Congratulations to Assistant Professor Yajie Wang, the most recent recipient of Mizzou Economic’s coveted “Black Swan Award.” The Black Swan symbolizes momentous career achievements and is passed from the most recent holder of the wooden artifact to the current winner in a public (and ideally embarrassing) setting. The incumbent holder of the Black Swan, Dr. Alyssa Carlson, surprised Yajie in our most recent Department meeting; according to one observer, “…the passing of the Swan was as emotional as it was meaningful.”   

Dr. Wang was recognized and applauded for having two articles (“Automation and the Rise of Superstar Firms” and “The Rise of AI Pricing: Trends, Driving Forces, and Implications for Firm Performance”) BOTH accepted at the Journal of Monetary Economics.  The JME is a high-impact journal based on citations and widely recognized as one of the top field journals in macroeconomics.  For this tremendous accomplishment, Dr. Wang is entitled to proudly display the Black Swan in her office until such time that she determines one of her colleagues merits the distinction.