My interest in economics started in junior college and my fascination with economics grew while at Yale-NUS. Some of my favourite courses were Behavioural Economics, Investment Analysis, and Bubbles, Crashes, Panics and Crises. I am extremely interested in the behavioural aspect of economics that mathematical models fail to capture, because it portrays a more accurate representation of how humans think and act, and impacts every aspect of our lives from financial planning to choosing our career paths.

My name is Michael Kuzminski and I am from Melbourne, Australia. I see economics as a field that helps one understand the relationship between public investments, sustainable development initiatives, and capital markets. I believe that corporations have an exciting opportunity to generate profitability while improving their social and environmental footprint. Through my profession, I would like to utilise the power of financial markets to enable corporations to achieve just that. I enjoy studying economic history and corporate finance.

Working in financial markets, I see first-hand how macroeconomic forces impact individuals on the ground, and hence how an understanding of economic concepts and econometric methodologies is highly relevant for industry. I am grateful that the experience of pursuing Economics at Yale-NUS has equipped me with not only the technical skills, but also an inquisitive mindset to ask hard questions and make meaningful contributions along the career path of my choice.

I chose Economics mainly because I realised finance was but a miniscule part of it (and people had equated the two my whole life). The chance to understand how humans decide, how our societies flourish or fail, as well as being able to ponder deeper questions about the “right” level of inequality: these ideas drew me into economics, and I was not disappointed by Yale-NUS’s curriculum surrounding it. I am currently working in the Singapore public sector, and I hope to venture into policymaking or academia at some point!

One of the highlights of my time at Yale-NUS was being in Milan and being able to travel across Europe on my own. The confidence boost it gave me to survive as an adult was probably irreplaceable. My courses at Bocconi were also unique and difficult to find at Yale-NUS, especially because they were able to look at business problems through an economics lens. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity, and I would highly recommend this choice for any economics major.

The intellectually rigorous approach in the Economics department at Yale-NUS has prepared me well for my experiences during internships and study abroad. Already after the first econometrics class, I was able to apply the methods I had learned in an internship with Allianz Global Investors to identify investment opportunities. The more topical classes formed the basis for my second internship at the insurance company Munich Re where I built macroeconomic models. During my semester abroad at Yale, I supplemented the wide range of topics I had already covered in Singapore with data science classes. I have since enrolled in an Economics Master’s programme at University College London and hope to continue doing economic research in the future.

Hello, my name is Ariyka and I am from the Class of 2020! I chose to major in Economics because I really enjoyed maths in high school and so when it came to deciding a major, studying Economics and applying mathematical concepts was more appealing than studying pure maths on its own. Retrospectively, I realise that Economics is quite broad because it intersects with many other disciplines, and it provides a good foundation or lens to view the world quantitatively and qualitatively. After graduation I joined the Finance team at Apple in Singapore.

What I like most about the Economics major at Yale-NUS is that the major community is close-knit, it is easy to get in touch with professors, and the faculty pushes students to engage with the content in different ways. Additionally, student input is incorporated into the design of the major and valued when tweaking existing courses and introducing new ones. Some of my favourite courses were Game Theory, Development Economics, and Topics in Applied Econometrics. There is always something for everyone in the Economics major!

I am a former Literature kid with a degree in Economics working as Software Engineer. Of the three, economics was the only one I did not stumble into. Which I guess makes it one of the best choices I have ever made. The invisible hand adds a bit of colour to the world– if only in passing. My semester abroad was much the same. With this side of the world having so much to offer, it is easy to forget that there is so much more to explore and learn from. Going overseas was as good of a reminder as one could hope for.

Hi! I am Puvan, from Singapore. At Yale-NUS, my interests were in Behavioural Economics and understanding the science of decision-making as well as exploring the use of technology in financial markets. After graduation I was a rates broker before embarking on a career as a software engineer where I am currently exploring blockchain technology.

Hi, my name is Luke and I am a Founding Member and the Regional Head of Acquisitions at Una Brands. We are in the business of buying and building e-commerce brands. I chose Economics as a major because I was very interested in the subject since junior college. I enjoyed having a “rational and quantitative” framework to understand the world and human behaviour, and yet being reminded that human beings are oftentimes irrational.

My name is Alex Pont and I am from Barcelona, Spain! I am fascinated by the intersection of complex socioeconomic problems and business solutions, and economics provides the perfect framework to address these. I am also passionate about how technology has transformed the way almost every market functions–from algorithmic trading in finance to ride-sharing in transportation. At Yale-NUS, my interests were in Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Industrial Organization and the Digital Economy. After graduating from Yale-NUS, I joined Oliver Wyman as a consultant.

Hello, my name is Erika Terrones-Shibuya! I am a Spanish and Japanese citizen. I grew up in England, Japan, France and lived in Singapore for five years before starting at Yale-NUS College. At Yale-NUS, my interests were in international and development economics, and international relations. After graduation, I joined Credit Suisse as a Global Markets Analyst. Being in Global Markets exposed to many different industries every day, and the interdisciplinary curriculum of Yale-NUS, as well as the experience of being part of the very diverse inaugural cohort, helped shape my opinions and views to help me succeed in my role.