Professor Blunch Attends DAEiNA Conference at Princeton University

By Taylor Meeker
May 18, 2018

Niels-Hugo Blunch, associate professor of economics, recently attended the 7th annual meeting of Danish Academic Economists in North America (DAEiNA), which was held on May 12, 2018, at Princeton University. This year, he was able to fully enjoy the program as a participant, rather than as an organizer.

As last year’s president of DAEiNA, Professor Blunch hosted the annual meeting May 6-7 at W&L. It was a unique program for the DAEiNA, as it was the first time the meeting was held in a rural or liberal arts setting. This, combined with the collaboration with the local community, helped showcase what Lexington and W&L have to offer.

The 2017 program began with a wine tasting and guided winery tour at Rockbridge Vineyards, followed by a reception and dinner. The next day, the group participated in the organizational part of the meeting, as well as a few other social events, including lunch at the Marketplace (for the full “W&L experience”) and a closing reception at the Hotchkiss Alumni House.

The conference also incorporated the involvement of Professor Blunch’s colleagues and a few students. Matt Carl ’17 gave a campus tour to participants following a luncheon keynote address by Steen Lau Jørgensen, Director at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., who shared his experiences after more than three decades at the World Bank. Carl also highlighted the Honor System, which was especially intriguing to attendees, as most came from large research universities.

DAEiNA Annual Meeting participants visit Rockbridge Vineyard in 2017.

DAEiNA 2017 Annual Meeting attendees

Matt Carl ’17 gives a campus tour to DAEiNA 2017 Annual Meeting attendees.

Professor Chris Handy and Matt Carl ’17 listening to a presentation

Steen Lau Jørgensen, Director at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., delivers the luncheon keynote address at the 2017 DAEiNA Annual Meeting.

This year’s conference was held in Princeton, NJ, where DAEiNA was initially founded in 2012. Previous meetings have been held at Northwestern University, Duke University, Aarhus University and the University of Copenhagen.

Professor Blunch presented his paper, “Under Pressure? Assessing the Roles of Cognitive Skills and Other Personal Resources for Work-Family and Work-Parenting Gains and Strains,” joint with David Ribar (University of Melbourne) and Mark Western (University of Queensland).

The goal of the DAEiNA is to improve the Danish contributions to economics by providing a network for Danish economists, students, or others who have studied or worked in North America and facilitate knowledge transfer between the Danish and American economics communities in other ways.

Professor Blunch joined the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics faculty in 2006 after working as a consultant with the World Bank Headquarters. He has published more than a dozen journal articles and book chapters on health, education, and labor market issues in developing and transition economies.

He holds a B.A. and an M.A. from the Aarhus University (Denmark), an M.S. from the University of Southhampton (UK) and a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University.

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