Texonomics Fall 2014

Message from the Chair p. 3

MA Program pp. 4–5

Alumni and Poker pp. 6–7

Faculty Research p. 8

Faculty | Student News p. 9

T exonomics

Alumni Online Ventures pp. 10–11

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN // FALL 2014

ANTE UP!

Alums cash in on the poker circuit. p. 6

BY THE NUMBERS

R–T–F

ACCOUNTING

FINANCE

GOVERNMENT

PSYCHOLOGY

-­‐7 8 79 -­‐8 0 81 -­‐8 2 83 -­‐8 4 85 -­‐8 6 87 -­‐8 8 89 -­‐9 0 91 -­‐9 2 93 -­‐9 4 95 -­‐9 6 97 -­‐9 8 99 -­‐0 0 01 -­‐0 2 03 -­‐0 4 05 -­‐0 6 07 -­‐0 8 09 -­‐1 0 11 -­‐1 2

77

% female Economics m ajors % FEMALE ECONOMICS MAJORS

35.0%

ECONOMICS

# BDEGREES A degrees AWARDED awarded # BA 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

380 368 355 323 297 292

30.0%

2012–2013 BACHELOR’S DEGREES AWARDED

-­‐7

78

-­‐7 76

9 80 -­‐8 1 82 -­‐8 3 84 -­‐8 5 86 -­‐8 7 88 -­‐8 9 90 -­‐9 1 92 -­‐9 3 94 -­‐9 5 96 -­‐9 7 98 -­‐9 9 00 -­‐0 1 02 -­‐0 3 04 -­‐0 5 06 -­‐0 7 08 -­‐0 9 10 -­‐1 1 12 -­‐1 3

LARGEST MAJORS AT UT–AUSTIN

15.0% 7

20.0%

ECONOMICS DEGREE TRENDS POPULAR MAJORS Economics has become UT–Austin’s largest major, awarding the most bachelor’s degrees (380) in 2012. The number of majors has risen steadily since the early 1980s, and the percentage of female majors has remained mostly between 20% and 30% for several decades.

2

T E X O N O M I C S | FA L L 2 0 1 4

Source: Office of Information Management and Analysis. PHOTO: M A RS H A MIL LE R, UT CRE AT IV E SE RV ICES

25.0%

D E PA R T M E N T

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Dear Alumni and Friends:

P

People say it all the time—the Internet is an amazing thing. And, after another year of big change in the department, I’ve thought about how much of this change would have been possible without the Internet. While the popular press is focused on whether MOOC’s (massive open online courses) will transform higher education, the truth is that the Internet’s scope for effecting substantive and expeditious changes within academic departments is more far-reaching.

L I B E RA L ARTS I TS

As a case in point, the department launched a new one-year terminal Master’s degree program last summer (pp. 4–5). Through widespread email communication and a strong on-line presence, the department was able to enroll an inaugural cohort of forty students (representing eight different countries) just seven months after the program was formally approved and announced. The program immediately puts the department in the company of only a handful of departments (including Duke University and New York University) offering such a rigorous Master’s degree in economics. Without the power of email and Internet exposure, the “time to market” for such a program would have been closer to five years.

The Internet has also allowed us to make stronger connections with our alumni network. Our LinkedIn group is just over a year old and is approaching 1,000 members. The LinkedIn group is already paying dividends, with new job and internship opportunities provided to our graduates and current students. The group also made it possible for us to organize our first (and now annual) Economics Career Forum in November 2013. The Forum consisted of panels led

by UT economics alumni on specific job sectors and career-preparation topics. While our faculty can impart academic knowledge to our students, there is no better resource than our own successful alumni to impart realworld knowledge to those same students.

With the help of the Internet, we also continue to communicate with our alumni through this very newsletter, which is always available through the department website.

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One of the features in this issue is, appropriately enough, about several online companies that have been started by our alumni (pp. 10–11). We thank each of them for sharing the stories of their respective ventures.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: • Our cover story profiles economics alumni who have been on the professional poker circuit (pp. 6–7).

One of those alumni played professionally during his undergraduate years and subsequently graduated from our new Master’s program.

