|
|
 |
|
|
 |
| Iwan
Djanali is the recipient of a Hartford Area Business Economists
scholarship. |
|
| Posted 05.01.08 |
Economists Award Junior for Economics Research
|
Iwan Djanali '09 says by studying economics,
he's not only gained a firm understanding of the market, but also an
understanding of people’s behavior.
"Some of the best conversations I have had with professors and fellow
economics students and friend, revolve around the world of economics; from
crime to credit crunch, from pollution to public policy, from mini markets
to money markets, I am always ready to offer my opinions as an economics
student just about everything in life," says Djanali, who is majoring in
economics and mathematics.
As a recent recipient of a Hartford Area Business Economists (HABE)
scholarship, Djanali will continue studying economics in 2008–09 at
Wesleyan. After graduation, he plans to work at an investment bank before
pursuing a Ph.D in finance or business economics.
Hartford Area Business Economists scholarships are available to students
enrolled in a Connecticut institution of higher education – private or
public – majoring in economics or a related field. Djanali was awarded the
scholarship for his academic achievement, letter of recommendation, and
application essay, which emphasized potential contributions to the fields of
business and economics. He received $500 and an honorary membership to the society.
Assistant Professor of Economics Abigail Hornstein wrote Djanali’s letter of
recommendation. Djanali was a student in her quantitative methods, corporate
finance and econometrics courses and worked as a course assistant in her
quantitative methods and corporate finance classes.
“Iwan is a consistently strong student whom I have seen do very well with
different types of economic material,” Hornstein says. “He has a strong
interest in corporate finance and is now writing his second research paper
for me on different financial topics.”
His first paper was published in the April 2008 edition of the psychology
journal, Mind Matters.
“The paper was on experimental economics, which is a relatively young field
that combines economics and psychology,” says Djanali. “The experiment
conducted for the paper had a similar methodology as most psychology
experiments, but the topic and certainly the analysis of the data were
mostly based on economic theories.”
His article, titled "Awareness of deductions and their re–allocations,"
arose from a personal desire to question or debunk previously–accepted
results and theories. Using a uniquely designed experiment, Djanali was able
to question the legitimacy of two popular papers in experimental economics
and bring their results closer to the reality of current tax systems, where
the element of “awareness of deductions” is introduced.
Djanali’s courses on methods in economics, microeconomics analysis,
investment finance, corporate finance, managerial control, experimental
economic, econometrics prepared him for international internship
opportunities.
Last summer, he worked at Bear Stearns in New York and was appointed leader
of a research team to create one of the world’s first actively–managed
Exchange–Traded Funds (ETFs).
“Despite my initial lack of knowledge about ETFs, I felt confident in
applying the analytical skills I gained in my economics classes to
understand thoroughly this noteworthy asset class,” he says. “While the
product is currently still under development, I am glad that I have made my
contribution, however small, to the financial markets by providing more
financial tools for investors with varying risk–return and liquidity
preferences.”
During the Fall 2007 semester, Djanali interned at a small consulting firm
in Paris, France, where he conducted research on companies, industries, and
the general market, and prepared pitch materials in both English and French.
This summer, Djanali will intern at Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong.
“The study of economics has indeed made me grow as a person,” he says. “I
have truly enjoyed the benefits of being a student of economics. I have
become much more aware and had a better understanding of my surrounding.” |
|
By Olivia Bartlett, The Wesleyan Connection
editor |
|
|
 |
|
|
