A Conversation With Dr. Austin Boyle

University Park, PennsylvaniaNovember 6, 2017Interviewed by Akram KhanThe Optimal Bundle and PSUEA would like to thank Akram Khan and especially Professor Boyle for his advice to students exploring or undergoing an academic career in economics.________

Dr. Austin Boyle is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics at the Pennsylvania State University - University Park.

Complementing his professional life, Dr. Boyle is an avid runner who has participated in multiple marathons, including a 50-mile ultra-marathon in town. He adopted a dog from Puerto Rico and is fluent in Spanish.

As an undergraduate, Boyle was tracking majors in chemistry and economics at Florida Atlantic University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in economics, with just one class short of earning a major in Chemistry. While listening to career discussions by chemists and economists in their respective research interests, Boyle decided to pursue economics and went on to graduate school to earn a doctorate from Florida State University.

If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would that be?I only missed 2 classes in all of undergrad. I would miss a third one if I could to attend a lecture that James Watson* gave in 2005 at Florida Atlantic University. There are other things outside of classes that are so important to the college experience and while I was involved with a lot of clubs, I would say that whenever you have an opportunity to listen to a pioneer, you should take advantage of it – even if it’s not a requirement for your class or your major.James Watson is an American molecular biologist, who co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953

What advice would you give to students interested in pursuing Economics at the graduate level?The best advice I got going was not to memorize anything but to learn the underlying concept, rather to derive the solution through intuitive logic and thorough understating of the concepts. It may take longer on some instances but when encountering a new problem, you know you’ll get it right. And you hardly face the same classroom problem in real life. I always tell my students to not memorize that indifference curves are shaped convex to the origin but to learn why they have that shape.

What do you like the most about being a professor?Best part of the job is interacting with students who are full of energy and new ideas.At Penn State, there are so many students with very diverse backgrounds who bring a lot to any discussion. One time, we were having a discussion on sweatshops in class and there was a guy whose family worked in a sweatshop in El Salvador. Another time we were talking about hunting elephants in Africa and we had a Tanzanian student who talked about her experience with that. It’s really cool when students share their experience like that with the class and I know it’s tough especially since I teach such large classes. That’s the part I enjoy the most – I never know when someone will have a really great in-depth contribution to the class.

In your view, what is the most significant mistake students make in college? How can they correct it?On average, students not prioritizing their studies. They don’t use effective study strategy and hence spend more time studying while learning less than they could.Students should use effective study strategies like reading before you go to class so when you hear the lecture, it’s not brand new material. And before reading a chapter, ask yourself what you can learn from this lecture. That way you’ll actually retain more information.  After class take what notes you have from class and put them in your own words and relate it to your life – make it personal.

What is your most memorable moment at Penn State?When Leeland* was born, someone was covering class for me and I came in to finish the class and everybody applauded. That was nice.Leeland is Dr. Boyle’s second son. He is 10 months old at the time of this interview

Which professor do you most admire at Penn State and why?Bill Goffe*, because he’s always trying to gather evidence to help his students learn better and accordingly change how he teaches in the classroom.*William (Bill) Goffe is an Associate Teaching Professor of Economics at Penn State. He can be contacted at wlg13@psu.edu

For doctoral programmes, is it better to look at a good & reputed school, or a good & reputed professor you wish to work under?For PhD programmes, if you have a good & reputed professor you wish to work under, that takes precedence. Willing to take you under their wing and provide guidance, that’s more important. I went to Florida State, an institution that isn’t known for its overall economics department but it has a really good ‘Experimental Economics’ department and ‘Urban & Regional Economics’ department. If you are planning on being a specialist in an area, it’ll help to have that pedigree from that particular professor who’s an expert in the said field.

What books would you recommend students in order to develop an interest in economics?‘Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’ and ‘Nudge by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein’ would be a good place to start.

What skills should students develop in order to succeed in the world after graduating from Penn State?Transfer – The ability to transfer what you learned in one situation and apply it in a new situation. You are rarely going to be provided with a same problem environment you had in class or an internship. You need to take the tools you have learned and figure our novel ways to combine them to solve new problems.

