IAP 2016 Activities by Category - Economics and Finance

John Kiehl

Jan/25	Mon	10:00AM-01:00PM	26-328
Jan/26	Tue	10:00AM-01:00PM	26-328
Jan/27	Wed	10:00AM-01:00PM	26-328
Jan/28	Thu	10:00AM-01:00PM	26-328
Jan/29	Fri	10:00AM-01:00PM	26-328

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: None

All fields of human endeavor include considerations of mathematical scaling, either to solve or understand the nature of problems. During each meeting of this series we will have a presentation from an expert in a field. We will then break into small groups to approach the topics discussed through the perspective of mathematical scaling. 

Guest facilitators include: Don Beck (expert in large-scale social systems), Prof. Richard Muller (author of “Physics for Future Presidents”), Peter Burgess (inventor of “TrueValue Metrics”), Diana Senechal (educator, author of “Republic of Noise”)

Contact: John Kiehl, n/a, 917-886-0749, jckiehl2@gmail.com

Mark Porter '05, Certified Financial Planner

Jan/25

Mon

12:00PM-01:00PM

32-124

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

Becoming a parent is a joyous and life altering event. It can also have a serious impact on your finances. How can you best protect your children? How can you best plan for their future? Come learn the essentials from Mark Porter '05, certified financial planner, and Brian Mahoney, Esq. on topics such as:

• Wills
• Emergency and Permanent Guardianship Provisions
• Trusts
• Education Savings Options
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance


The seminar itself will last 60 minutes and then Brian and Mark will be available for questions.

Register today!

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98-206C, 617 252-1143, EBYRNE@MIT.EDU

Brian Mahoney, Esq., Mark Porter '05, Certified Financial Planner

Jan/20

Wed

04:00PM-05:00PM

32-144

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

10 Things Every Parent Should Know: Protecting and Planning for your Children

Becoming a parent is a joyous and life altering event. It can also have a serious impact on your finances. How can you best protect your children? How can you best plan for their future? Come learn the essentials from Mark Porter '05, certified financial planner, and Brian Mahoney, Esq. on topics such as:

• Wills
• Emergency and Permanent Guardianship Provisions
• Trusts
• Education Savings Options
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance


The seminar itself will last 60 minutes and then Brian and Mark will be available for questions.

Register today!

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98, 617-252-1143, ebyrne@mit.edu

Alp Simsek, Rudi Dornbusch Career Development Assoc. Prof. of Economics

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: Calculus (18.01) and introductory macroeconomics (14.02)

Schedule: 8 Lectures in January 2016 on 1/19, 1/20, 1/21, 1/22, 1/25, 1/26, 1/27, and 1/28. The lectures will take place in E51-057 between 10:30am-12pm.

Limited to 46 participants.

Prerequisites: Calculus (18.01) and introductory macroeconomics (14.02). Please check with Professor Simsek if you do not meet all of the prerequisites but if you are still interested in taking the course.

This mini-course introduces you to economic theories of financial crises. We will focus on amplification mechanisms that exacerbate crises, such as leverage, fire sales, bank runs, liquidity shortages, information frictions, cross-exposures and complexity. We will also discuss phenomena that trigger crises, such as asset price bubbles, as well as the different perspectives on the origins of crises, such as mistaken beliefs and moral hazard. Throughout, we will draw upon examples from financial crises around the world, especially the recent subprime crisis in the US. Our objective is to gain a deeper understanding of these events by using economic theory as well as empirical evidence.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Anne McCants, Professor of History

Jan/14

Thu

01:00PM-02:30PM

Museum of Fine Arts, Must bring MIT ID for free admission

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/07
Limited to 15 participants

If you love the art of the 17th century Dutch 'golden age' come join MIT Historian Anne McCants for a guided tour of Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer.  This special exhibit (which closes on January 18th and can be previewed here: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/class-distinctions) has been called 'a visual banquet' by the Boston Globe.  Professor McCants will add to the pictorial feast her expertise on the economy and society of the Dutch Republic, putting the paintings and other material artifacts -- which in this exhibit have been arranged by social class -- into their full historical context.  Meet at 1:00 inside MFA's Huntington Ave. Entrance.  Students with MIT ID get in museum for free. 