• A recently hired macroeconomist, Professor Olivier Coibion, describes his recent research on optimal inflation rates in low-interest-rate environment (interest rates near the “zero lower bound,” p. 8).

Professor Coibion joined our faculty after a prestigious one-year fellowship with the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. We hope that you enjoy this issue of Texonomics. As always, please email us at economics@austin.utexas. edu if you have any alumni news or suggestions for the department. We look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely, Jason Abrevaya CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

3

MA PROGRAM

“The individualized advising attention that our students receive is one of the program’s distinguishing features.

Whether students plan on applying to PhD programs in economics or entering the work force post-graduation, our academic and career advising resources are unparalleled.”

Beatrix Paal, MA Program Director

MASTERING THE ART OF ECONOMICS

I

New accelerated Master’s degree program debuted in the 2013–2014 academic year.

In the summer of 2013, the Economics department launched a new oneyear terminal Master of Arts (MA) degree program. The inaugural class of forty MA Economics students began classes in mid-July and, after completing a ten-course, thirty-credit curriculum, graduated in May 2014.

The rigorous program is the first of its kind in the state of Texas, and only a handful of similar programs (primarily on the East coast) currently exist.

The UT System officially approved the MA Economics program in December 2012. Even with only a few months to publicize the program, over 120 applications were received during the first application cycle. The inaugural class of forty students was especially diverse, including five former UT undergraduates, twenty international students, and nine students from non-economics/ business backgrounds. While all students must have some exposure to economics prior to applying, noneconomics majors are encouraged to apply. The program can serve as a “pivot” for people who had analytical training in another field but wish to pursue a job requiring more economics training. In addition, the program can serve as a stepping-stone to PhD work or as a complement to another area of expertise (law, public health, political science, etc.). With today’s workplace requiring more advanced analytical training than ever before, master’s degrees in economics are in high demand. A June 2012 Forbes.com feature story (“The Best and Worst Master’s Degrees For Jobs”) listed economics as one of the top ten master’s degrees in terms of job prospects and salaries; the mid-career median pay is $115,000 for degree recipients, and the projected employment increase for jobs associated with this degree is 14.3% over the next decade. The program trains students in the core disciplines of

4

microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics.

Building upon a foundation of required core courses, the program then provides students with elective course options that serve as training for either specialized employment or future graduate study. Elective course offerings in the 2013–2014 academic year included Financial Economics, Industrial Organization, Energy and Environmental Economics, and Labor Economics.

MA courses are primarily taught by full-time faculty members, including some of the best and most experienced instructors in the Economics department.

With comparable programs using adjunct faculty to staff many of their courses, the department seeks to attract the highest quality students by using the highest quality faculty. Despite its relative nascence, the program already boasts strong placement results. Members of the Class of 2014 were admitted to PhD programs at UCLA, UT-Austin, Rice University, UC Riverside, University of Arizona, and other high-quality institutions. Outside of academia, class members obtained placements at the Federal Reserve Board, Lazard, Sense Corp, Advisory Board Company, Berkeley Research Group, and Cornerstone Research, among others.

Student feedback about the MA Economics program has been overwhelmingly positive. MA Economics alumnus Rustin Partow, who completed a summer fellowship

T E X O N O M I C S | FA L L 2 0 1 4

MA PROGRAM

practicum with the American Institute for Economic Research before enrolling in UCLA’s PhD program, said, “I chose to do a Master’s to enhance my prospects in PhD admissions and to get a leg up in handling PhD coursework. I enrolled at UT because of the technically rigorous coursework and because of the department’s clear commitment to developing a strong program. The quality of teaching and mentoring here is great.”

According to MA Economics Program Director, Dr. Beatrix Paal, one of the unique strengths of the program is the academic and career support network available to MA students: “The individualized advising attention that our students receive is one of the program’s distinguishing features. A strong network of UT Austin faculty, career services offices, and student services personnel help our students to develop and pursue their academic and professional goals. Whether students plan on applying to PhD programs in economics or entering the work force post-graduation, our academic and career advising resources are unparalleled.”