Thank you so much for your time Dr. Boyle.Pleasure talking to you, Akram.__________

Dr. Austin Boyle is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of the Pennsylvania State Univeristy. He holds a Doctorate in Economics from Florida State University in Tallahassee and a Baccalaureate degree in Economics with minors in Chemistry and Spanish from the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University. 

Akram Khan is a senior pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics, Applied Statistics, and Mathematics from the Pennsylvania State University.

The Optimal Bundle editorial team has made minor adjustments to the original transcript of this interview.

___________ 

Featured Image: Fog settles along Pattee Mall at the Pennsylvania State University.

Photo Credit: Tina Hay

Meet the Candidates

Thomas Jefferson once proclaimed that "the cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate." In keeping with that ideal, the Print Education Committee solicited campaign platforms from each Executive Board candidate, and we've published them here to help you make an informed decision during the election on March 21st.Submitting responses to our questionnaire was voluntary for candidates to complete, and platforms have not been edited or altered. We asked the following three questions:

• What's your campaign platform and why are you qualified to hold office?
  • Open-ended response
• With which economic school do you align?
  • Keynesianism
  • Classical
  • Chicago
  • Marxism
  • Other
• If you had the labor and capital to produce any of the following, which would you put on the market?
  • Lightsabers
  • Domesticated dinosaurs
  • DeLorean time travel machine
  • Other

PresidentMercedes Marquez

• What's your campaign platform and why are you qualified to hold office?

Hello, I am a junior pursuing a dual degree in Management Information Systems and Economics as well as a minor in Information Sciences and Technology. I have been actively involved in the Penn State University Economics Association since the first month of my freshman year. I held various positions within the club (Fundraising/ Philanthropy Associate, Fundraising Coordinator, Social Education Associate), attended the two most recent Washington, D.C. trips, and participated in numerous other PSUEA functions. This year, I am running for two positions within the association: President and Vice President of Education.

PSUEA has been one of the most important entities in shaping my collegiate experience. Serving as president would be not only an honor, but also a means in which I can ensure that future members will have an experience equally as beneficial and impactful as my experience has been. If I were to become president, my top priorities would be recruitment and retention. I believe that as a club, we offer tremendous resources to students — such as study sessions, professional development events, access to research/intern/employment opportunities, community involvement, creative education enhancement, and social engagement. These resources are extremely appealing to a wide range of college students. If the organization is able to engage a larger group of students, PSUEA will attain significant improvements in event attendance and collaborative accomplishments. Member retention is a challenge that student organizations often face and is best prevented by encouraging active engagement. Providing incentives and explaining the benefits of repeated participation will promote prospective members to become more active within the club and stay active for a longer period of time. If elected, I will be sure to focus on providing resources and promoting events that are important and interesting to the organization’s members.

I am also running for Vice President of Education. The education committee provides a wide variety of benefits to the club, including interesting and relevant economic presentations, publications filled with information pertaining to current events, and economic research insights. I am very interested in executing one of the most crucial tasks assigned to PSUEA — supplementing members’ economic education in a productive fashion. I have several ideas for furthering the education committee’s objectives. First, I believe that study sessions are a valuable resource and we can expand upon our current program by adding more “quick courses” that may be helpful to students. The subject of these courses may include, but are not limited to: programming, STATA, research methods, and professional development. Second, I would like to promote study sessions among specific courses by grouping students in similar courses together, outlining due dates and course objectives, and coordinating study rooms before homework assignments and exams. Third, I would advocate for more research opportunities for undergraduates, as I believe these experiences provide valuable tools to members that will prove useful in their academic and professional careers.

I am very passionate about the Economics Association, as the organization has made a significant impression on my collegiate career. Regardless of my position, I will strive to create a positive and lasting impact on the organization and its members. Thank you all for your consideration.

• With which economic school do you align?

Keynesianism

• If you had the labor and capital to produce any of the following, which would you put on the market?

Time-Turner (a timepiece used for time travel, see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Oga Batyeruult

• No platform submitted

Vice President of EducationVictoria Phelps

• What's your campaign platform and why are you qualified to hold office?