Sponsor(s): History
Contact: Anne McCants, E51-263, (617) 258-6669, amccants@MIT.EDU

Brian Aull, EECS '85

Jan/26

Tue

07:00PM-08:30PM

4-261

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: None

The dysfunction of democracy in the United States has been getting increasing attention.  We see corrupted legislative and electoral processes, partisan bickering, restriction of choice by the major parties, and pervasive media bias. As a result, there is civic disengagement and widespread distrust of government.  This is happening at a time of major domestic challenges such as widening disparity between social classes, rising racial tension, soaring public debt, failing school systems, mass incarceration, and crumbling infrastructure.

Brian Aull leads a discussion based on the insights of his book, The Triad: Three Civic Virtues That Could Save American Democracy.  More information about the book is found at 

http://www.AwakenDemocracy.com

but familiarity with this is not a prerequisite.

He explores the key role of renewed civic engagement in restoring healthy democratic life in the U.S.  He makes the case that this engagement needs to be rooted in a spirit of service, a non-adversarial approach to deliberation, and the building of civic relationships that bridge traditional divides such as race and class.  He presents case studies of local initiatives where these virtues contributed to successful outcomes.

Contact: Brian Aull, Lincoln-LI-127C, 857-998-9724, BFAULL@MIT.EDU

Jan/14

Thu

12:00PM-01:00PM

56-114

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/13
Limited to 63 participants

By choosing to educate yourself about money matters, you are already on the path to independence and financial success!

Effective planning and budgeting are essential activities you must master in order to remain financially healthy.

Join us for our Budgeting 101 seminar as part of MIT's Independent Activities Period (IAP) to find out what a budget is, including a step-by-step guide and the budgeting tools available to keep you on track.

January 14th | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Building 56, Room 114

To register, click here.

Sponsor(s): MIT Federal Credit Union
Contact: Meghan Brown, NE48, 617 715-4703, MBROWNCU@MIT.EDU

Sanjay Manandhar '89, SM '91, Founder & CEO Aerva, Inc

Jan/06

Wed

06:00PM-07:00PM

32-141

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

The most common method of financing is one of angel and institutional money from VC and PE firms. However, not all businesses are a fit for these types of funding sources. Roughly 1% of the companies attract any angel/VC—so what do other ventures do? How did ventures get off the ground before the 1950s when the VC industry started taking hold?

Customer-funding is an attractive, non-dilutive method of funding. There is, of course, the chicken-and-egg problem of not having products to sell to customers, but needing funding to create the products. There are many ways to handle this—I will share one method Aerva used to receive customer funding early on.

Typically first customers are much larger than your new venture—and it may seem inconceivable why a larger entity might want to work with a smaller entity or a startup. In fact, startups have a lot more leverage than their founders may realize. Therefore, one can negotiate a win-win scenario, which can help your financing situation.

Along the way, there are many traditional, non-VC funding sources one can tap into, in particular once positive revenue trends can be demonstrated. After break-even and positive cashflow, even more funding sources become available, from bank loans, to institutional capital, which may even start chasing you, rather than the other way around.

Register today!

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98-206C, 617 252-1143, EBYRNE@MIT.EDU

David Atkin, Assistant Professor of Economics

Jan/14

Thu

02:30PM-04:00PM

E51-151

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

In this talk we use a randomized control trial to understand the impacts of exporting on the performance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. We first document the impacts on firm profits from being offered the opportunity to export rugs to Western markets. Finding that profits rise, we explore the mechanisms that lie behind these gains and in particular ask whether there is evidence of learning-by-exporting---i.e. whether exporting itself improves the technical efficiency of the firm.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Abhijit Banerjee, Ford International Professor of Economics

Jan/26

Tue

01:00PM-02:30PM

E51-151

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Showing a film that Professor Banerjee made on the nature of democracy, followed by a Questions and Answers session.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Jan/06

Wed

12:00PM-01:00PM

32-141

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/05
Limited to 60 participants

Whether it's your first time or you're in the market again, learn what's involved in buying a house at this free, informative session as part of MIT's Independent Activities Period (IAP).

Come meet the experts from MIT Federal Credit Union and Members Mortgage Company to talk about:

- Effective property search tips
- Current area market housing trends
- Financing options
- And much more

Wednesday, January 6th | 12:00pm-1:00pm | Stata Center, Room 141

Helping make home ownership yours is a higher degree of banking.

To register, click here.

Sponsor(s): MIT Federal Credit Union
Contact: Meghan Brown, NE48, 617 715-4703, MBROWNCU@MIT.EDU

Toh Ne Wing, MIT Alum, class of 2003

Jan/15

Fri

02:30PM-05:30PM

24-615, ESG Commons Area

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/14
Limited to 25 participants
Prereq: none

This will be a cozy and collaborative session for MIT students (and other community members) to learn about how finance really works at major broker-dealers and their customers.  It will be facilitated by Toh Ne Win (MIT VI-3-P/XV 2003), an alum of ESG and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, via interactive exploration of real world problems.  This is how Toh remembers learning things at ESG, and how he currently teaches finance to new clients and employees on Wall St.  Please come prepared with paper, pencil, an open mind and a willingness to speak up.  No financial experience necessary.

