圖泬窪蹋

Stanford
Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)

Why Econ?

Economics seeks to understand choices and their consequences. Why save rather than spend? Why put certain products on sale and charge top dollar for another? Why purchase instead of rent? Researchers and students at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) choose to examine the world and make an impact through the prism of economics. In this ongoing series, weve asked them one question: Why econ?

  • Michael Droste, Postdoctoral Fellow

     Using the economics toolkit to make sense of the world just clicked with me, says Michael Droste, who had thought he would study law.

  • Isaac Sorkin, Senior Fellow

     Isaac Sorkin had zero training in economics when he decided at the end of high school that the field was right for him. For a lot of reasons: He likes a good challenge, and he saw early on that economics is fundamentally the language of public policy."

  • Maria Polyakova, Senior Fellow

     As an undergrad in the mid-2000s, Maria Polyakova who was then considering a career in cognitive science realized that economics provides a lens through which she could better understand structural issues in society.

  • Adrien Auclert, Senior Fellow

     Meetings with policymakers, online or off, happen with some frequency these days for Adrien Auclert, who once toyed with a career as a policymaker but chose academia instead.

  • Annamaria Lusardi, Senior Fellow

     When Annamaria Lusardi greets students on the first day of her class on personal finance, she sets the record straight: She isnt teaching them just how to save or invest.

  • Emma Hou, '24

     Emma Hou stumbled onto economics by chance. As a high school junior visiting her brother at Stanford, she dropped into an introductory economics course. That first step led to a much longer journey.

  • Kwabena Donkor, Faculty Fellow

     For Kwabena Donkor, driving a New York City taxi while studying economics in college was grueling. Hed wake up before 3 a.m. on Sundays to stand in line to lease a cab, then work a 24-hour shift straight.

  • Olivia Martin, PhD and JD student

     On the first day of class for an economics seminar on measuring government performance through data, a presentation slide described the course using the plural, governments.

  • Arjun Ramani, BA '21, MS '22

     In 2005, when Shaquille ONeal was in the NBA limelight, a young Arjun Ramani would bring in box scores for his first-grade show-and-tell to demonstrate how another Miami Heat player, up-and-comer Dwyane Wade, was also worthy of fandom.

  • Marshall Burke, Senior Fellow

     It takes a particular kind of economist to boast expertise in doing nothing and to land on late-night TV because of it.

  • Levi Boxell, PhD '22

     Levi Boxell grew up wanting to be an engineer or a computer scientist. But his career path took a turn toward economics during his senior year in high school when perspectives of poverty and the role of economics research began to swirl together.

  • David Chan, Senior Fellow

     Being a doctor and caring for patients, one-by-one, is a rewarding career. But what if your profession can improve the lives of many people, all at once?

  • Bessie Zhang, '23

     Bessie Zhangs eyes light up when she talks about currency swaps and financial instruments.

  • Valerie Scimeca, '20

     Valerie Scimecas first lesson about an economy came in the third grade.

  • Nina Buchmann, PhD '24

     Nina Buchmanns interest in global economic inequality and its relationship to gender took root early.

  • Petra Persson, Faculty Fellow

     A lot in life ties to family.

  • Aava Farhadi '23

     When Aava Farhadi took AP microeconomics in high school, it was, admittedly, not love at first sight. At the time, her sights were stuck on pre-med.