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Economic Rockstar

Connecting Brilliant Minds in Economics and Finance

065: Best of 2015 Part 1: A Look Back at the Economic Rockstar Podcast

December 31, 2015 by Frank

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2015 Part 1

I’m Frank Conway and I am the host of the Economic Rockstar podcast. I do my best to bring on the brightest and most meaningful guests onto the show. Thank you so much listening and thank you for subscribing to the show on iTunes.

For those of you who have subscribed to the Economic Rockstar community at economicrockstar.com, I thank you for your feedback, interaction and shared insights and views. Let’s build this community bigger, both in size and knowledge.

I’m so grateful to have been in a position to bring to you a wide variety personalities to the show. While reflecting on the year 2015 for the podcast, I was amazed by the diversity and caliber of my guests and the incredible conversations we’ve had.

Their research, books, opinions, outlook, personal stories and teaching pedagogies is, to say the least, quite inspiring and has personally opened my eyes to the boundless capabilities in economics and finance. I truly hope that you found it to be likewise.

Both the end of year ‘Best of 2015’ episodes gives us a snapshot of some topics that were discussed – like a time capsule for the Economic Rockstar podcast of 2015. If you’ve been with me all year, then this episode will act as a refresher and take you back to some of the debates that abound the fields of economics.

If you’re new to the show or relatively new, then perhaps these episodes will offer you a window to glimpse into the show and type of guests and topics that we cover. Hopefully, they will encourage you to explore and listen to previous episodes of the podcast. For a full listing, you can visit economicrockstar.com/podcasts.

Although I did my utmost to choose a best of compilation that captured the essence of this podcast, it was extremely difficult to leave out some of my amazing guests.

I loved all my guests and every single one of them gave up their time to speak to me about their career, their research and personal lives. They exposed themselves to you, my amazing listeners, and answered questions that they had not seen before.

It was almost impossible to choose who to leave in and that’s why I reached to my Community on my email list for their favorites. Thanks for a great response. If I left out one of your favorites, then I apologize as I know how you feel. I’ve provided all the links to the show notes at the economic rockstar website at economicrockstar.com/65.

This is my mix-tape, my compilation of Economic Rockstars, so press play and do what you love doing while you listen – crosswords, chess, darts, exercise, walking the dog or cleaning the house.

What’s compelling about the guests on my show is how much of the work that they do is for the betterment of society as a whole.

The teaching innovations adopted and applied by John Cochrane, Kim Holder, Shawn Humphrey, Marina Adshade, Abdullah Al-Bahrani, Matt Rousu, Alice Lousie Kassens and Craig Medico have created an active rather than a passive economics classroom, helping their students to better understand concepts and how to apply them in a meaningful way.

Others guests, such as Jason Shogren, Alvin Roth, Dan Ariely, Helena Norberg-Hodge, David Simon, David Zetland, Stephen Young, Shanta Deverajan, Shawn Humphrey and Christine Exley have used their knowledge as a platform to help those in need – be it humans, animals or our environment.

The Economic Rockstar podcast also invites guests with a career in finance and it was such a pleasure to have spoken to Jack Schwager and Campbell Harvey.

Guests who feature in the Best of 2015 Part 1:

050 Dan Ariely -Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University in North Carolina. 

057 Alvin Roth – Craig and Susan McCaw Professor of Economics at Stanford University.

043 Herbert Gintis – Emeritus Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts.

036 Jason Shogren – the Stroock Professor of Natural Resource Conservation and Management and Chair of the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Wyoming.

034 David Simon – lawyer and advocate for sustainable consumption. 

023 Loretta Napoleoni – expert on terrorist financing and the Islamic State.

048 Steve Hanke – Professor of Applied Economics, specializing in currency boards. He is Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

051 Eyal Winter – the Silverzweig Professor of Economics at the Hebrew University and Economics Professor at Leicester University.

054 Christine Exley – Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Christine is also Co-founder and Chief of Research at Wagaroo an organization dedicated to re-house homeless dogs to responsible and loving families.

046 Shanta Devarajan – Chief Economist of the World Bank’s Middle-East and North Africa Region.

059 Shawn Humphrey – Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Mary Washington. Shawn is the founder of La Ceiba Microfinance,the Two Dollar Challenge, the Month of Microfinance, and the Poverty Action Conference. 

016 Jack Schwager – industry expert in futures and hedge funds and the author of a number of widely acclaimed financial books. Jack is one of the founders of Fund Seeder.

037 Noah Smith – Assistant Professor of Finance at Stony Brook University, New York where he is also a member of the Center for Behavioral Finance research team.

