Ziyan Bhamani

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Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Ziyan Bhamani is a third-year student at UCLA majoring in Business Economics, minoring in Accounting, and a member of the Value Investing Concentration. He was raised in Camarillo, California and has always been a big UCLA sports fan growing up. His involvement on campus consists of being part of the Undergraduate Business Society, Student Accounting Society, Sigma Nu Fraternity, and UCLA Information Technology. Currently, Ziyan is interning at UCLA Investment Company as an Investment Operations Intern. Outside of academics, Ziyan enjoys playing intramural basketball, trying new foods, and camping with friends.

Future Plans: Ziyan will be staying in Los Angeles this summer to intern at KPMG in their Deal Advisory and Strategy practice. He looks forward to learning new skills and expanding his knowledge in the finance industry. He hopes to someday pursue an MBA to build upon his undergraduate education.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am incredibly grateful to have received the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship. I would like to thank the Shapiro family for their immense generosity and contribution towards my education. This scholarship will positively impact my success this year as I will be able to put more focus toward extracurriculars, community service, and coursework. I am extremely appreciative to be recognized for my past achievements and I believe receiving this scholarship has only encouraged me to work harder going forward.

Samuel Shi

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Gumbiner Savett Inc. Endowed Undergraduate Prize Recipient

Biography: Samuel (Lecheng) Shi is a senior double majoring in Applied Mathematics with a Specialization in Computing and Economics. Samuel was born and raised in Jiangsu, China, and spent four years in Singapore before coming to Los Angeles for undergraduate studies. Within UCLA, Samuel actively involves in many student organizations, including Bruin Hedge Fund, 3 Day Startup at UCLA, and Bruin Ventures. He is passionate about investing and technology and intrigued to see the dynamics of how they can impact and transform societies.

Future Plans: Samuel will be joining a private equity firm based in Denver as an investment analyst upon graduation. By working with portfolio companies and screening for potential investment opportunities, he hopes to develop a better understanding of what “value” means for different stakeholders and how to identify and create “value” for teams, organizations, and companies.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am immensely grateful to the donors of the Gumbiner Savett Inc. Endowed Undergraduate Prize and UCLA Department Economics for providing this opportunity. The scholarship lightens my financial burden, which allows me to concentrate on the most crucial aspects of college: learning and exploring. It motivates me to continue to pursue excellence in academics, work, and life. Once again, thank you so much for your kindness, and I would cherish the excellent opportunity to develop further my interest in economics and finance; hopefully, one day I could also contribute back to the growing Bruin family.

Kristy Guan

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Professor Harry Simons Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship For The Study Of Accounting Recipient

Biography: Kristy Guan is a sophomore majoring in business economics and minoring in accounting at UCLA. She has always been interested in business and finance and interned at different places. From different internships and deals she’s been working with, she learned that accounting is an integral part of any business. She also found herself enjoying looking at financial statements of different public and private companies. She is honored to be selected for this scholarship and will be using this scholarship granted by Professor Harry Simons subjects related to accounting and business in the coming quarters.

Future Plans: In the short term, she will continue to explore more about business and accounting in the coming summer in 2022 and 2023. This coming summer, she will be attending trainings in Florida with KPMG. Spending a week with the KPMG professionals to learn more about accounting. She also received an EY internship offer for tax practice in 2023, preparing to establish a strong background in tax regulations in help with future needs. In the long term, she plans to use her accounting foundation to establish her own business and help with clients in private equity. She will also use the skills and knowledge she learns to give back to the society and help with anyone in needs.

What does this scholarship mean to me? This scholarship will help me tremendously in achieving my career and educational goals. I would like to thank my benefactor from the bottom of my heart and I will always be grateful for it. I have been working hard to get here as a first-generation college student, so I will use this scholarship wisely to better equipped myself with a variety of knowledge. I have strong drive and vision for my future and hope to learn more with this scholarship and make an impact to the world. This scholarship genuinely means everything to me and I am beyond honored to be receiving it. Thank you.

Aeji Hyun

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Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Aeji Hyun is a fourth year Economics major and Accounting minor. At UCLA, Aeji is involved in various organizations including Korean Culture Night and Kristos Campus Missions. In her free time, Aeji enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading new recipes, and the occasional HIIT and barre workouts.

Future plans: After graduation, Aeji will begin working at Ernst & Young in their Assurance Services Practice at the Los Angeles office. She plans to obtain a CPA license and work in public accounting. Even as a working professional, Aeji hopes to be involved in giving back to her community, specifically the youth.

What this scholarship means to me? I am extremely grateful to be a recipient of the Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Scholarship. As I near the end of my college career, I am so thankful for the opportunity to have pursued my academic interests without any financial burden thanks to gifts such as this. I want to thank the generous donors for this award and will continue to express my gratitude by doing my best as I finish my career as a student and begin a new one as a working professional.

Jiayun Zhang

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John. J. Peterson Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Jiayun Zhang is a third-year Business Economics major with a double major in Financial Actuarial Mathematics and concentration in value investing. Born and raised in Beijing, China, she came to US to attend UCLA in 2019. In UCLA, she joined 3 Day Startups and Dance sport club at UCLA. In addition, Jiayun Zhang has been interned at various investment banks and Venture firms in various region and has been involved in business workshops to foster her passion for business and economics. In her free time, she enjoys competing in dance sport, hiking around LA, and reunion with friends.

Future Plans: Jiayun’s past internships and involvement in business clubs have inspired her interest in pursuing a career in investment banking after graduation. She will be interning at Morgan Stanley investment banking division this summer. In Long term, she hopes to equip herself with sufficient professional knowledge by either attending graduate programs or pursuing MBA program.