The investment also paid off for students entering the work force, many of whom now work in analytics in the public or private sectors. Those who entered the program undecided as to whether to pursue a PhD referenced the program’s flexible, yet challenging, course of study as a key component in helping them choose the right path post-graduation. MA Economics alumnus Dan Ernst, who now works with GM Financial, cites the program’s versatility and strong analytical focus as the primary reasons why he enrolled: “The MA

Program at UT Austin has helped to hone my analytic skills and make me more competitive as an entrant into the job market. The relatively low ten-month time commitment is a big draw and is especially useful for those on the fence about pursuing a PhD or entering the job force. The program offers flexibility in choosing the electives that line up with my goals.”

Now in its second year, the program has expanded elective course offerings that include Industrial and Network Economics, Urban Economics, Health Economics, International Trade, International Finance, and Econometric Policy Evaluation. An internship course will be introduced in the next academic cycle.

Program applications doubled in 2014, and the current student cohort is equally as diverse as the last, attracting students from around the globe that reflect a wide variety of interests and diversity of experience, and bring a wealth of both professional and academic expertise to bear. Equally strong placement results are expected for the Class of 2015, and, as the reputation of our program grows, an increasingly competitive applicant pool. Despite the program’s success, however, the department remains focused on a quality-over-quantity growth strategy that will enhance the value of the degree and help to build a stronger UT Austin Economics alumni network in the years to come. For more information about the MA Economics program, including upcoming on-campus information sessions, visit the program website at http://ma.eco. utexas.edu. —Kristen Hotopp

PROFILE

OF THE 2014–2015 CLASS

42

Total number of students

Male

GENDER 26 16 AGE 20–24 30 25–29 10 30–34 2 CITIZENSHIP 15 27 COUNTRIES Female

US Citizen

International

China, Czech Republic, India, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Scotland, Thailand, Turkey

UNDERGRADUATE MAJORS Economics (20), Business/ Finance (10), Engineering (3), Math (3), Political Science (2), Computer Science (1), Biology (1), Interdisciplinary Studies (1), Law (1)

L I B E RAL ARTS ITS T E X O N O M I C S | FA L L 2 0 1 4

5

POKER

ECONOMICS ALUMNI KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ’EM Luke Priour and Dustin DorranceBowman know how to make good bedfellows of poker and economics.

I ABOVE: Luke Priour now and then.

6

For Luke Priour, the plan was to attend university like everyone else. During his third year at UT, he witnessed a friend have success while playing online poker and realized that he too was talented at the game. He soon learned that he could make significant money playing, money that he had never really imagined earning. When Priour’s GPA slipped below a 2.0 he was faced with the reality that poker was a much bigger priority to him than his education. In 2006, he dropped out of UT knowing his passion lay with poker. “I knew that my heart was not in school

anymore,” he explained, “so I decided to put it on hold and move to Vegas to pursue a poker career. I played poker professionally for six years, living a lavish lifestyle that I had dreamed about.” But after a few years, the lifestyle and everyday routine grew old, and Priour had the realization that this was not what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

So, in 2011 he returned to Austin and reapplied to UT. Playing poker had helped Priour realize that he had a passion for subjects like optimization, risk management, and game theory. Priour explained that “poker is just the

T E X O N O M I C S | FA L L 2 0 1 4

CAR D P L AY ER .CO M

In 2007, University of Texas drop-out Luke Priour hit it big with a $71,314 payout—$20,000 more than an economics graduate could make in a year’s time.

Four years later, he made his way back to the school he left to earn the degree he never expected to need.

A CONVERSATION WITH DUSTIN DORRANCE-BOWMAN Dorrance-Bowman received his B.A. at UT in 2007 and has been a professional poker player since 2005. Biggest win: $215K. Biggest loss: $30K.

