One public policy concept that I have found particularly interesting is the idea of public goods. Public goods are goods and services that are available to everyone and are difficult or impossible to restrict access to. Because of their unique characteristics, public goods often create challenges for private markets and help explain why governments play such a significant role in certain areas of the economy. Economists define public goods as being both non-excludable and non

One of the most important ideas I have learned while studying economics is the concept of incentives. Incentives are factors that encourage people to act in certain ways, and they play a central role in nearly every economic decision. Whether people are deciding how to spend money, businesses are choosing what to produce, or governments are designing public policies, incentives help explain why individuals and organizations behave the way they do. Economics often assumes that

A hotly debated topic in public policy is the minimum wage. Minimum wage laws establish the lowest hourly wage employers are legally allowed to pay workers. Supporters argue that raising the minimum wage helps workers afford basic living expenses and reduces poverty, while critics argue that large increases may create higher labor costs for businesses and reduce employment opportunities. Because of these competing perspectives, minimum wage policy has become an important area

Recently I had the opportunity to look around IU while in Indiana. My uncle, a former graduate student, showed me around the campus as well as the Kelley School of Business. One of the first things that stood out to me was the atmosphere of the campus. IU felt large and active, but still organized in a way that made it feel welcoming rather than overwhelming. Walking through the campus gave me a better sense of what student life could be like. Most of the students were takin

Land Value Tax is an interesting public policy ideas because it has support from people across very different political viewpoints. Some support it because it is economically efficient, others because it could reduce inequality, and many urban planners support it because it may help increase housing supply. Even with all of this support, it is still rarely discussed in mainstream politics. A Land Value Tax works differently from a traditional property tax. Instead of taxing b

Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of earnings and wealth across a population, the gap between those at the top of the income ladder and those at the bottom. Economists typically measure it using tools like the Gini coefficient, where a score of zero represents perfect equality and one represents maximum concentration of income in a single individual. By this and most other measures, the United States has seen a steady widening of the income gap over the past

While attending the University of Chicago open house, I had the opportunity to sit in on a model economics class, which turned out to be one of the most interesting parts of the tour. The lecture was given by professor Pablo Peña and focused on the concept of human capital, a topic that connects economics directly to education, skills, and long-term economic growth. Human capital refers to the skills, knowledge, education, and experience that individuals accumulate over time.

During my recent college visits, I had the opportunity to see the University of Chicago campus, and the experience gave me a clearer picture of how economics and public policy are emphasized there. From the moment I arrived, the campus stood out because of its strong academic atmosphere and its reputation for serious intellectual focus, particularly in economics. One of the first things I noticed was the architecture. Many of the buildings feature classic Gothic style designs

One public policy topic that has become increasingly relevant in recent years is student loan forgiveness. As the cost of higher education has continued to rise, many students graduate with significant amounts of debt. In the United States, total student loan debt has grown into the trillions of dollars, making it one of the largest forms of household debt. Because of this, policymakers and economists have begun debating whether forgiving some or all of this debt could benefi

We have recently been discussing taxation in my economics class, which is an important area where economics and public policy intersect. Taxes are the primary source of revenue for governments to fund public programs and services, but they also influence economic behavior in significant ways. Understanding how taxes affect incentives has helped me see why tax policy is such an important and often debated part of economic policy. When governments impose taxes on goods, income

One public policy concept that has become increasingly interesting to me while studying economics is the idea of market failure. In theory, markets are described as efficient systems where individuals pursuing their own interests lead to outcomes that benefit society as a whole. However, in reality, markets do not always function perfectly. Market failure occurs when the allocation of resources through a free market leads to outcomes that are inefficient or socially undesirab

A few weeks ago I visited the University of Pennsylvania and spent time learning about both the Wharton School and the University in general. The historic brick buildings and tree-lined paths gave the University a traditional college feel while still being located in the middle of Philly. The campus felt lively and active, with students studying outside, moving between classes, and participating in different activities. The campus was completely different than my school, and

One of the market structures I’ve been learning about in economics is perfect competition, and it is helpful for understanding how competitive markets are supposed to work. Perfect competition describes a market where many buyers and sellers interact, no single participant has control over price, and everyone has access to the same information. It is a baseline for how markets are meant to behave. In a perfectly competitive market, firms are considered price takers, meaning t

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit UT Austin, and the experience gave me a new perspective on what studying public policy and economics at a college level might look like. The campus felt different than I expected because it was much bigger than anything I had seen before. Walking around and seeing the campus firsthand made the experience feel much more real. Instead of just hearing about the university, I was able to explore the campus, see the buildings where students

One concept that has really stood out to me while studying economics is utility. At first, it sounded like a technical term, but it’s actually a simple idea: utility describes the satisfaction or benefit someone gets from a good or service. The more I’ve worked with this concept, the more I’ve realized how important it is to understanding everyday decision-making and how markets function. Utility helps explain why people make the choices they do when resources are limited. Si

Understanding supply and demand was one of the first big ideas I ran into while studying economics, and it didn’t take long to see why it’s considered so important. At its core, supply and demand explain how prices are set and how markets react when something changes, whether that’s consumer behavior, government policy, or available resources. Even though the model looks simple at first, it connects to almost every decision people, businesses, and policymakers make. Demand de

Starting this blog marks the beginning of my effort to document my growth as I study public policy, economics, and finance. I choose to write this blog to capture the learning process and my progression through that process. This blog will be an extension of my scholastic experiences and provide me an opportunity to better understand what I am learning in the classroom. My hope is that by documenting my journey, I can both help others and improve my understanding of what I am