Tentative agenda:

• How to get a job as a quant on Wall Street – why you need math and people skills
• How financial engineering really works – collaborative groups of 3-5 people with “problem sets” to solve on the fly
• Advanced topics in options & derivatives
• Risk management
• What happened during the financial crisis – a study in system dynamics

Sponsor(s): Experimental Study Group
Contact: Graham Ramsay, 24-610, 617 258-0481, RAMSAY@MIT.EDU

Andrew Henwood MBA'07, Jonathan Piskorowski SM '07

Jan/27

Wed

12:00PM-03:00PM

E62-221

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

Credit Analysis
The corporate bond markets are a key financing markets for a variety of companies.  The first part of this seminar will introduce students to various corporate credit markets and to cover key concepts in credit analysis including the role the ratings agencies and typical financial ratios employed in order to determine the credit risk of a company. The primary focus will be the Investment Grade (IG) bond market. Several examples on how bonds are priced will be provided, and why an IG rating is desirable for a company today will be explained. If time permits, a further overview of other key bond markets (Government, Structured) will be covered.

Equity Valuation
You may be familiar with DCF analysis, but other approaches, such as multiple analysis, net asset value and sum-of-the parts valuation, are important techniques in providing a broader measure of equity valuation. An effort will be made to include several real world examples of how investment professionals value equities in the Energy and Financial sectors.

Noon – 1:30 p.m. Introduction to Credit Analysis
1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Introduction to Equity Valuation

Register today!

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98-206C, 617 252-1143, EBYRNE@MIT.EDU

David Autor, Professor of Economics, James M. Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics, Heidi Williams, Class of 1957 Career Development Assistant Professor, Ivan Werning, Robert M. Solow Professor of Economics, Alexander Wolitzky, Pentti J. K. Kouri Career Development Assistant Professor

Jan/27

Wed

01:00PM-02:00PM

E51-057

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

The transition from course-taking to dissertation-writing is one of the most difficult parts of graduate school.  A faculty panel will describe strategies for navigating this transition.  They will discuss where to turn for help and guidance, pitfalls to avoid, and distill lessons from their own experiences as students and as advisers.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E52-439A, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Ken Davies, Retirement Program Manager

Jan/13

Wed

12:00PM-01:00PM

W20-307

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)

Learn about the features of MIT's Retirement Plans in this workshop presented by a member of the MIT Benefits Office.

Sponsor(s): MIT Human Resources
Contact: Phyllis Toegel, E19-206, 617-253-6110, ptoegel@mit.edu

Mark Porter '05, Certified Financial Planner

Jan/25

Mon

04:00PM-05:00PM

32-124

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

MIT has done a great job teaching students how to earn money. Unfortunately, no one teaches students what to do with it when they get it!

This hour-long seminar will offer the basics of a financial-planning approach. It will cover definitions and best practices regarding:

• Cash reserves
• Liability management
• Tax planning
• Insurance planning
• Savings vehicles
• Investments

The class will be most useful for those already working or graduating in 2016, but all are welcome.

Taught by Mark Porter ’05, certified financial planner.

Register today!

 

 

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98-206C, 617 252-1143, EBYRNE@MIT.EDU

Mark Porter '05

Jan/20

Wed

06:30PM-07:30PM

32-141

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required

MIT has done a great job teaching students how to earn money. Unfortunately, no one teaches students what to do with it when they get it!

This hour-long seminar will offer the basics of a financial-planning approach. It will cover definitions and best practices regarding:

• Cash reserves
• Liability management
• Tax planning
• Insurance planning
• Savings vehicles
• Investments

The class will be most useful for those already working or graduating in 2016, but all are welcome.

Taught by Mark Porter, CFP® Class of 2005.

Register today!