This past year I served as a Business Education Associate. Through this experience I was able to learn more about EA and what the education committee does. I knew immediately that I want to serve on an education committee because I think it plays an integral role in what the PSUEA's mission stands for. The EA serves as a group that encourages to take learning outside of the classroom. The Education committee accomplishes this goal. My platform is to continuing doing what we excel at while trying to improve in areas we lack. I think overall the presentations that both business ed and social ed do are fantastic and is a true testament to the individuals who lead and work on those committees. Similarly  The Optimal Bundle does a great job of putting out interesting articles that are extremely informative. I do however think we can improve and expand the Education Committee. I think it would be beneficial to run more simulations that are thought provoking and engaging. I would like to also establish an Economics Book List that would allow any member to suggest readings that are interesting and about economics. Lastly I think we need to be more clear that anyone can write for The Optimal Bundle and encourage new members to take part even though they may not be an associate for the Education Committee.

• With which economic school do you align?

Chicago

• If you had the labor and capital to produce any of the following, which would you put on the market?

Teleportation devices

Mercedes Marquez

• What's your campaign platform and why are you qualified to hold office?

Hello, I am a junior pursuing a dual degree in Management Information Systems and Economics as well as a minor in Information Sciences and Technology. I have been actively involved in the Penn State University Economics Association since the first month of my freshman year. I held various positions within the club (Fundraising/ Philanthropy Associate, Fundraising Coordinator, Social Education Associate), attended the two most recent Washington, D.C. trips, and participated in numerous other PSUEA functions. This year, I am running for two positions within the association: President and Vice President of Education.

PSUEA has been one of the most important entities in shaping my collegiate experience. Serving as president would be not only an honor, but also a means in which I can ensure that future members will have an experience equally as beneficial and impactful as my experience has been. If I were to become president, my top priorities would be recruitment and retention. I believe that as a club, we offer tremendous resources to students — such as study sessions, professional development events, access to research/intern/employment opportunities, community involvement, creative education enhancement, and social engagement. These resources are extremely appealing to a wide range of college students. If the organization is able to engage a larger group of students, PSUEA will attain significant improvements in event attendance and collaborative accomplishments. Member retention is a challenge that student organizations often face and is best prevented by encouraging active engagement. Providing incentives and explaining the benefits of repeated participation will promote prospective members to become more active within the club and stay active for a longer period of time. If elected, I will be sure to focus on providing resources and promoting events that are important and interesting to the organization’s members.

I am also running for Vice President of Education. The education committee provides a wide variety of benefits to the club, including interesting and relevant economic presentations, publications filled with information pertaining to current events, and economic research insights. I am very interested in executing one of the most crucial tasks assigned to PSUEA — supplementing members’ economic education in a productive fashion. I have several ideas for furthering the education committee’s objectives. First, I believe that study sessions are a valuable resource and we can expand upon our current program by adding more “quick courses” that may be helpful to students. The subject of these courses may include, but are not limited to: programming, STATA, research methods, and professional development. Second, I would like to promote study sessions among specific courses by grouping students in similar courses together, outlining due dates and course objectives, and coordinating study rooms before homework assignments and exams. Third, I would advocate for more research opportunities for undergraduates, as I believe these experiences provide valuable tools to members that will prove useful in their academic and professional careers.

I am very passionate about the Economics Association, as the organization has made a significant impression on my collegiate career. Regardless of my position, I will strive to create a positive and lasting impact on the organization and its members. Thank you all for your consideration.

• With which economic school do you align?

Keynesianism

• If you had the labor and capital to produce any of the following, which would you put on the market?

Time-Turner (a timepiece used for time travel, see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

Vice President of CommunicationsCourtney Hummel

• What's your campaign platform and why are you qualified to hold office?

My name is Courtney Hummel and I currently serve as the Alumni Relations Coordinator. Getting involved with the Penn State Economics Association has been one of the best decisions that I have made throughout my college career. Outside of EA, I serve as the Executive Director of Governmental Affairs of the University Park Undergraduate Association and the Fundraising Chair of Phi Alpha Delta, Pre-Law Fraternity.

Throughout my involvement in the Association, I have made incredible friends, mentors, and connections with companies and alumni. I am seeking the office of Vice President of Communications because I am dedicated to bettering student life at Penn State. I am passionate about allowing students to grow both academically and professionally outside of the classroom, and my past involvement has prepared me for this position.

My platform focuses on three areas: Transparency, Visibility, and Involvement.

