{"675443":{"#nid":"675443","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Ian Helfrich","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPh.D. Candidate:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Ian Helfrich\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDissertation Title:\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Economic Geometry of Trade: Synthesizing Networks, Geospatial Analytics, and Optimal Transport\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDissertation Abstract:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis dissertation explores international trade through three distinct perspectives. The first paper introduces a time-varying, directional, and scale-agnostic measure of economic distance in trade models. Using remote sensing and GIS techniques, distance is defined based on population-weighted and nighttime lights-weighted centroids. This method captures micro-level economic and environmental conditions, reflected through shifts in spatial distribution of populations and economic activity, and allows for the calculation of distance fixed effects in panel models.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe second paper integrates network centrality measures into a structural gravity model, highlighting the role of a country\u0027s network position in shaping trade relationships. By constructing multilevel trade networks from BACI bilateral trade data (CEPII) and incorporating structural gravity covariates, a global network centrality dataset is derived. Low-dimensional interactions are analyzed using tensor decomposition and t-SNE, revealing latent dependencies within the trade network. These measures are then included as explanatory variables in the gravity model, estimated using the Pseudo-Poisson Maximum Likelihood (PPML) estimator.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe third chapter proposes a general economic equilibrium framework using optimal transport within infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. The existence and uniqueness of equilibrium are proven, characterizing equilibrium allocations as solutions to an optimal transport problem. Tools from functional analysis and convex optimization are used to study the efficiency and fairness properties of equilibrium allocations across various economic settings.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis dissertation offers interdisciplinary perspectives on global trade dynamics by synthesizing insights from network theory, spatial econometrics, and functional analysis, providing a foundation for future research\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsha Nair-Reichert (Co-Advisor), Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETibor Besedes (Co-Advisor), Mary S. and Richard B. Inman, Jr. Professor of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMaxwell Rosenthal, Assistant Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECasey Wichman, Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDavid Anderson (external member), Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDate:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;July 15, 2024\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;12:00 pm \u2013 2:15 pm EDT\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Virtual (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/99424508853?pwd=KrYlELa3oC26Aaj1odLgwmXsNDa6nc.1\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/99424508853?pwd=KrYlELa3oC26Aaj1odLgwmXsNDa6nc.1\u0022\u003EZoom Link\u003C\/a\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/99424508853?pwd=KrYlELa3oC26Aaj1odLgwmXsNDa6nc.1\u0022\u003EJoin our Cloud HD Video Meeting\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Zoom is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, CA.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Egatech.zoom.us\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.zoom.us\/j\/99424508853?pwd=KrYlELa3oC26Aaj1odLgwmXsNDa6nc.1\u0022\u003EJoin our Cloud HD Video Meeting\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Zoom is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, CA.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Egatech.zoom.us\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Economic Geometry of Trade: Synthesizing Networks, Geospatial Analytics, and Optimal Transport\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Economic Geometry of Trade: Synthesizing Networks, Geospatial Analytics, and Optimal Transport"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2024-07-12 15:34:32","changed_gmt":"2024-07-12 15:35:17","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2024-07-15T12:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2024-07-15T14:15:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2024-07-15T14:15:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2024-07-15 16:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2024-07-15 18:15:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2024-07-15 18:15:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Virtual (Zoom Link)","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}