During The Econ Games collegiate competition, students analyzed data provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and created economic policy recommendations.
Ten Elon students evaluated the impact of the coronavirus on segments of the U.S economy for the 2021 Econ Games, a competition hosted by the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University.
More than 250 students participated virtually, representing 18 universities from North America and the United Kingdom.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland served as the data collaborator, providing a dataset for analysis and judging the final presentations, which included teams鈥 recommendations for economic policy.
Three teams from Elon participated:
- Sarah Katherine Loos 鈥21, Sarah Mirrow 鈥24, Morgan Rafferty 鈥21, Andrea Sheetz 鈥22
- Christopher Boyette 鈥23, Jovani Mendez-Sandoval 鈥22, Corbin Skaff 鈥23
- Petra Castedo 鈥21, Kevin Murphy 鈥22, Peyton Pesavento 鈥23
The presentation by Boyette, Mendez-Sandoval and Skaff was selected as Elon鈥檚 submission for judging.
鈥淭he Econ Games of 2021 gave me a deep understanding of how the economy, small businesses and minority communities were affected by the pandemic,鈥 Mendez-Sandoval said. 鈥淭he Econ Games was an amazing opportunity to gain practical skills like cleaning data, running statistical analysis, and pitching our presentation to economists. I was fortunate to work with two committed members, where we suggested more assistance to small businesses and employees from poorer communities.鈥
Assistant Professors of Economics Brandon Sheridan and Brooks Depro mentored the students.
鈥淭eams worked collaboratively to both identify an issue using a rich dataset around consumer and business behavior during the pandemic and offer a policy recommendation to help improve the economy,鈥 Sheridan said. 鈥淎lthough it is called The ‘Econ’ Games, the skills learned are much more broadly applicable. We look forward to competing again next year!”