Ben Bernanke Econ 490 Fall 2019

Description: The articles have an overarching message that human beings have very similar tendencies. They are caring towards each other and naturally want to share except when there is an increase in competition and a decrease in supply. This is when a more self centered mindset comes into play and people's actions reflect that. The innate reaction people have in a competitive environment is to protect themselves and make sure that they can benefit in some way or another. The articles were very enjoyable and they had such interesting examples of situations that display this mentality of sharing and altruism. Children are innocent and a good way of observing what natural reactions of humans can potentially be and seeing the different instances of whether the children split the marbles or take what they see, is a very tangible example of a larger perspective on behaviors. The transfer of goods or gift exchange is technically considered a voluntary act but is natural in some situ...

I am currently studying Economics and am a part of one RSO on campus to further my career experiences and abilities as I graduate. I wanted to study Economics because I have a great interest in the business industry as well as the mathematical aspects of the real world and the economy of large businesses. I applied and got into a non-profit student run consulting organization called CUBE Consulting where we work with local start-ups and help them build marketing strategies and financial models for long term growth. I talked to a lot of friends and family who were in the business industry and they recommended me try out consulting as a profession and I found this organization to be a perfect fit for me to grow and learn more. I started off as a consultant and then applied and became a project manager. This position has prepared me a lot for what is to come as a potential career as a consultant in the real world. My first internship after my sophomore year was at a biotechnology compa...

(1) There are definitely themes from the different posts that connect together and tie in concepts that we are learning from lecture. Each post had an aspect of the economy and the dynamic of organizations but allowed us to reflect on our experiences and life stories. From organizational changes to opportunistic behavior to transfer pricing, the concepts all had relevance to the economy of organizations. These concepts are all simple in the sense that they apply to our lives and things that we experience at the most basic level of organizations that we are a part of. (2) The ways that the posts correlated to the course themes as whole is seen through the excel homework and the posts together. The excel homework goes over the concepts in a problem solving way where as the prompts for each post take those mathematical methods and develop them as more overarching themes. When I first approached each prompt, I did not fully understand the connection to the course overall since they were...

If the Campus implemented a system where each student got an allocation of Illinibucks, it would definitely change the way the university system worked. If Illinibucks have the sole purpose of moving a student to the head of the line, there are very limited uses of this payment method since it is to create a system of gaining priority but not necessarily spending it for a physical result. This also implies that each student receives a set amount of Illinibucks for their time at the university that they must save and spend as they see best fit for the most optimal results of their time here. The two ideas that come to my mind when thinking of the potential ways Illinibucks could be put to use are when picking housing and when picking classes. Freshman have to do their prior research and keep track of their time to choose their dorms and make sure they get the one they want before it fills up. That process is very stressful since it ends with where you are going to live for the first...