Transparency:

- Upload the Association Constitution on website

- Distribute an end of semester financial disclosure statement to dues paying    members

- Expedite the Associate application and interview process

- Create an environment that promotes positive progress and accountability among the Executive Board, Coordinators, and Associates

Visibility:

- Increase outreach to students on campus to increase membership

- Secure corporate sponsors for the Association

- Hold a monthly "EA Speaker Series" with companies and organizations

- Continue EA Exclusive Information Sessions with companies

Involvement:

- Implement explicit benefits for dues paying members

- Improve retention rate

- Plan more events outside of General Body Meetings that allow members to get to know one another

- Create an online form for suggestions for overall Association improvement

I would be honored to serve as your next VP of Communications. Thank you for your consideration.

-Courtney Hummel

• With which economic school do you align?

Supply-Side

• If you had the labor and capital to produce any of the following, which would you put on the market?

Lightsabers

Vice President of MarketingJohn Bernstein

• What's your campaign platform and why are you qualified to hold office?

I've worked my way up in the EA, starting as an A/V Associate, proceeding to A/V Coordinator, and now, hopefully, reaching the role as VP of Marketing. My principal goal in running for this position is to make a greater impact on the organization by helping to develop this relatively new role in the EA.

I've been interested in brand promotion for some time now, as I've been exposed to design from an early age. I've taken courses in graphic, photographic, and hand-drawn design and I feel that I have a good grasp of the fundamentals of using these media to propel a brand forward. As A/V Coordinator this semester, I've undertaken the task of editing the video content generated by our Education presentations as well as guiding the recording of other EA events. This experience, paired with my participation in the greater Marketing Committee, has made me more familiar with the inner-workings of the Committee - experience that only a few others have.

I chose to become involved with the EA because of the people the organization seems to attract. We all seem to share similar values and attitudes, and I've yet to find another group of people who balance fun and professionalism so well. Through my involvement, I have the opportunity to help to promote this environment and ensure that the organization's longevity is assured for future students to enjoy.

• With which economic school do you align?

Keynesianism

• If you had the labor and capital to produce any of the following, which would you put on the market?

Bacta tanks - they would provide much more utility to the galaxy than lightsabers ever could (plus real Jedi are principally a force-using organization - the movies are a dramatic interpretation because force powers are more expensive to churn out of CGI!!!)

Vice President of Finance

• No candidates; nominations for this position will be reopened at a future meeting