Dustin Dorrance-Bowman stopped

players I was fortunate to have a big

A: “I guess the biggest mistake

something, so I experimented with

by the department to share his

score early on here and there, that

that

bankroll

making barbeque hummus. . . and

story on the journey from being

I probably shouldn’t have had, to

management, it’s probably the

everybody liked it’. So that was

an

an

get the bankroll going, so there was

reason I’m still here. A lot of people

the original idea, this barbeque

extraordinary poker player, to a

definitely some good fortune on my

would take [their big win] to the

hummus, which had never been

successful businessman.

side in the beginning.”

nose-bleed stakes and it’s gone,

done before. So he came to me with

they blow it. But yeah, if you practice

this idea, (and) he needed backing . . .

ordinary

undergrad,

to

people

make

is

Q: So you started playing with your

Q: After you graduated from UT,

good bankroll management you

so I got involved helping with the

friends in high school, right?

what was your path?

can kinda work your way up stakes

business. It just grew from there . . .

A: “Yeah, so, strangely enough

A: “I was already playing poker

slowly, pretty much what I did, start

it’s funny, we finally got a meeting

[back then] I was really into playing

professionally during school, I mean

off super small, twenty-five-cent,

with Whole Foods [in 2011], and

pool/billiards, so at that point the

I was paying for school that way, so

fifty-cent games or less, build your

Zach was talking to them and at

plan was to be a professional pool

it was pretty much the plan to play

bankroll, and as your bankroll grows

this point we are . . . super small

player, which is also pretty absurd.

online about twenty-five hours a

you can move up in stakes. So um,

time; it was literally Zach in this

In the midst of that, I was playing

week. Occasionally there would be a

that’s probably the smartest way

tiny commercial kitchen with five

poker totally for fun here and there...

big online tournament series where

to do it. Other advice I guess would

blenders lined up, and that was our

like five dollar games, I was totally

they would just run thirty or forty

be just to always question yourself

kitchen operation. They asked if

terrible, the worst ever, but I was

huge tournaments, so that would

and study as much as possible and

we could handle this volume, and

always interested in it and it seemed

be the one time I would just go into

always work on improvement or

I guess Zach (said), “absolutely.”

like the cool thing to do. Once I turned

a cave and just do the poker thing

you’re getting worse, haha.”

So at that point it’s like “Okay, we

eighteen I started playing online, I

for a month. So online poker got

started reading up on it more, and it

shut down in April 2011, basically the

Q: Ok, so tell me about Baby Zach’s

get serious about it.” Eventually we

seemed like there was a really good

DOJ just put a huge firewall against

(now Hummusphere Foods). How

grew out of our first kitchen and got

opportunity to make this a job, which

any online site. I tried logging in one

did you decide to become a co-

this kitchen in Manor which was a

sounded really cool to me. Especially

day and got this big government

owner? Is Baby Zach a real person?

huge step up . . . and then eventually

back then, online poker was still in

page saying “nuh-uh.” At that point I

A: “When I went to UT Austin, I was

we got a call from HEB . . . and it’s

its infancy, so it was really lucrative

switched over to live cash games, the

living at 21st Co-op, I lived there

been growing steadily ever since.”

because nobody really thought

occasional tournament in Vegas or

all three years and there I became

about doing that professionally or

Oklahoma, and more recently started

pretty great friends with Zach Gultz,

taking that seriously. So I saw an

doing more of the coaching side.”

Baby Zach himself. I guess it was

opportunity and taught myself . . . and

I STO CK P H OTO

CAR D P L AY ER .CO M

POKER

really need to ramp this up and

late 2010 he was . . . experimenting

To see the expanded Q&A with

that’s when I really started playing

Q: What is some advice that you

with barbeque, and approached me

Dustin Dorrance-Bowman please

more and it started going well

would give to someone who would

and he’s like ‘I’m doing barbeque,

visit: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/

online. Like most successful online

want to take this route professionally?

but

depts/economics/news/8432

compilation of decisions based on equity. Every decision during a hand requires the evaluation of expected utility of all possible choices. You arrive at these evaluations based on probability of what cards may fall, probability of what your opponent is holding, and developing an idea about how your opponent might react to your own decisions.”

Returning as an economics major, he discovered something that he had not realized in his previous stint in college. “The skill-set that I had been using to be successful in poker could also be used to succeed in some aspects of economics. In other words, economics had been my calling all along, but I had just now realized this.”