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059: Shawn Humphrey on La Ceiba Microfinance, Tribal Teaching and Creating a Culture of Commitment in the Classroom

November 19, 2015 by Frank

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059: Shawn Humphrey on La Ceiba Microfinance, Tribal Teaching and Creating a Culture of Commitment in the Classroom

Shawn Humphrey is currently an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Mary Washington.shawn humphrey

Shawn is the founder of La Ceiba Microfinance,the Two Dollar Challenge, the Month of Microfinance, and the Poverty Action Conference. 

He is also on the Board of Directors of Students Helping Honduras, a former Clinton Global Initiative University mentor, an Opportunity Collaboration alum and a 2014 Feast on Good Speaker.

Shawn is from North Bend, OH, earned his BA in Economics from Earlham College (Richmond, IN), his MA in Economics at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA), and after having read Douglass C. North’s Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance headed to Washington University in St. Louis where he earned his PhD in Economics.

Shawn describes himself as a Tribal Teacher, a Diligent Do-Gooder and a Global Grassroots Mobilizer.

I grew up poor in Ohio. I was bullied from the time I was young, all the way through 8th grade. Both these things are part of my core and they motivate me in everything that I do – Shawn Humphrey

Economics:

In this interview, Shawn mentions: economic development, microfinance, consumption smoothing, poverty and globalisation.

Economists:

In this interview, Shawn mentions: Christine Exley, Helena Nordberg-Hodge, Eugene Power, Robert Solow, Douglass North, Armen Alchian, Harold Demsetz and Gary Miller.

In this episode you will learn:

  • about the social entrepreneurial journey that Shawn found himself pursuing.
  • about Shawn’s Tribal Teaching pedagogy and if this is the future of education.
  • why Shawn wanted to help the poor in Honduras and to encourage people to experience poverty.
  • about Shawn’s family experiencing poverty in the 1970s and how their standing in the community led him to believe that there was a better way to treat and help people out of poverty.
  • about how La Ceiba are helping the poor in Honduras.
  • about the importance of building relationships with individuals that seek assistance from La Ceiba.
  • the problems with microfinance due to group lending and peer-pressure.
  • about the Two Dollar Challenge and you can get involved.
  • why supporting local leaders is the key to ending poverty.
  • about Shawn’s 7 year journey to finding a common ground in humanity.
  • why Shawn’s initial desire to feel significant while helping the poor is now a constant battle.
  • about Tribal Teaching and the pedagogy Shawn has  designed and embraced to make a better learning environment and process.
  • about the culture of commitment that Shawn has introduced into his classroom.

Shawn Humphrey on La Ceiba Microfinance:

“My students and I, we run our own microfinance institution in Honduras called La Ceiba where we take a very distinct approach to microfinance which is different to anything else that is out there.” – Shawn Humphrey

You can make a global impact on not a lot of money if you’re creative enough to embrace your constraints and say ‘hey, let’s find a way around this one!’ and do it creatively. – Shawn Humphrey

“Group lending is simply peer-pressure. It’s a public process by which a small set of individuals can apply pressure to one individual in the group who is unable and/or unwilling at that moment to pay off her loan.”

“90% of our clients did not use their loans for entrepreneurial activities. Most of them use it for consumption smoothing.” – Shawn Humphrey

We get more stories out of coffee and donuts than we do out of group meetings – Shawn Humphrey

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My role is actually on the side-lines as a side-kick, not as a hero in this whole thing – Shawn Humphrey

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I’m fighting an entire culture that has conditioned us to believe in certain things – Shawn Humphrey

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When I started this work, I was flailing human being. I felt hollow inside and for some reason I felt that I could fill that hole by trying to end someone else’s poverty. – Shawn Humphrey

Our hardest work is inside of us – Shawn Humphrey

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Where to Find Shawn Humphrey:

  • shawnhumphrey.com

Organisations founded by Shawn Humphrey:

  • La Ceiba Microfinance
  • Tribal Teaching
  • Month of Microfinance
  • Two Dollar Challenge

Recommended Readings:

  • 5 Species of Students by Shawn Humphrey
  • Life Chart by Shawn Humphrey
  • If You Breathe You Must Battle by Shawn Humphrey
  • To Hell With Good Intentions by Ivan Illich 

Documentaries:

  • Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn
  • The Stanford Prison Experiment

Books:

  • The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
  • Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance by Douglass C. North
  • Managerial Dilemma’s by Gary Miller
  • The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield
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Frank Conway

Frank Conway is founder of Economic Rockstar and lecturer of economics, finance and statistics. Read More…

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