Pittsburgh on Demand Issue 4

Registration Rates to Increase in Just Ten Days

If you have not registered for the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting yet, you'll want to do so before June 20. After that date, the registration rates will increase by as much as $75.

Here’s a breakdown of the new registration rates after June 20:

• Professional Member: $425 (from $350)
• Senior Member: $325 (from $250)
• Graduate Student Member: $130 (from $95)

Registration for the Joint Annual Meeting grants you access to all concurrent sessions and plenary sessions, plus the Welcome Reception on Sunday night and the Closing Reception on Tuesday evening. You can learn more about what’s planned for Pittsburgh by visiting the Meeting Events page.

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Hotel Deadline Only Two Weeks Away

As someone who's already registered for the Joint Annual Meeting, you'll want to act quickly to reserve your hotel room for Pittsburgh, if you haven't already. After June 21, the discounted room rates available to attendees cannot be guaranteed.

We have space reserved for attendees in two Pittsburgh hotels. Here's the single occupancy rate for each:

Westin Convention Center, Pittsburgh
(Connected via skywalk to the convention center)
Single Occupancy Rate: $179

Omni William Penn Hotel
(About seven blocks from the convention center)
Single Occupancy Rate: $159

Visit the Hotel & Travel page for to reserve your room, as well as helpful information on getting around in Pittsburgh.

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New Plenary Focuses on Development, Features Galbraith Speaker

A new event has been added to the meeting schedule for Tuesday afternoon. Director of the World Bank's Development Research Group and Galbraith Forum speaker Martin Ravallion will be moderating a panel featuring Michael Carter and Elisabeth Sadoulet, titled "The Case for Agriculture for Development: Challenges for Impact Evaluation and Policy Design". Attendance is free for all meeting attendees.

The 2008 World Development Report, Agriculture for Development, punctuated the return of agriculture to the economic development agenda. As a result, governments, donors, and multilateral agencies have been expanding funding in this area even though the reliable evaluation of agricultural programs has proven difficult. In this context, program evaluation can help define priorities for agricultural investment, identify effectiveness, and assist in improving implementation. This plenary discussion will focus on the means for which impact evaluation can meet these goals, and how theory, observational data, and randomized controlled trials contribute to answering related questions. The broader issue discussed will be how, and to what extent economic evaluation can characterize efficacy and outcomes for agriculture, development, and other public programs in the developing world.

This session will take place on Tuesday, July 26 at 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm.

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Grants Center Connects You with Funding Agencies

The Grants Center provides a unique opportunity for funding agencies to connect with potential grant recipients. The Grants Center is available to all meeting participants, who will have the opportunity to speak with representatives from various agencies during the attended poster sessions on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.

The participating organizations will be on hand to discuss their funding programs and grant opportunities. If your organization offers grants or other funding opportunities and is interested in participating in the 2011 Grants Center, please contact Brian Mondragón Jones at Brian@aaea.org for more information about registration.

Participating organizations include USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture and US Environmental Protection Agency.

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Use the Employment Center to Find a Job/Fill that Opening

Registration is now open for the 2011 Employment Center. The Employment Center is an online and on-site resource that provides a great opportunity for highly qualified job seekers and employers to connect while on-site at the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting. Employers will enjoy access to numerous individuals with a Master’s degree or higher in the fields of agricultural and applied economics. Job seekers will have the opportunity to network with a number of employers conveniently while in Pittsburgh.

The Joint Annual Meeting Employment Center is not a job fair. It is an opportunity for employers and applicants to discuss specific open positions. After registering for the Employment Center, applicants will have access to all of the open positions submitted by registered employers, and employers will have access to the employment information of each applicant.

Based on this information, employers and applicants can connect regarding a specific position. Then, they are encouraged to schedule an interview to take place at the on-site Employment Center at the Joint Annual Meeting to discuss the position.

Until June 20, Employers will have the option to reserve a table for conducting on-site interviews for $450, or to use the unreserved tables on a first come, first served basis at a rate of $400. Starting June 21, the rates will increase by $50 for both reserved and unreserved registrations. All employers will have access to the applicant information through the online Employment Center.

