2026 JSM Best Student Paper Award - Applications Open
The Business and Economic Statistics Section (B&E) of the American Statistical Association (ASA) will offer up to four student paper awards for B&E student members in doctoral programs in business, economics, econometrics, statistics, or allied disciplines. The section encourages submissions on novel methods, theories, and applications from all areas of business and economic statistics. Support is offered for students to participate in the 2026 Joint Statistical Meetings, to be held in Boston, MA, August 1-6, 2026.
Click HERE with more information
2025 Zellner Award Winner Announced
The Business and Economic Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association is proud to announce the recipient of the 2025 Arnold Zellner Thesis Award: Sid Kankanala for the Yale University thesis "Essays in Nonparametric Econometrics: Endogeneity and Latent Heterogeneity" An honorable mention was awarded to both Filip Obradović for the Northwestern University thesis "Essays in Identification and Inference," as well as to Christopher Douglas Walker for the Harvard University thesis "Essays in Bayesian Econometrics"
The award included a $1500 prize.
For more information on the Zellner Thesis Award, including submission information for the Zellner Thesis Award, access the Zellner Thesis Award Page.
2025 Economic Outlook Lunchtime Speaker: Dr. Christopher Candelaria
We are excited to announce Christopher Candelaria, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education at Vanderbilt University, as the featured speaker for this year’s Economic Outlook Luncheon (added fee) at the 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Candelaria’s research focuses on teacher labor markets, education finance reform, and federal and state-level accountability. Before entering academia, Dr. Candelaria worked for four years at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
The title of his talk is listed below, followed by an abstract with more information.
Title: Connecting the Dots: Integrating Survey and Administrative Data for Economic Analysis
Abstract: Modern economic research increasingly relies on combining multiple data sources to answer complex policy questions. This talk demonstrates how integrating traditional surveys with administrative records and secure Census data creates new opportunities for economic analysis. Using examples from the economics of education, we'll explore methodological approaches for combining administrative data, state administrative records, Census databases, and tax data to generate comprehensive economic insights. The discussion will highlight how these linked data environments enable stronger causal inference and policy evaluation across various economic sectors. Special attention will be paid to practical challenges researchers face when working across multiple data systems and how statistical agencies can support this emerging research frontier.
Date: Tuesday, Aug 5
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:50 PM
Location: Music City Center, Room: CC-401A,CC-401B
Daniel Sichel Receives 2025 Shiskin Award
Dr. Daniel Sichel, Stanford Calderwood Professor Emeritus of Economics in the Department of Economics at Wellesley College, has made significant contributions to the fields of productivity analysis, technological innovation, and economic measurement. His career spans academia, public service, and policy research. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University in 1988.
At Wellesley College where he has been since 2011, his research focused on productivity growth, technological change, economic measurement, and the economic impacts of information technology which resulted in numerous influential papers in top economics journals on technology's role in economic growth.
Dr. Sichel’s public service includes serving as an Economist and later as Assistant Director and Economist in the Division of Research and Statistics at the Federal Reserve Board (1988-2012) and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Macroeconomics at the U.S. Treasury Department (1995-1996), where he contributed to monetary policy analysis, economic forecasting and the analysis of productivity trends in the US. economy. He also served as a member and later Chair of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee (2015-2023) where he contributed to methodological improvements in GDP measurement and productivity statistics most notably through better measures of the prices of information technology products and intangible capital.
For more information, access the Shiskin Award Page or the Shiskin Award press release.
B & E Student Paper Award Winners for 2025
The Business and Economic Statistics Section announced the winners of the 2025 American Statistical Association Student Paper Awards, given by the section.
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- Young Hyun Cho, Purdue University, “Privacy-preserving dynamic assortment selection”
- Alex Hayes, University of Wisconsin-Madison, “Peer effects in the linear-in-means model may be inestimable even when identified”
- Yang Xu, North Carolina State University, “Linear contextual bandits with interference”
- Maoyu Zhang, Renmin University, Emory University, “Preferential latent space models for networks with textual edges”
The award-winning students will present their papers at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in a Topic-Contributed session. They will also receive a cash award.
For more details, including a complete list of the members of the 2025 B&E Student Paper Awards Committee, access the student awards announcement (PDF file).
Congratulations to the award winners for their submissions.
B&E Section Election Results Announced
The B&E Section announces the results for the 2024 ASA Election for section officers:
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- Chair-Elect 2026 Cindy Yu, Iowa State University
- Program Chair-Elect 2025 Rebecca Killick, Lancaster University
- Secretary/Treasurer 2025–2026 Mariana Saenz-Ayala, Georgia Southern University
Many thanks to all the candidates and congratulations to the winners.