The Donald vs. Economics

By Peter Scharf“Last quarter it was just announced our Gross Domestic Product, a sign of strength, right?  But not for us, it was below 0.  Who ever heard of this?  It’s never below zero.”While I try to make my writing as non-partisan as possible and eliminate all trace of bias, this piece will not follow these rules.  Currently a completely unqualified authoritarian occupies the highest office in the land.  He spent his whole campaign feeding nativist fears and making up statistics, or spewing “alternative facts” to dupe enough people into putting him into office.  This piece will attempt to demonstrate that Donald Trump’s economic ideas are disastrous and downright idiotic.  Just one week before the election more than 300 academic economists, including 8 Nobel Prize Winners, signed an open letter urging the American public not to vote for Donald Trump. It listed 13 charges against the then Republican nominee and finished with: “Donald Trump is a dangerous, destructive choice for the country. He misinforms the electorate, degrades trust in public institutions with conspiracy theories, and promotes willful delusion over engagement with reality. If elected, he poses a unique danger to the functioning of democratic and economic institutions, and to the prosperity of the country. For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you do not vote for Donald Trump.”On election day more than 60 million Americans either did not see the open letter or disagreed with the economists and elected Trump anyway.  The point of this piece will be to demonstrate that Donald Trump’s economic thinking is approaching conspiracy theory levels of ridiculous.  Having the Donald as president is concerning because he either: a. thoroughly believes that all these ridiculous protectionist policies will work or b. he knows they are terrible and is purposefully lying to his voters.  This piece can be considered a modern day “list of economic grievances.”  This is an incomplete list.Phony Numbers or Phony Accusations?The Donald has attacked some of the most sacred and trusted institutions in economics.  Notoriously he has been critical of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The narcissist-in-chief has called the unemployment rate “a phony number to make the politicians look good.”  The then candidate Trump claimed that “When you hear 4.9 and five-per-cent unemployment, the number’s probably twenty-eight, twenty-nine, as high as thirty-five in fact, I even heard recently forty-two per cent.” When the labor market was sitting at full employment and not matching up with Trump’s core message of doom and gloom he charged that “The five-per-cent figure is one of the biggest hoaxes in American modern politics.”  Donald Trump either needs to devise a more rigorous economic model for unemployment (it cannot determine whether the unemployment rate is in the 20 or 40 percent range) or he needs to stop pulling scary numbers out of Kellaynne Conway’s “handbag”.Trump’s baseless claims against the Bureau of Labor Statistics are beyond laughable idiocy.  Unfortunately, because of his position of power he degrades a decades old labor market research institution.  The United States’ unemployment rate is arguable the most important statistic in economics.  It is a signal that we get about the world’s largest economy.  It is not some far removed sum that is irrelevant to the working man, but a percentage that cues to the status of the American worker.  This figure is mined like a precious jewel, teams of economists, statisticians and general math nerds conduct a random survey of over 60,000 households asking almost everything besides the household’s name.  After collection and dissemination of the data the final estimate is kept under close guard until its release on the First Friday of each month at 8:30am to the waiting journalists, economists, and political advisers. Trump’s fabrication of illegitimacy behind this result is an insult to the whole process and all workers of the BLS.  It undermines trust in this invaluable institution.The Bureau of Labor Statistics was not the only agency to have its legitimacy questioned by the president.  The monument to the might of the U.S. Dollar, The Federal Reserve and its Chairwomen, have suffered unfounded accusations of “doing political things.” In many cases, both historically and in the present day, central banks have fallen under political pressure and terrorized the monetary system of their respective countries.  Owing to its independence, the Federal Reserve has never fallen under such unfortunate circumstances.  Although chairs are appointed by Congress and the President, once in power they are free to do as they wish.  To preserve independence, presidents never criticize the Federal Reserve.  Of course, the Donald has the toddler-like desire to be the first for everything and attempted to delegitimize the backbone of the U.S. financial industry.  Thankfully investors agreed with Chairwomen Yellen when she had to clarify “Partisan politics plays no role in our decisions”.Unfortunately, Trump is going to have some control in monetary policy decisions.  First, he will have the opportunity to appoint a new Federal Reserve Chair with Janet Yellen’s term ending in 2018.  Second, he and his Republican majority are debating passing an “audit the fed” bill.  Third, with the resignation of Daniel Tarullo Trump will have yet another position to fill with someone totally unqualified.  Any of those actions could led to more distrust with the Fed than any of his accusations have.Trade Deficit or Mental Defecit?The Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman has said “If there were an Economist's Creed, it would surely contain the affirmations "I understand the Principle of Comparative Advantage" and "I advocate Free Trade."  Former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Greg Mankiw polled economists and found that 93% of them agree that “Tariffs and import quotas usually reduce general economic welfare.” Once again Trump wholly disagrees with the intellectual community and has his own ideas on complex issues.  Donald is likely the most anti-free trade president to hold office.  He has supported insane ideas like a 20% import tax and accused Mexico of somehow taking advantage of the United States because of a VAT.  