Sponsor(s): Alumni Association
Contact: Elena Byrne, W98, 617-252-1143, ebyrne@mit.edu

Paul Gunning, Fidelity Workplace Planning & Guidance Consultant

Jan/21

Thu

12:00PM-01:00PM

W20-307

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)

Key topics to be discussed:

• The importance of maximizing savings while still in the workforce
• How to conduct an income and expense analysis
• Strategies to maximize income sources, and the impact of health care costs on retirement savings
• The importance of estate planning and introduction to key estate planning tools

 

Sponsor(s): MIT Human Resources
Contact: Phyllis Toegel, E19-206, 617-253-6110, ptoegel@mit.edu

Nikhil Agarwal, Assistant Professor of Economics

Jan/26

Tue

09:00AM-10:30AM

E51-325

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

This talk will discuss how to apply revealed preference arguments to data from matching markets, such as medical matching, school choice and organ donation markets. Background in estimation of discrete choice models is preferred.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Paul Gunning, Fidelity Workplace Planning & Guidance Consultant

Jan/27

Wed

12:00PM-01:00PM

W20-307

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)

Key topics to be discussed:

• Competing investing priorities, and why growth is still a must in retirement
• Common income strategies, and the importance of a target investment mix
• Establishing a withdrawal strategy and the basics of minimum required distributions

 

Sponsor(s): MIT Human Resources
Contact: Phyllis Toegel, E19-206, 617-253-6110, ptoegel@mit.edu

Frank Schilbach, Assistant Professor of Economics

Jan/06

Wed

02:30PM-04:00PM

E51-151

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)

This lecture provides an overview on recent work in behavioral development economics, with particular focus on poverty. I will provide a framework and discuss empirical evidence of different ways in which poverty may interfere with individuals' ability to make sound decisions and to be productive at work, including (i) recent work on scarcity by Mullainathan and Shafir, (ii) visceral factors such as sleep, pain, and nutrition, and (iii) stress.

 

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Anna Mikusheva, Associate Professor of Economics

Jan/12

Tue

12:00PM-01:00PM

E51-151

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

This talk will be focused on several recent advances and discussions in Time Series Econometrics. Topic such as factor models, Bayesian VARs and weak identification will be discussed. The talk is aimed at research-oriented students.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Athanasios Orphanides

Jan/28

Thu

04:00PM-05:30PM

E62-250

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Monetary policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and the ECB have global implications for economic growth and development as well as for global financial markets.  This session offers an introductory discussion of monetary policy, drawing on the current economic environment.  First, it will review the basic drivers of the monetary policy decisions of the central banks of the world’s two largest economies.  Second, it will examine the causes and consequences of the unusual divergence in policy that is currently observed—policy tightening by the Fed and policy easing by the ECB.  Third, it will discuss the likely implications of this policy for the U.S., euro area and emerging-market economies and for financial markets. 

Sponsor(s): Sloan School of Management
Contact: Athanasios Orphanides, orphanid@mit.edu

Robert Gibbons, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management, Roberto Rigobon, Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management

Jan/13

Wed

01:00PM-02:30PM

E51-145

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

We will discuss (1) differences across business schools, including how faculty are evaluated in terms of research versus teaching, as well as (2) differences within business schools, including how economists working on different topics might fit in different faculty groups.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

George-Marios Angeletos, Professor of Economics

Jan/28

Thu

01:00PM-02:30PM

E51-151

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Recessions, or slow recoveries such as the recent one, are often attributed to “weak aggregate demand”. In this lecture, we explain why this notion is as deceptive as it is appealing. First, we review why this notion is fuzzy in the theory. Next, we explore what the data have to tell us.  Finally, we draw lessons for policy, as well as for future research.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Bengt Holmstrom, Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics

Jan/14

Thu

01:00PM-02:30PM

E51-151

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Money markets are fundamentally different from stock markets. Stock markets are about price discovery for the purpose of allocating risk efficiently. Money markets are about obviating the need for price discovery using over-collateralised debt to reduce the cost of lending. Yet, credit market reforms in the wake of the recent financial crisis often draw on insights grounded in our understanding of stock markets, which can be misleading. The talk provides a perspective on the logic of credit markets and the structure of debt contracts that highlights the information insensitivity of debt. These basic insights into the nature of debt and credit markets are simple but important for thinking about policies on transparency, on capital buffers and other regulatory issues concerning banking and money markets.

Sponsor(s): Economics
Contact: Beata Shuster, E17-201G, 617 253-8883, BSHUSTER@MIT.EDU

Paul Gunning, Fidelity Workplace Planning & Guidance Consultant

Jan/20

Wed

12:00PM-01:00PM

W20-307

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)

Review some of the facts about women in today’s economy and some of the challenges women face when it comes to saving for retirement.

Sponsor(s): MIT Human Resources
Contact: Phyllis Toegel, E19-206, 617-253-6110, ptoegel@mit.edu