Registration is $25 for applicants until June 20. After that date registration is $30. On-site registration is an option, but waiting until then could limit the number of interviews that an applicant is able to schedule.

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Workshops Help You Learn More on Key Topics

If you’re interested in diving deeper into certain subjects while in Pittsburgh, you should check out the workshops taking place before and after the Joint Annual Meeting. These workshops, which all take place on Saturday, Sunday, or Wednesday, include sessions on: computational economics, economics and child nutrition programs, early career development, data needs for local food and farm recreation, as well as the annual extension tour.

More information about each of the workshops is available below. You can register for any of them (for an additional fee) when registering for the 2011 Joint Annual Meeting.

Pre-conference Workshop: Applied Computational Economics

This is a ticketed event. The cost to attend is $85.
Saturday, July 23, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

This workshop will provide an overview of the rapidly developing field of computational economics. It will focus on practical applications of numerical methods to the formulation, solution, and analysis of stochastic dynamic models in economics and finance, with emphasis on nonlinear dynamic optimization models.

The workshop will be based on the award-winning graduate course currently taught by Professor Miranda at The Ohio State University and will cover material presented in his textbook with Paul W. Fackler, Applied Computational Economics and Finance, MIT Press, 2002.

Pre-conference Workshop: Economics and Child Nutrition Programs

This is a ticketed event. The cost to attend for professionals is $65 and for students is $35.
Saturday, July 23, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm

This workshop will showcase emerging issues and creative policy solutions in nutrition and food programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Women, Infants, and Children, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The workshop will include presentation of both invited and selected papers. The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. George Loewenstein, the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Economics and Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University.

Pre-conference Workshop: Early Career Development

This is a ticketed event. It is free to attend, but you must register for it in advance on the meeting registration form.
Sunday, July 24, 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm

This workshop, jointly sponsored by NAREA & AAEA, is intended to provide early career scholars with the opportunity to develop skills that are crucial to succeeding in professional positions in agricultural and resource economics. The 2011 program will include a welcome, presentations on best practices in grant writing, making presentations, and manuscript writing, and networking opportunities:

Post-conference Tour: Agricultural and Food Industry Tour

This is a ticketed event. The cost to attend is $60.
Wednesday, July 27, 7:00 am – 7:00 pm

Since 2002, the Extension Section has organized an agricultural education tour as part of the Annual Meeting. This year the tour will be offered as a post-conference event on Wednesday, July 27. This bus tour, accompanied by area Extension economists, will visit several food and farm industry attractions in the Pittsburgh area. While some stops are still being finalized, some of what you’ll discover includes:

• A family fruit orchard that expanded to produce, nursery, furniture, and gift sales; added horse management lessons; and built a natural food store with nutritional counseling for customers with specific health needs—all adding more family to the operation
• Food processing, Steel City style
• Giant Eagle’s flagship for their “Market District” grocery concept inspired by the open-air markets of Europe and offering unique culinary, dining and shopping experiences for those with true passion for food, yet approachable for non-foodies.
• Discussions with grocery leaders on cross marketing food and fuel, and new store formats that put fresh and local back in the neighborhoods
• Mining natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. Landowners and educators introduce the challenges of contracting and addressing economic, operational, and environmental issues as part of this fast-moving energy alternative

Post-conference Workshop: Research and Extension Data Needs for Addressing Local Food and Farm Recreational Issues

This is a ticketed event. The cost to attend is $20.
Wednesday, July 27, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Emergence and growth of issues concerning local food and farm recreation has made it very clear that our traditional data systems are seriously lacking, having been designed for a less diverse supply chain. Indeed, the major farm and food economic activity has been in a supply chain moving towards a more homogeneous system, in contrast to this recent local foods/farm recreational services industries growth. This workshop is designed to 1) to educate each other about data availability and innovative, holistic data collection approaches for the full supply chain and regional impacts; and 2) to formulate a clearer understanding of realistic, necessary improvements in our data systems for addressing these emerging issues.