CESR Events

Series resumes Monday, January 26, 2026

Monday, March 9
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Abstract: Institutionalized racism stemming from the historical practice of slavery supports persistent racial inequalities in health, advantaging Whites and disadvantaging Black Americans.  We advance the literature by empirically testing the role of migration in spreading this legacy of slavery across the United States.  We begin by estimating county-to-county migration flows for White residents of counties historically dependent on slavery (1880 to 1910).  Newly released data from the Census Tree project allow us to do this at a scale previously unattainable.  We use these migration flows to create a novel proxy of exposure to the institution of slavery that extends beyond the US South.  We employ spatially-informed data analysis techniques to examine the patterning of White migrants from slave-dependent counties; and the relationship between this proxy measure and contemporary county-level Black-White inequality in premature mortality.  Results provide a critical foundation for debates regarding persistent racism, Black-White inequality, and reparations.

Bio: Heather A. O’Connell is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Louisiana State University.  Her research centers on understanding race and the persistence of racial inequality in the United States.  While pursuing this objective, she has given notable attention to the enduring structural consequences of historical institutions, particularly slavery.  She has published on topics related to the legacy of slavery as well as Confederate monuments in journals such as Social Forces, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, DuBois Review, and Demography.

Monday, March 23
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Abstract: To evaluate mutual funds, many investors use mutual fund factsheets, short advertising documents containing product information.  The design of mutual fund factsheets is subject to limited regulation, leading to potential concerns that the design of factsheets may be used to sway how investors perceive funds.  To better understand these product advertisements, we first hand-collect factsheets for all mutual funds.  We use a computer algorithm to examine the content of these factsheets, documenting naturally occurring variation in how mutual fund companies choose to present their funds.  In addition, we conduct an online study in which 452 participants review a randomly selected mutual fund factsheet, from an underlying set of 142.  Each factsheet was reviewed by up to 40 participants.  We find that factsheet design features were associated with perceived mutual fund appeal, over and above standard objective measures of performance (alpha) and risk (beta).  Specifically, funds were rated as more appealing if their factsheets were perceived as being more visually attractive or easier to understand, and when they made key information easier to find.  Additionally, mutual fund appeal was greater when factsheets included a performance table or performance line graph, and omitted information about net expenses.  Most of these factsheet design features were similarly associated with ratings of mutual fund appeal among both experienced and inexperienced investors, with few exceptions.  This project provides insight into how advertisements can affect investor perceptions and provides evidence that standardization of fund factsheet design features may be needed to avoid swaying investors.

Bio: Alicia Chyn is a representative of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she supports the agency’s mission to protect investors, promote fair and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. Her work focuses on advancing regulatory compliance and public trust in the financial system.

Monday, March 30
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Abstract: State medical boards enforce care quality standards by disciplining physicians via publicly disclosed administrative actions. We use a novel dataset of 70,000 state medical board actions in more than 40 states over the years 2008-2023 to report the first estimates of the effect of these disciplinary actions on physician careers. We find that 2.5\% of physicians ever receive a disciplinary action over this time period. We link these actions to administrative records on physician practice settings as well as large-scale medical claims to study how physician practices and labor supply change after discipline.  We use a difference-in-differences research design leveraging variation in treatment timing among ever-disciplined physicians. We first report that many disciplined physicians continue to practice; this is true even for a substantial minority of  those losing their license in a particular state. Disciplined physicians are twice as likely as not-yet-disciplined physicians to begin practicing in a new state. Disciplined physicians who continue to practice supply fewer claims, though are no less likely to have a hospital affiliation or be in solo practice;  they are more likely to work in prison, tribal, or military clinics. By providing the first national evidence on the prevalence, correlates, and consequences of physician discipline, our study informs the optimal scope and design of state oversight.

Bio: Colleen Carey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University. Carey’s research focuses on the economics of markets for health care and health insurance.  She has held Federal service roles at Council of Economic Advisers (Staff Economist, 2011-12) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Fellow, 2024-25).  Previously, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan and a visiting researcher at Princeton University’s Center for Health and Wellbeing

Monday, April 6
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Monday, April 13
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Monday, April 20
12pm – 1pm
Zoom

Monday, April 27
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Monday, May 4
12pm – 1pm
VPD 203 and Zoom

Thursday, March 5
9am – 10am
Zoom (See email for Zoom link)

Thursday, April 2
9am – 10am
Zoom (See email for Zoom link)

Thursday, May 7
9am – 10am
Zoom (See email for Zoom link)

Thursday, June 4
9am – 10am
Zoom (See email for Zoom link)