He has threatened a trade war with China and a withdrawal from The World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and has successfully shut down the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership. NAFTA has been one of Trump’s biggest targets.  This over 20 years old free trade agreement establishes the largest free trade bloc in the world.  The president has railed against the agreement calling it “the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere” and defective.  He has blamed NAFTA for decline in United States manufacturing and argues that the agreement allows Mexico to benefit at our expense.  The evidence points to the contrary.  While Mexico has in fact benefitted from the trade agreement, trade is not a zero-sum game.  All three countries involved have benefitted greatly from the deal.  While some workers have been displaced, the new jobs created by trade greatly outweigh the costs.  It is estimated that 6 million jobs were created and depend on the trade bloc.  Ending it would not only result in higher prices for consumers but also possible action by the World Trade Organization.  Trump’s position of power unfortunately grants him the ability to effect U.S. trade.  Under article 2205 Trump’s administration could withdrawal from the agreement as long as they gave the member nations 6 months notice.  What would unfold would be unprecedented in the modern era.  The Donald has already used his presidential position to restrict trade.  One of his first actions upon entering office was scrapping the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership or TTP.  With the United States being the world’s largest income, withdrawals not only hurt the U.S. economy but could also influence other countries to leave their trade organizations, such as the European Union.Fiscal Delusions.The United States government is currently running a $500 billion fiscal deficit.  While appealing to fiscal conservatives during his campaign, Trumps tax plan is a paragon of fiscal irresponsibility.  The Tax Foundation, a conservative D.C. based think tank, estimates that Trump’s tax plan will reduce federal revenues by $4.4 trillion to $5.9 trillion over a 10 year period.  Surprisingly, this is an improvement upon an earlier tax plan which was going to decrease revenue by as much as $12.3 trillion.  Trump gives even further evidence that he is an inter-dimensional being living mainly in an alternative reality by saying, despite all the tax cuts, he plans to pay off the entire nearly $20 trillion national debt in just 8 years.  When asked how he plans to accomplish this, which would require setting aside at least 2 trillion every year to pay debt holders, Trump said “ I could do it fairly quickly, because of the fact the numbers”.  He plans to not include a single tax increase and believes the $2 trillion can be made up solely on renegotiating trade deals.   To such an idea everyone, from academic economists to the guy who only skips Econ 104 on Fridays, says WRONG!If one were looking to build a blueprint or design for a monument to human ignorance Trump’s proposed border wall would be a good start.  While still in the conceptual process, the wall is estimated to cost around $750 million dollars on an extremely conservative estimate and will continue to cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year to guard and maintain.  This proposed wall will face various physical challenges such as a reservoir that is nearly 4 miles across, mountains, and the basic challenge of keeping the wall far enough away from the Rio Grande River to avoid flood but not too far that it puts U.S. homes on the wrong side.  The wall would also be one of the largest, if not the largest, use of eminent domain in U.S. history.  As a GAO report stated: “federal and tribal lands make up 632 miles, or approximately 33 percent, of the nearly 2,000 total border miles. Private and state-owned lands constitute the remaining 67 percent of the border, most of which is located in Texas”(p.5).    With the wall, the hallmark of Donald Trump’s campaign, being so costly, we must ask, is it worth it?  While the president may paint a picture of an economy and society ravaged by waves of Mexican “illegals”, net immigration on our southern border has been negative for many years.  On top of that, around 45% of the current undocumented population came here legally, through border checkpoints or at airports, and simply overstayed their visa.  Also, the largest increase in undocumented immigrants have been from Asia, particularly China and India, and a wall will obviously not halt this flow.  Although the wall will do little to prevent undocumented immigration, is that even a proper objective?  I have written on the Optimal Bundle blog before that immigration, whether legal or illegal, is at worse a small positive for U.S. workers.  All that I truly believe the wall will accomplish is two horrible results. First, send an awful signal to our southern neighbor that their people are not wanted.  Second, feed the hungry racists who wanted a concrete wall to prevent their neighbors from being non-white or speaking another language.We have truly entered the post-truth era.  Evidence based policy has been replaced by alternative facts, and the hateful feelings of nativism decide government action.  Our current president was elected, despite his constant lies.  His economic naivety is only a small fraction of his profound ignorance to reality.  Honestly, nothing saddens me more than to see years of economic research put aside in favor of a loud talker.  Hopefully, after this step back we can take 5 more forward.  This election, like nothing else, has demonstrated the economic ignorance of vast numbers of the electorate.  As students of economics we are given one duty, educate our peers.    

Collegian Op-Ed: Why Students Should Care About Economics

Use this URL to read the column from the April 10, 2015 edition of the Daily Collegian: http://www.collegian.psu.edu/opinion/columnists/article_b603f4e8-df11-11e4-b72f-0bfdb427b0e6.html

Optimal Bundle Special Report on the Oil Supply Glut

The Optimal Bundle is a student publication run by the Penn State Economics Association’s Print Education Subcommittee. It centers on a single economic topic covered in-depth from multiple perspectives.This edition of the Optimal Bundle features the Oil Supply Glut, as Brent Crude index- a major benchmark of global oil prices- has fallen more than $50 per barrel since June 2014.This is an online version of the print edition of the Optimal Bundle.

Launch Optimal Bundle