Modeling a Risk-Averse Investor in the Stock Market Pt. 3: Trying to Find a Closer Approximation for the net value

In this blogpost, I will attempt to find an approximation for the series posted in part 2. In part #2, we had the table:   ROI based upon the period we invested in  (1/r)         Sum of each investment   Period 1 ROI  Period 2 ROI Period 3 ROI Period 4 ROI Period J   *SPECIAL CASE* $1/1 $1/1 $1/1 $1/1 + … 1+1+1+1 + …  = $J Investment #1 $1/2 $1/4 $1/8 $1/16 + … ½ + ¼ + 1/8 + 1/16 + … = $2.00 Investment #2 $1/3 $1/9 $1/27 $1/81   + … $1/3 Continue reading Modeling a Risk-Averse Investor in the Stock Market Pt. 3: Trying to Find a Closer Approximation for the net value

Mental Health and Job Satisfaction by Shirley Mazsltov-Ast: Senior thesis highlight

In honor of graduation, I spoke with graduating Economics and BLP major Shirley Mazsltov-Ast about her senior thesis. Her thesis examined the effects of depression on job satisfaction. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the Bureau of Labor Statistics she explored the correlation between one’s reported depression and job satisfaction. Her findings indicate that there is a significant correlation between mental health and job satisfaction, with individuals who reported being “depressed” and “down or blue” being less satisfied with their jobs.  Shirley hopes that when reading her thesis people leave with one major takeaway “mental health matters” and Continue reading Mental Health and Job Satisfaction by Shirley Mazsltov-Ast: Senior thesis highlight

The Economic Benefit of Online Community Marketplaces

The last decade has seen a significant decline of Facebook usage for preference of other sites, particularly from younger generations including individuals like myself. Despite this, I find myself checking and utilizing Facebook on a regular basis for one thing: free-and-discount-goods groups. Notably are regions’ “Buy Nothing” and “Buy, Sell, Trade” groups that promote a decrease of capitalistic purchasing and demanding, in turn decreasing our contributions to the supply chain. For two years now I have been a member of a small group of Tacomans banded in a Facebook group, united by ‘bananas for scale’ and one rule: everything is Continue reading The Economic Benefit of Online Community Marketplaces

Gender-based Price Discrimination

The Pink Tax refers to the extra cost added to goods that are targeted towards women. Named for the color traditionally used to market products to women, the Pink Tax primarily affects personal hygienic products like razors, hair products, and other beauty products. While these products don’t need to be gendered, marketers tend to target these products based on gender and upcharge women for similar or the same products. Brands have also been known to limit the product size for women in a strategy called ‘pink it or shrink it’. When analyzing products such as deodorant, razors, body wash, and Continue reading Gender-based Price Discrimination

The Economics of Reproductive Healthcare

With recent announcements from the Supreme Court surrounding Roe v. Wade, important considerations for the reproductive health and economic welfare of people in the United States is to be considered. During the last four years, personal research has surrounded reproductive health policy and implementation in Washington state, leading me to further understanding of the societal and economic importance of the topic. Whether universal access to safe, legal abortion or other foundational reproductive care, the economic wellbeing through healthcare availability of reproducing individuals in the country reigns… supreme.  Research supports the notion that reproductive healthcare, policies that support it, and access Continue reading The Economics of Reproductive Healthcare

The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part 2

Click here to read part one Human trafficking is a growing crime that is part of an estimated $150 billion dollar industry. While the victims of human trafficking recruited through social media are only a small portion of the 16,000 estimated human trafficking victims in the U.S. every year, the number of victims recruited through social media is probably much higher than the confirmed cases. This is due to human trafficking victims’ unwillingness to report to authorities. Unfortunately, human traffickers are using social media not only as a recruitment method but also as a way to distribute explicit content from Continue reading The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part 2

How Conflict in Ukraine Threatens the World’s Beer Industry

            It is important to understand the social, health, and political externalities as a result of Ukraine’s invasion from Russia. Upon listening to a recent podcast from The Economist, Money Talks: Grain damage, I was struck by the further resulting implications on the rest of the world. Noted specifically in this podcast was the high level of Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertilizer exports, threatening the world’s food supply through agricultural components and livestock feed. The two countries export over 20% of the world’s fertilizer and about 12% of all of the world’s calories, ranking in the top five of worldwide production. Continue reading How Conflict in Ukraine Threatens the World’s Beer Industry

The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part One

The world has never been more connected than it is now. With over 3.7 billion users of social media, so many functions of the world that used to take place in person have shifted online. Through social media, users find community, build relationships with virtual strangers, and obtain jobs. In fact, social media is so widely used that it has become a popular tool for human traffickers. Social media is not authentic. Instead, social media allows users to present any version of themselves to the world, no matter how false that presentation is. Because social media allows users to hide Continue reading The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part One

Economics of NFT’s

NFT’s burst into the public’s awareness in the last few years; however, they have been prevalent for close to a decade. They have created much speculation around its growth, which led many to be confused as if it is something one should buy as the public has continued to see people make tens of thousands of dollars in minutes or become a millionaire overnight. Many people lack awareness around many of the variables in this complex equation, such as the blockchain, how NFTs work, what makes an NFT valuable, and why they are not like any other economic market? One Continue reading Economics of NFT’s

How to Trade (like a Kindergartener)

There is an infamous book referenced often in my life, having a mother as a devoted kindergarten teacher. And, truly, I live by the words of author Robert Fulghum in that All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Walking around a Kindergarten classroom is not too far off what I imagine it’s like on the ground of the New York Stock Exchange: bustling individuals running back and forth, disorderly papers with scribbles on the margins, shouting over desired items, and manipulating the market (teacher) for a little extra playtime. Maybe the NYSE could learn a few things from Continue reading How to Trade (like a Kindergartener)