Inaugural Post

As the blog title indicates, the authors of this blog intend for it to serve as a sounding board between them for the theory and application of economics. All of the authors met in college and want to use the blog as a medium by which we might expound on and critique one another's economic ideas. It will be an exercise in exposing one another to different ideas as well as learning to be gadfly's in the search for optimal solutions to the ideas considered. Gradually, we would hope to see an increased number of individuals participate in the search for optimal solutions with us, but that would be a positive externality that isn't anticipated immediately.

All of the authors are students of the economy in one fashion or another, and while some of us are pursuing advanced degrees, none are currently doing it in the field of economics. Consider this a footnote to all future posts - we are not experts and we don't know everything. That's ok with us - hopefully it will make our thoughts more approachable. Further, this blog will likely never be in real time. That's ok with us as well - we want our competitive advantage to be the thoughtfulness and clarity of our analyses and ideas, a pursuit which almost necessarily cannot be accomplished in real time

That said, two questions remain: 1) Who are the authors? and 2) What are "economic ideas"?

1) Who are the authors? There will be six authors, listed below in alphabetical order:

• Tyler Bandy - undergraduate degrees in mathematics-economics and accounting, currently working as a portfolio manager and completing the CFA exams. His interests as a student of economics lie in the efficiency of the market and the functioning of the capital markets.
• Pete DeMarco - undergraduate degree in political science, Masters degree from the University of Ghana, currently living in a homeless shelter & starting a non-profit temp agency in Charleston, SC. His interests as a student of economics lie in examining the political economy and economic development.
• Matt Kuhn - undergraduate degrees in political science and economics, currently pursuing a JD from Columbia University. His interests as a student of economics also lie in the political economy, specifically as the justice system impacts it.
• Brett McCarty - undergraduate degrees in mathematics-economics and religion, currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Duke University. His interests as a student of economics lie in the ethics of the market.
• Chad Miller - undergraduate degrees in mathematics-economics and philosophy, currently working as an analyst at an advertising agency. His interests as a student of economics lie in macroeconomics, economic development, and in optimally aligning incentives in the private sector.
• Derek Snook - undergraduate degree in history, currently living in a homeless shelter & starting a non-profit temp agency in Charleston, SC (working with Pete). His interests as a student of economics lie in simply seeing the working homeless break their cycle of homelessness.

2) What are economic ideas?

While it's tempting to pigeonhole ourselves by providing a firm definition of economic ideas, that would be a mistake. Adam Smith's invisible hand is an economic idea. Minimum wage is an economic idea. Providing foreign aid to countries in the form of loans rather than grants is an economic idea. Cash For Clunkers is an economic idea. A Founder's Award is an economic idea.

We want to discuss and expound upon the implications of ideas like these and others.

-Chad