On Wednesday, March 15, the University of Maryland Department of Economics hosted its first Neil Moskowitz Economics Lecture in Skinner Hall, Room 0200. The lecture was the first of a new, semesterly lecture series made possible by a gift from the series’ namesake 1980 alumnus, Neil Moskowitz.

"Our Department of Economics is very excited about the launch of this new series of events, which will bring some of the world’s most influential economists and economic policy makers to our campus, and bring our staff, faculty and students together to think about the biggest economics issues,” said Professor and Department Chair Andrew Sweeting. “I am very grateful to Neil for the generous support that has allowed us to put this series together."

This new lecture series is one of the latest shows of support from Moskowitz, an active member of the Economics Leadership Council and longtime friend and supporter of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS).

Moskowitz previously established the Martin Moskowitz Award Fund for Economics in honor of his late father, the Neil Moskowitz named Professorship in Economics, the Moskowitz Scholarship, and the Hilda Moskowitz Graduate Fellowship in Economics, in honor his mother who received a Ph.D. in English Literature at University of Maryland while on fellowship.

"Neil's support for the College, and for its Department of Economics, spans over a decade. He is one of our most generous and committed supporters, and I know I speak for many when I say that we are incredibly grateful for his continued efforts to ensure our students receive truly enriching experiences during their time here,” said Dean Susan Rivera.

The inaugural Neil Moskowitz Economics Lecture speaker was Daron Acemoglu, an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and expert in macroeconomics, political economy, labor economics, development economics and economic theory.

Acemoglu is also an author of five books—including New York Times bestseller Why Nations Fail: Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, and The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty—and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, American Philosophical Society, the British Academy of Sciences, the Turkish Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Econometric Society, the European Economic Association, and the Society of Labor Economists.

Opening remarks and introductions were delivered by Sweeting, Dean Rivera, and Melissa Kearney, who is not only a Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics in the department, but also a former student of Acemoglu.

Acemoglu’s talk on "Distorted Innovation: Does the Market Get the Direction of Technology Right?" was immediately followed by a reception in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union Atrium. 

This story originally appeared on the BSOS homepage.

03/27/2023