Research at EDG

Interested in developing your research and analytical skills?

Conduct semester-long research with a partner on an economic development topic of your choice.

Weekly workshops will cover:

Finding an appropriate research question, structuring your research paper, and how to communicate effectively
Gathering and processing datasets in Python. Exploratory data analysis, data visualization, and using machine learning libraries.
Macroeconomics: monetary and fiscal policy, trade policy, exchange rates, fixing market failures.
Finance and Strategy: financial accounting, organizational strategy and business drivers, corporate finance.

Deliverables include a completed research paper and an end-of-semester presentation.

Students will select a broad macroeconomic topic (e.g. trade policy, foreign exchange policy, environmental market failures, etc.) and analyze its effect on economic development in a particular region.
- A sample question for this track could be: How effective could tradable pollution permits be in India to mitigate pollution?
This track is suitable for students interested in careers in law, policy research, journalism, graduate school in economics, and similar paths.
This track is intended to give students a grounding in business fundamentals, examining the idea of “what makes a good business?”.
- Students will choose one public company to analyze for the whole semester, and study how this company has contributed to, or hindered, the economic development of a particular region.
- Students will examine the fundamental operational and financial drivers of their business from the eyes of a consultant or equity analyst, and devise a strategy to improve their chosen company’s impact on economic development.
- A sample question for this track could be: How can Patagonia improve its conservation efforts in Alaska?
This track is suitable for students interested in consulting, finance (particularly equity research and investment banking), and similar paths.