MIT Economics in the spotlight

After Ester Duflo received the prestigious Bates medal this Spring (link) today MIT got another strike by having Peter Diamond appointed as one of the three Nobel laureats in Economics (link).
This is great! and I am happy that the department is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Let's just hope that the media hype does not take over (in terms of TT criterias and other areas where it should not belong) like in the case of neighboring schools.

Research and teaching fellowship in Kyrgyzstan

FELLOWSHIP- 4 Teaching & Research Fellowships, OSCE Academy in Bishkek, KG

4 Research & Teaching Fellowships at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Application Deadline: 5 pm, October 15, 2010

The OSCE Academy in Bishkek is a public foundation designed to promote and enhance the principles and aims of the OSCE in the Central Asian region, enshrined in its fundamental idea of comprehensive security. Located in Bishkek, the OSCE Academy is strongly embedded in the wider Central Asian academic and political context and follows a distinctive regional approach in its activities.

The Academy is looking for four Teaching and Research Fellows for the following graduate level courses:
1. Cases in International Relations
2. Foreign Policy Analysis
3. Political Economy
4. Comparative Politics: Democratization Studies

Interested applicants should submit their CV, a short summary of their research project, and two letters of reference from people familiar with the candidate's academic work to Ms. Aigoul Abdoubaetova by e-mail: a.abdoubaetova@osce-academy.net by October 15, 2011, 5 p.m. Bishkek time.

The OSCE Academy in Bishkek is an equal-opportunity institution. It operates on the principle of non-discrimination. All recruitment decisions are taken on the basis of best qualification of the candidates, with consideration of regional and gender balance.

More info: http://www.osce-academy.net/en/opportunities

Scholarship for Eastern Europeans

Herder Scholarship Awarded for Excellent Students from CEE/SEE
sponsored by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation

The scholarship is aimed at Central and Eastern European students under the age of 30 and Central and Eastern European PhD students under the age of 35 (PhD students over 30 should give an explanation in their application letter), who wish to complete an academic degree in Vienna.
The final stage of a degree, a higher degree or PhD at a Vienna university is sponsored in the fields of European studies, the cultural sciences, humanities and social sciences, the fine arts, music, architecture as well as agricultural sciences and forestry.

The amount of money paid out is 920 € per month. The duration of sponsorship can be up to one year.

Eligibility: Applicants must have a sufficient level of German skills.
Deadline: November 30, 2010
Contact: Hélène Ericke, Scholarship Programme Administrator
Tel.: +49 (0)40 33 402 11
E-mail: ericke@toepfer-fvs.de
Internet: http://toepfer-fvs.de/herder-stipendium.html?&L=1

How to achieve Zen-writing style

Economists love to brag and even implement a very concise style of writing which tends to avoid stuffy arguments, behind-the-bush stories and all those wonderful things that some of us (me included) enjoy sometimes. However, what life and the job market experience teaches you is that "THE STORY" matters. So, how to refine and distill something appealing to you into a good publication? Well, that for all those young PhDs out there to discover. And this article as well...as a base for refining your intellectual outflow.