T E X O N O M I C S | FA L L 2 0 1 4

these

vegetarians

want

After using this new-found knowledge and some dedication toward his studies, Priour was able to achieve high marks and a spot in the inaugural 2013–2014 class of the new ten-month Master of Arts in Economics Program. He received his B.A. in economics from The University of Texas in May 2013, and one year later completed his M.A. degree. Though he still plays poker part-time, it is no longer a major factor of his life, nor does he plan on returning to that career. He’s currently working as a Data Analyst for Public Consulting Group in Austin, TX. —Joanna Drake

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FA C U LT Y RESEARCH

INFLATION POLICY IN THE FACE OF 0% INTEREST RATES Professor Olivier Coibion’s new research suggests policy tools to address the large welfare losses associated with interest rates near the zero lower bound.

OLIVIER COIBION

“Changes in the monetary policy rule… are likely to be more effective both in avoiding and minimizing the costs associated with large economic downturns.”

One of the defining features of the current economic crisis has been the zero bound on nominal interest rates. With standard monetary policy running out of ammunition in the midst of one of the sharpest downturns in post-World War II economic history, some prominent economists have suggested that central banks should consider allowing for higher target inflation rates than might have been considered reasonable just a few years ago (e.g. Olivier Blanchard, Paul Krugman, Ken Rogoff and Greg Mankiw). Central bankers in the

U.S. Interest Rates, 2006-­‐2013

U.S. and Europe, on the other hand, have so far

6.00%

rejected this suggestion. Higher inflation rates

5.00%

would imply higher nominal interest rates and

4.00%

therefore more scope for countercyclical monetary

3.00%

policy in the face of large negative shocks to the

2.00%

economy such as those experienced in 2007 and

1.00%

2

8

-­‐0 13

20

2

-­‐0 12

20

8

-­‐0 12

20

2

-­‐0 11

20

-­‐0 11

8

1-­‐year Treasury

20

2

-­‐0 10

20

8

-­‐0 10

20

2

-­‐0 09

20

-­‐0 09

8

10-­‐year Treasury

20

2

-­‐0 08

20

8

-­‐0 08

20

-­‐0 07

2

effects are poorly understood. But inflation has

20

-­‐0 07

20

2

-­‐0

-­‐0

06

06

20

20

policy actions (such as quantitative easing) whose

8

0.00%

2008 without resorting to unorthodox monetary

Federal funds rate

costs which must be borne even in non-crisis periods, so evaluating the pros and cons of higher inflation targets requires balancing the costs of

of inflation is the fact that higher inflation reduces

cycle cost), such events are also rare. In contrast,

inflation in all periods against the occasional (but

the frequency of hitting the zero bound on nominal

the costs of inflation must be borne every period,

potentially large) benefits it provides during severe

interest rates. Because the zero bound induces

so even modest costs of inflation imply an optimal

economic crises.

a deflationary mechanism in the economy, these

inflation rate below 2%.

In a recent paper, my coauthors (Yuriy

episodes have very large welfare costs.

We conclude that raising the target rate of

Gorodnichenko of UC Berkeley and Johannes

When the model is calibrated to broadly match

inflation is likely too blunt an instrument to reduce

Wieland of UC San Diego) and I tackle this problem

the moments of macroeconomic series and the

the incidence and severity of zero-bound episodes.

head on by building a model to quantify both the

historical incidence of hitting the zero lower bound

Instead, changes in the monetary policy rule, such

costs and benefits of higher inflation targets. In our

in the U.S., the optimal inflation rate that balances

as price or nominal income targeting, are likely to be

model, higher inflation is costly for several reasons.

these costs and benefits is quite low (typically less

more effective both in avoiding and minimizing the

First, in the presence of infrequent price changes

than two percent per year) and in line with the official

costs associated with large economic downturns.

