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Their session, entitled "Topics in Human Capital and Economic Growth," was organized and chaired by Dr. Anna Shostya and was well attended and received. The students, all economics majors at the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, tackled several economic issues both while preparing for their own presentations and attending other professional sessions.
“Going to this conference made me understand econometric techniques and the research process," said Natalie Reff, a senior, who presented her paper on economic returns to studying a foreign language in high school. "It was very different from a regular classroom experience. I was able to understand much better my own study and research in terms of what I was doing and why I was doing it.”
Yulia Palianok, who presented her paper on future earnings of economics majors as compared to those in other majors, felt the same way. “Attending other sessions allowed me to see how scholars from all over the world interact with one another," she said. "It made me realize how important it is for researchers to share their research and to give their feedback on the topics that are perhaps outside of their immediate expertise.”
Elizabeth Donor, a senior who presented her paper on the causes and implications of the savings gap in the U.S., was fascinated by the fact that her paper “generated questions from accomplished scholars.”
As Perri Colburn said after presenting her paper on the role of geopolitics in the economic growth of Poland and Ukraine, “Immersing in the culture of scholarly research was a great experience. I learned professional terminology and I was able to speak the language of professional economists.”
The students were coached by Pace Professors Dr. Anna Shostya and Dr. Greg Colman, who stress the importance for undergraduate students to have a real life exposure to professional experience.
