Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association

Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association
Name	Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association
Type	Student organization
Affiliation	Harvard University
Established	20th century
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association is a student-run organization at Harvard University dedicated to fostering interest in economics among undergraduates. The association connects students with resources, speakers, and networks related to prominent figures and institutions in finance, public policy, and academia. It organizes events featuring leaders from institutions such as Federal Reserve System, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and United Nations agencies.

History

Founded in the 20th century amid growing undergraduate interest in economics, the association developed alongside departments and centers like Harvard College, Harvard Department of Economics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Business School, and Radcliffe Institute. Early programming brought speakers from Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. Treasury Department, National Bureau of Economic Research, Brookings Institution, and American Economic Association. Over decades the association hosted panels with figures affiliated with Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Census Bureau, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Manhattan Project-era economists turned policymakers. Partnerships were later formed with student groups such as Harvard Crimson, Harvard Political Review, Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative, and alumni networks tied to Harvard Alumni Association and Harvard Management Company.

Mission and Activities

The association's mission emphasizes exposure to careers, research, and policy debates linked to institutions like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, BlackRock, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It promotes engagement with scholarly work from journals and organizations such as The Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Econometrica, and Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. The group curates programming referencing economists associated with Paul Samuelson, Milton Friedman, John Maynard Keynes, Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, Kenneth Arrow, and Robert Solow to contextualize policy debates and financial market analyses drawing on cases like Great Depression, 1973 oil crisis, 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19 pandemic.

Organization and Leadership

Governance typically includes an executive board with roles analogous to officers in organizations tied to Harvard Student Agencies, involving presidents, vice presidents, treasurers, and directors for events, research, outreach, and publications. Leadership recruits from concentrations connected to faculty such as Greg Mankiw, Larry Summers, Austan Goolsbee, Claudia Goldin, and collaborators from centers like Harvard Institute for Economic Research and Joint Center for Housing Studies. The association liaises with administrative offices including Office of Student Life and external partners like McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, International Finance Corporation, and law firms that hire economic consultants.

Events and Programs

Regular programming comprises speaker series, panels, career treks, and competitions featuring representatives from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank for International Settlements, and leading think tanks like Peterson Institute for International Economics. Signature events include alumni panels, mock trading sessions referencing New York Stock Exchange, case competitions modeled after Harvard Business School formats, and workshops on econometric software used in labs like National Bureau of Economic Research facilities. The association organizes treks to financial centers such as Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and international hubs like London and Geneva.

Publications and Research Initiatives

The association produces student-run publications and research briefs that summarize findings from working papers released by National Bureau of Economic Research, Centre for Economic Policy Research, International Labour Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and scholars publishing in The Economist-referenced outlets. Editorial projects have profiled economists like Eugene Fama, Robert Lucas Jr., Esther Duflo, Angus Deaton, and Elinor Ostrom, and have curated literature reviews on topics tied to episodes such as European sovereign debt crisis and Asian financial crisis. Research initiatives often collaborate with faculty mentors from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and the Department of Economics to produce policy memos and datasets for undergraduate theses.

Membership and Community Engagement

Membership draws undergraduates pursuing concentrations and secondary fields linked to faculty and practitioners at Harvard College, attracting students interested in careers at White House offices, U.S. Congress, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and private sector employers including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and UBS. Community engagement includes partnerships with secondary education programs like Harvard Summer School, outreach to local schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts and collaborations with civic groups such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology Student Government Association initiatives and local nonprofit partners. The association also supports mentorship programs connecting undergraduates with alumni who served in institutions such as Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Management and Budget, and major research centers.

Category:Student organizations at Harvard University