on the part of firms, higher inflation generates an

inflation targets of the US Federal Reserve and the

In the absence of such a change in the design and

increasing dispersion in prices which leads to a

European Central Bank. The key intuition behind the

implementation of monetary policy, addressing the

more inefficient allocation of resources among

low optimal inflation rate is that, even though hitting

large welfare losses associated with zero-bound

firms. Second, higher inflation also implies more

the zero bound on interest rates is very costly (for

episodes is likely to best be pursued through policies

inflation volatility, which is itself costly. Third, higher

example a two-year period of zero interest rates has

targeted specifically to these episodes, such as

inflation makes a given level of inflation volatility

a cost equivalent to a 6.2% permanent reduction in

countercyclical fiscal policy or the use of non-

more costly to households. Offsetting these costs

consumption, above and beyond the usual business

standard monetary policy tools. —Olivier Coibion

8

1 “The Optimal Inflation Rate in New Keynesian Models: Should Central Banks Raise Their Inflation Targets in Light of the Zero Lower Bound?” 2012 Review of Economic Studies 79(4), p. 1371-1406.

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FACULTY | STUDENT NEWS

FACULTY UPDATE Longtime faculty members Douglas Dacy and Daniel Hamermesh retired this year. Dr. Dacy taught at UTAustin for over forty-five years, and Dr. Hamermesh for over twenty years. Both will remain a presence on campus with their emeritus status.

Daniel Hamermesh was awarded the prestigious IZA Prize in Labor Economics from the German Institute for the Study of Labor.

This internationally renowned award honors Dr. Hamermesh for his contributions to the analysis of labor demand and his high level of creativity and careful combination of theoretical and empirical methods.

The Department of Economics welcomes three new faculty members to its ranks:

V. Bhaskar joins the department as a Full Professor and the holder of the Sue Killam Professorship in the Foundations of Economics.

His foundational work has been in game theory, but his impressive research spans fields including dynamic games and contracts, economics of marriage and the family, industrial organization, and development economics. Dr. Bhaskar was previously a Professor of Economics at University College London (since 2005) and a longtime Editorial Board member of

the Review of Economic Studies.

During the 2014–2015 academic year he will teach game theory courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.

inflation dynamics. Dr. Bhattarai is also a Research Associate with the Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute at the Dallas Fed.

Richard Murphy joins the department Saroj Bhattarai joins the department as an Assistant Professor. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2010 and was an Assistant Professor at Penn State University from 2010–2014.

Dr. Bhattarai’s research and teaching focuses on international macroeconomics and finance. His recent published work explores the price-setting behavior of multi-product firms and the role of public debt and policy regimes in

as an Assistant Professor, having just received his PhD from University College London. He specializes in the economics of education and labor economics, and he will be introducing a new undergraduate course entitled the “Economics of Education” in the spring semester. Dr. Murphy is also the co-founder of the Economics of Higher Education research network (www.economicsofhe.org).

STUDENT NEWS community development in emergent countries.

Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE),

PH OTO COU RTESY J UA N CA MI LO D E AN GU LO

the economics honors society, has launched a student-run undergraduate research journal entitled The Developing Economist.

According to ODE chapter president Robert McDowall, the journal was started “after recognizing a demand for additional publication opportunities to undergraduates.”

Submissions for the journal came from undergraduates at UT–Austin and at other universities across the United States. “The editorial process fostered communication between our own students and faculty,” said McDowall. “We hope that future editions of The Developing Economist will continue to inspire students at UT, and those elsewhere, to produce undergraduate research of their own.” The inaugural issue, available on-line at http://www. developingeconomist.com, features research on carbon pricing, M&A activity, crime’s effect on achievement, and other topics.

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Juan Camilo De Angulo was awarded the 2013–2014 Rapoport Service Scholarship for his interest and pursuit of volunteerism, community service and service learning.

De Angulo is a double major in Economics and International Relations and Global Studies (IRG) as well as a double minor in Latin American Studies and Spanish. His passion started while volunteering abroad as a sophomore in high school where he committed his education, talents and entrepreneurship towards

De Angulo is an intern for the Development Gateway and Innovations for Peace and Development Club at UT which has given him an opportunity to learn the administration and programming behind the foreign economic aid the World Bank and UNICEF provides for other countries. His favorite part of being active at UT-Austin is meeting people who share an interest in social entrepreneurship.

“Hearing about their . . . innovative ideas on how to take economics and micro-financing to help developing communities around the world has been as motivating as it has been eye-opening.” He plans to commit to ten days in Ghana with the Global Brigades club at UT with the mission of fundraising and opening a bank in an impoverished community that will make saving and investment easier for residents.

