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LA Social Science Presents “Conversations with Changemakers” Featuring Dr. Felipe Goncalves

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UCLA Assistant Professor Felipe Goncalves in the Department of Economics spoke with LA Social Science about his research on racial bias in policing. In collaboration with Professor Steve Mello from Dartmouth College, Dr. Goncalves estimates the degree to which individual police officers practice racial discrimination.

Interview Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction

0:49 – Tell us about your research into policing and crime.

5:16 – Does race or gender of the officer affect the level of discrimination?

7:27 – Are the disparities in treatment conscious or implicit?

9:26 – What policies seem most effective at addressing the disparity?

16:55 – Any other studies in the area?

20:39 – Closing

To read the full research paper, “A Few Bad Apples? Racial Bias in Policing,” click HERE.

 

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Any Plans for the Summer? Enroll TODAY in an Online UCLA Summer Course

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Have you always wanted to take a course in the social sciences?

Did you think you would never have the time as a working professional?

Are you an upper-level high school student interested in taking a college course?

Are you a current UC student who needs to fulfill a requirement for your major?

Then, take an official UCLA course online from anywhere in the world.

And, learn from renowned faculty who are experts in their field.

UCLA summer courses are open to BOTH UCLA students and non-UCLA students. All summer 2020 courses will be offered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can enroll as long as you are 15 years of age or older by the first day of summer, and you do NOT have to be enrolled in an academic institution in order to participate in UCLA Summer Sessions. For more general information, click HERE.

But, DON’T DELAY! Register TODAY HERE!

Payment is due by June 5 at 5pm PDT for visiting non-UC students who enrolled before June 5 and by June 19 at 5pm PDT for UC students AND for visiting non-UC students who enrolled between June 6 to June 19. Check HERE to keep up to date on the deadlines.

Check out the amazing courses being offered by the departments within the Division of Social Sciences. Each department’s course list is found in the following links:

African American Studies (additional video course previews)

Anthropology

Asian American Studies

Chicana & Chicano Studies

Communication

Economics

Gender Studies (additional information)

Geography

History

Political Science

Sociology

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UCLA Economics Doctoral Student Selected to Attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

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Diana Van Patten, a UCLA Economics Department doctoral student, has been selected to participate in the 7th Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences, which will now take place in 2021. Ms. Van Patten was nominated to be part of this prestigious group by the UCLA Economics Department, then selected as the nominee by UCLA and the University of California system, and finally by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. Held every few years, this next meeting will bring together Nobel Laureates along with 373 young economists from around the world to exchange knowledge, ideas, and experience. To learn more, click HERE.

LA Social Science would like to congratulate Diana Van Patten on this honor.

 

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Why Is Physical Education a Student’s Most Important Subject?

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Since 2015, TEDxUCLA has provided a platform for innovative thinkers to share powerful ideas. This year’s event included a talk by Bill Simon, the Co-Founder of UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind Foundation through UCLA Health. This organization is dedicated to fighting childhood obesity by providing grants to equip middle and high schools with state-of-the-art fitness programs, a comprehensive curriculum and professional development for physical education teachers.

Bill Simon is an adjunct professor in both the Department of Economics and the Law School at UCLA, recipient of the Marty Skyler My Last Lecture Award, and a former Republican nominee for California governor. In 1988, he and his wife, Cindy, created the foundation to help schools bolster their lagging physical education programs. The organization joined forces with UCLA Health in 2015. To date, the program is in 141 schools nationally (127 in the Los Angeles area) and serves more than 170,000 students each year.

In his Ted Talk, Professor Simon addressed the importance of his Physical Education (PE) along with his plea to prioritize and fund PE at all schools for all children. He addresses the critical gains made if PE was a requirement at schools. Professor Simon implores that not only would regular exercise decrease obesity and future disease, but that it teaches children vital tools such as perseverance and resistance needed to be successful in their future. Professor Simon’s compelling story about his autistic son teaches us that Physical Education is needed as the foundation for a healthy start for children to build their character and connect mind, body, and spirit.

Starting his talk with a Pop-Quiz, Professor Simon moves to inform us of the transcendent value that is often undervalued, including social, intellectual and academic spaces. With parents battling to make sure kids aren’t spending too many hours in front of screens, Professor Simon reminds us that moving more is good for not only our body, but also for our minds. Ultimately, we are encouraged to understand why physical education is a student’s most important subject.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. To view the entire talk, click HERE.

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UCLA Professor Fajgelbaum Examines a “Return to Protectionism” in Recent Trade Wars

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Photo Credit: https://supplychainbeyond.com/winning-in-an-era-of-tariffs-and-trade-wars/

UCLA Associate Professor Pablo Fajgelbaum‘s fascinating research has been recently highlighted in the press by the following top news outlets: Vanity Fair Hive, Fortune, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN Politics, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, and The NBER Digest. Dr. Fajgelbaum studied at Princeton University where he cultivated his skills as a trade economist with an emphasis in international trade. In addition, he is a research associate under the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) for their International Trade and Investment Program.

The media coverage has referenced the newly published article Dr. Fajgelbaum co-authored with Pinelopi K. Goldberg, Patrick J. Kennedy, and Amit K. Khandelwal titled, Return to Protectionism. This study is an analysis of the trade war between the United States and other countries during 2018. The current trade war began when the U.S. imposed tariffs on imported goods and in response other countries did the same to the U.S.’s imported goods. Consequently, the research reveals that this trade war has had a negative effect on the U.S. economy causing prices and costs for U.S. businesses to increase. In addition, patterns showed that counties across the U.S. that lean mostly Republican, were impacted more than others. Last year, the United States experienced a devastating loss of about $7.8 billion since the implementation of tariffs on China and other countries.

The findings from this research counters the claims President Trump has made ensuring that Americans will benefit from imposing tariffs on imported goods from other countries. The research has left many companies, and citizens outraged and fearful of the continual impact this trade war will have on the U.S.

 

Pablo Fajgelbaum is an Associate Professor of Economics at UCLA. He is a trade economist. His recent research includes the distributional impact of international trade and the effects of regional policies on the spatial distribution of economic activity. He has published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Studies, and Journal of Political Economy.

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