What does the scholarship mean to me? It’s my honor to be a recipient of the John J. Peterson Scholarship award! I wish to express my sincere gratitude towards Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. The scholarship is a huge encouragement and confirmation of all my hard work and academic achievement. I am grateful for the education resource and network UCLA provided me. I look forward to using my knowledge in Finance and economic to make changes in real world and hope that I can give back to the school one day!

Samantha Nicole Womack

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Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

Biography: Samantha Womack is a third-year Business Economics major with double minors in Film/ TV/ Digital Media and Theater. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and moved just
over the hill to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. On campus, she holds leadership positions with HOOLIGAN Theatre Company, the Film & Photography Society, and the Backpacking Club at UCLA. During her time at UCLA, she has interned with Hamilton at the Pantages Theater, as well as produced a mainstage musical, a play, a handful of short films, and several smaller showcases on campus. When she is not studying or working, Sammy enjoys camping in the Sierras, reading Game of Thrones, and painting.

Future Plans: Sammy plans to work in some aspect of the entertainment industry after graduation. She is most interested in the intersection between entertainment and business, and hopes to work in either Producing or Company Management in Theater, or in Physical Production or Development in Film. She is beyond grateful to have the opportunity to be exploring both of these pathways in her time at UCLA.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am grateful and honored to be selected as a recipient of the Harold R. Mortenson Scholarship. This award is particularly meaningful to me,
as it is directly effective in easing the financial burden experienced by myself, and all undergraduate students at UCLA. While an education is expensive, it is a privilege I am very grateful to be a part of, and I greatly look forward to the rest of my time at UCLA. In the future, I hope that I am able to continue giving back to the UCLA community and do for other students what this scholarship will help do for me.

Annie Hayden Pollak

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Patricia and Harry L. Bruce Endowed Scholarship Award Recipient

Biography: Annie Pollak is a fourth year at UCLA studying Business Economics with a minor in Public Affairs. She was born and raised in the East Bay Area with her parents and two brothers. Annie is passionate about the intersection of business and social impact. At UCLA, she has been the President of Bruin Consulting, the Vice President of Finance for Alpha Phi, and a campus plastic policy researcher for UCLA Sustainability. She has worked in a variety of fields, from consulting to wealth management, and is currently a Legislative Intern in the United States House of Representatives. Annie loves to do yoga, travel, work with Fulcrum Adventures, and play card games with family in her free time.

Future Plans: Annie has accepted a full time offer in management consulting upon graduation. She will be working as an Associate at PwC in the Delivering Deal Value service area in San Francisco. In the long term, Annie hopes to combine her interests in economics, environmental protection, and strategy consulting into her career.

What does this scholarship mean to me? I am extremely grateful to be selected as a recipient of the Patricia and Harry L. Bruce Endowed Scholarship Award. I am so thankful for the Bruce family’s generosity and appreciate their support. This scholarship will ease my financial burden by helping to offset the costs of my quarter interning in Washington, DC so that I can focus on my academics and career.

Martha Bailey Featured in UCLA Anderson Review

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A paper by UCLA Professor Martha Bailey was featured in the UCLA Anderson Review. It studies the effect of increases in the minimum wage on employment and earnings of workers.
The UCLA Anderson Review article can be found here.
The paper published by Professor Martha Bailey can be found here.

Technology Transfer and Early Industrial Development: Evidence from the Sino-Soviet Alliance

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Michela Giorcelli

Michela Giorcelli

By Michela Giorcelli and Bo Li

The importance of international technology diffusion in fostering economic development can be hardly overstated. Consequently, technology transfer interventions have been widely used to promote industrialization in developing countries, especially through the diffusion of state-of-the-art capital goods. However, in their early stages of industrialization, less developed countries also lack industry-specific knowledge. Acquiring this knowledge is complex: several of its elements are “tacit” and therefore diffused through on-the-job training from foreign companies. Despite their wide use, little is known about the effectiveness of technology and knowledge transfers in the first phases of country industrialization.

In “Technology Transfer and Early Industrial Development: Evidence from the Sino-Soviet Alliance,” Professor Giorcelli and her coauthor Professor Bo Li shed new light on this topic, using evidence from the Sino-Soviet Alliance. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union supported the development of the so-called 156 Projects, an array of technologically advanced, large-scale, capital-intensive industrial facilities. These projects were supposed to receive a “basic” technology transfer that involved the duplication of whole Soviet plants and the provision of Soviet state-of-the-art machinery and equipment; and an “advanced” knowledge transfer via visits of Soviet experts to teach Chinese high-skilled technicians how to operate the new machineries, and to offer technical and industrial management training to the engineers and production supervisors. Through this program, China received the best Soviet technology, which in the steel and iron industries was considered the best in the world. However, due to some delays in the project completion and the end of the cooperation between the two countries in 1960, only some projects received the Soviet machinery and training (advanced projects), or the Soviet machinery (basic projects), while the remaining ones ended up employing traditional domestic technology (comparison projects).

The authors find that the performance of basic projects only differentially increased relative to that of comparison projects in the short-run. By contrast, outcomes of advanced projects constantly grew more than those of basic projects, reaching a 50 percent higher output after 40 years. The persistency of these effects is explained by the fact that, when China’s interaction with foreign countries was extremely limited, advanced projects home-fabricated modern machineries to replace Soviet capital when it became obsolete. Once China began gradually opening to international trade in the early 1980s, such projects systematically engaged more in trade due to producing better-quality output. The presence of advanced projects was also associate to substantial productivity spillovers, and production reallocation from state-owned to privately owned companies since the late 1990s.