April 21, 2009

Carl Snyder Lecture at UCSB Examines Human Psychology and the Economy

Robert J. Shiller, the Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics at Yale University, will give the 51st Annual Carl Snyder Memorial Lecture at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, April 29. He will speak on "Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy."

His talk begins at 2:30 p.m. in the University Center Corwin Pavilion. It is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, however, and reservations are recommended and may be made by calling the UCSB Department of Economics at (805) 893-3569.

The Carl Snyder Memorial Lecture is named for the noted economic authority and author who died in 1946. Established in 1960 with a bequest from the estate of Snyder's wife, Madeleine Raisch, the memorial is used to bring to UCSB outstanding lecturers in the field of economics.

Shiller is the author of several books, including "Irrational Exuberance," which provides an analysis and explication of speculative bubbles, with special reference to the stock market and real estate. His book "Subprime Solution: How the Global Financial Crisis Happened and What to Do about It," examines the housing and economic crisis. With George A. Akerlof, Schiller co-edited "Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism," which was published in March by Princeton University Press.

In addition, Shiller's repeat-sales home price indices, developed originally with Karl E. Case, are now published as the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller Home Price Indices. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange now maintains futures markets based on these indices.

Also a professor of finance and Fellow at the International Center for Finance at Yale School of Management, Shiller has been a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) since 1980. He also has served as vice president of the American Economic Association and president of the Eastern Economic Association.

He writes a syndicated column titled "Finance in the 21st Century," which is published around the world, and "Economic View," which appears in The New York Times.

Co-founder and chief economist of MacroMarkets LLC, Shiller is the recipient of the 2009 Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics.

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