In the summer of 2013 he had an on campus internship helping with research on United States international funding and how it impacts the world. Although De Angulo doesn’t graduate until Spring 2016 he plans to eventually go to graduate school at American University in D.C. to study International Political Economy.

“I have been inspired to dedicate my talents and career to helping the people who need it the most.

The grass root experience of living in developing communities, both in Ecuador and in Nicaragua, has opened my eyes to the daily struggles that some of the poorest communities in the world have to go through day in and day out. I plan on graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a double degree in IRG and Economics in order to eventually work in an organization that finances foreign aid through micro-loans to developing communities abroad.”

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ALUMNI

ALUMNI ONLINE VENTURES DepositGuard Website: Depositguard.com Purpose: A secure payment service between renters and owners for the vacation rental marketplace.

Alumnus: Alan Lane (BA ’92), co-founder. “I wanted to find a vacation rental for a weekend getaway in Mexico. The property owner asked that I wire him the full rental payment to reserve the property. Ultimately I did not move forward with the reservation so both the owner and I lost. Of course then my thoughts turned to how to provide a more secure payment service for the vacation rental marketplace and shortly afterwards DepositGuard was born.”

Gazelle Website: Gazelle.com Purpose: A“reCommerce” website that pays money for used cell phones, tablets, and computers.

Alumnus: Austin Ligon (MA ’79), board chairman. “I found the basic idea of Gazelle to be simple and compelling. [There’s] stuff we all were mostly throwing in a drawer or closet, but that had real value IF we sold it on a timely basis. … The global market for used smartphones, tablets, and hi-value laptops is huge and growing exponentially. So we think the company can continue to grow VERY fast for years to come.”

HeadlightLLC Website: HeadlightData.com Purpose: An information system website that aggregates all workforce, economic, and demographic data for a community into one central website that allows users to generate colorful charts and dashboards using their own custom criteria.

Alumnus: Chris Engle (BA ’94), founder. “Data analytics and “Big Data” services [are] a fast-growing market and viewed by many to be one of the top influencers in how business will operate in the future. People and companies who can access, analyze, and understand data trends will be empowered to adapt quickly to changing conditions, make better decisions, and generally be more successful.”

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T E X O N O M I C S | FA L L 2 0 1 4

ALUMNI

NuHabitat Website: NuHabitat.com Purpose: Real estate search tool based upon real-time MLS listings, currently focused on Houston and Austin.

Alumnus: Jeff Burke (BA ’89), co-founder. “I felt compelled to use my experience in the financial industry combined with what I saw in the real estate industry to see if I could help consumers and agents work together more efficiently. … I always wondered why consumers weren’t able to see the same real estate data that real estate agents look at.”

Personal Wine Website: PersonalWine.com Purpose: Personal customization of wine bottles.

Alumnus: Alex Andrawes (BA ’99), co-founder. “The initial concept was conceived over a bottle of 1997 Grape Creek Vineyard Tre Somme. We felt that mass customization [was] lacking in the wine business and thought personalization of wine would be a nice addition to the corporate/executive gift market.”

Spacefoot (footeo.com)

Website: Spacefoot.com

Purpose: Free digital tools for amateur sports clubs to communicate and create their own website.

Alumnus: Cédric Courteau (BA ’98), co-founder. “Professional sports clubs have at their disposal the latest technical tools (performance, statistics, etc.) for their players and coaches, revenues from sponsors and TV rights and all the press coverage they need. On the other hand, amateur sports clubs (where [I came] from) have basically no media coverage, no performance tools, and less and less money from cities or private sponsors.”

WePlann Website: WePlann.com Purpose: A travel and leisure agency focused exclusively on helping Spanish-speakers living in the U.S., Spain, and Latin America book unique travel experiences online.

Alumnus: Oliver Camargo (BA ’99), co-founder. “I believe the online market for booking unique travel experiences such as guided tours, activities and show and attraction tickets [will] expand significantly as tools continue to make it easy, and natural, for travelers to book their flights, hotels, and now travel experiences both prior and during travel.”

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