that I seriously missed the intellectual challenge of research that I had glimpsed during my first Masters degree. At that point a friend advised me to undertake studies in applied mathematics and I have never looked back since!

5 December 2011: Alexander GÜMBEL

Alexander is Professor of Finance at the University Toulouse 1 – Capitole (IAE). He completed his PhD at the European University Institute in Florence in 2000, and held a faculty position at the Saïd Business School of Oxford University from 1999 to 2009. He has been a member of TSE since 2008, when he took leave from his Oxford position to take up a TSE Senior chair, before joining TSE permanently in 2009.

(1) Why did you choose to work at TSE? 

The main aspect was the fantastic research environment, which allows me to combine finance with economics. In addition, I found the working environment in Toulouse to be very friendly and cooperative with many people collaborating on joint research projects. I was also attracted by Toulouse itself, for the lifestyle offered by the city & the region.

With difficulty! My research covers a number of finance concepts, but I can highlight one example, which is basically how information is aggregated into prices on financial markets. One finds a number of speculators trading on the markets, such as hedge funds and institutional investors, and they all hold different opinions and information. The question I ask is to what extent does the information provided by these varying speculators affect the market prices, and then what is the consequent knock-on effect on firms? This is known as the feedback effect, and we have shown that this can generate market manipulation. For example, in certain cases speculator trading can cause a severe feedback effect on sensitive firms, even leading to firm bankruptcy, via loss of investor confidence and falling share prices. 

(3) How does this research impact on society? 

In the wake of the financial crisis many regulators banned short sales, because they arguably drive down stock prices and lead to negative feedback effects. At the time, the regulators were faced with a situation requiring quick decisions, and little guidance was available from research at the time. The research I described above provides a clear argument for when banning short sales might be desirable. Regulators could hence use the findings of my research to help them come to decisions.

(4) A current or upcoming highlight in your work?

I’m currently working on a paper on financial contagion in the international context, with Oren Sussman of the University of Oxford. The paper looks at constraints on capital mobility across borders.