CIPA Core Faculty member Nancy Chau is a professor in Cornell’s Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Her research interests fall under three main areas: international trade, regional economics, and economic development. She also serves as associate editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, a senior fellow at the Center for Development Research, a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA Bonn), and member of an expert panel for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). She received the Humboldt Research Fellowship in 2007 and the SUNY award for Excellence in Teaching in 2012.
1. Why should students attend CIPA -vs- another graduate policy program?
The CIPA program is blessed with a dedicated staff and broad faculty expertise in many different areas of public policy. Situated at Cornell University, CIPA students have access to over 100 public policy and public affairs faculty. CIPA alums form a tight-knit and well connected network of professionals from all walks of life, professions and occupations. These are just a few things that set CIPA apart from other public policy programs.
2. What do you enjoy most about teaching at CIPA?
Interacting with students from very diverse backgrounds, training, expertise and experience. Their experiences outside of the classroom contribution to the discussion and benefit everyone in the class, including me!
3. Briefly describe your research and teaching interests.
I am an international development economist. I started my career focusing on international and regional migration issues. Over the years, I have worked on a series of issues including the economics of international labor standards, such as child labor, international trafficking and debt bondage for example. More recently, I have been working on the issue of land use rights transfer and land conversion in China.
4. What specific course(s) do you teach for CIPA students? What skills do students take away from your course(s)?
AEM 4300 is a course on international trade policy. The course provides students with the tools to understand the language and the economics of global trade, as well as foreign exchange markets, macroeconomics, and finance. AEM 6320 is a graduate treatment of these topics focusing on research methodologies and empirical work. AEM 4190 is a course on strategic thinking, as it is applied in individual decision making, business strategies, and government policy making.
5. What advice do you have for students who want to make the most of their two years here?
Explore all the new ideas and programs that Cornell offers. Think beyond your next job, and focus instead on broad knowledge and skills you will need as you embark on a new career.
6. Where are you originally from? How long have you lived in Ithaca?
I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I did my undergraduate studies and had my first full employment experience in the consulting industry in Tokyo. I then received a PhD in economics in the U.S. I have lived in Ithaca since 1999.
7. What’s your favorite Ithaca restaurant and why?
I love them all, but I love making my own meals at home even more!
8. What one fun activity would you consider a “must-do” for students during their tenure here, in order to get the full Ithaca experience ? Why?
Ice cream at the Cornell Dairy Bar. Try all the flavors and you will see why!