CA Unemployment Insurance Claims during the Pandemic

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The COVID-19 crisis has led to historically unprecedented increases in the level of initial Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims filed in California since the start of the crisis in mid-March.

Till von Wachter and UCLA’s California Policy Lab have partnered with the Labor Market Information Division of the California Employment Development Department to analyze daily UI claims to provide an in-depth and near real-time look at how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting various industries, regions, counties, and types of workers throughout California. This analysis can be found here and will be updated on a weekly basis.

PhD Student Selected to Attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

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The UCLA Department of Economics would like to congratulate doctoral student, Diana Van Patten, who has been selected to participate in the 7th Lindau Meeting on Economic Sciences, which will now take place in 2021. Ms. Van Patten was nominated to be part of this prestigious group by the UCLA Economics Department, then selected as the nominee by UCLA and the University of California system, and finally by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. Held every few years, this next meeting will bring together Nobel Laureates along with 373 young economists from around the world to exchange knowledge, ideas, and experience. To learn more, click HERE.

After graduating this spring, Diana will be an IES Fellow at Princeton University during the 2020-2021 academic year before starting as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Yale University’s School of Management starting in Summer 2021.

Congratulations, Diana!

Lee Ohanian discusses the social safety net with PBS News Hour

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UCLA’s Professor Lee Ohanian was interviewed by PBS News Hour’s Daniel Bush, to discuss how COVID-19 could reshape America’s social safety net and how this could affect the upcoming election. An excerpt of the article can be found below.

Could the coronavirus reshape America’s social safety net?

By Daniel Bush

The Democratic primary race was all but over before the novel coronavirus upended the 2020 campaign cycle last month. With former Vice President Joe Biden as the nominee-in-waiting, the only lingering question had been how far he might shift to the left to win over Sen. Bernie Sanders’ progressive followers before formally clinching the nomination.

But in the weeks since the pandemic brought traditional campaigning to a standstill, the national political debate has moved away from the narrow ideological battle on the left that dominated the primary season.

Now, Americans across the political spectrum have been forced to rethink the government’s role in protecting workers and supervising the economy, as more people confront a public health crisis that has exposed major gaps in the social safety net.

Read the entire article here

For more than 40 years, millions of Americans and citizens of the world have turned to the PBS NewsHour for the solid, reliable reporting that has made it one of the most trusted news programs on television (source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about)

Andy Atkeson discusses COVID-19 impact on US Economy on NPR

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UCLA’s Professor Andy Atkeson joined Executive Director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, Christine Mitchell, on NPR’s On Point to discuss the impact COVID-19 will continue to have on our economy and what to expect moving forward.

The full audio broadcast can be found by visiting WBUR’s website here.

On Point is broadcast every weekday on NPR stations around the country. Produced by WBUR in Boston, On Point’s vibrant conversation covers everything from breaking news to ancient poetry, and features writers, politicians, journalists, artists, scientists and ordinary citizens from around the world. The show is broadcast live on air from 10 a.m. to noon EST Monday through Friday, and airs again throughout the day and evening on more than 290 NPR stations coast to coast. The show is also available digitally through WBUR’s website, apps and its online archive, in addition to its regular podcast (source: https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/about)

Christine Doan

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2019 Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship Recipient

Biography: Christine Doan is a third year double majoring in Business Economics and Communications. She is a first-generation Vietnamese student and is passionate about empowering marginalized communities and sparking social change. Growing up in a family with little resources, she’s learned the importance of hard-work, perseverance, and advocating for yourself. After excelling in her economics and management courses, she wanted to use her financial knowledge and skillset to give back to her community–she has helped prepare income tax returns through VITA and worked to change collegiate perceptions on financial literacy and wellness through her internship at Pluto Money. She’s also involved in a handful of clubs at UCLA, and when she’s not preparing for culture nights with the Vietnamese Student Union and United Khmer Students or volunteering with Alpha Phi Omega, she’s pursuing her love of dance with Foundations.

Future Plans: This upcoming summer, Christine wants to study abroad in Milan to learn about brand strategy and business communications. With her dual degree, she plans on working as a corporate communications strategist or marketing consultant in the future. After a couple years of working experience, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree.

What does this scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely grateful and honored to receive the Donald Edward Bragg & Diane Sims Bragg Scholarship award. I am humbled by their recognition of my achievements and will continue to work hard to carry the momentum of this success into the future. Prior to receiving this scholarship, I was working multiple work-study jobs to cover the payments for my remaining time at UCLA, and being able to alleviate this financial burden will allow me to focus more on my educational pursuits and internships. To me, receiving this scholarship isn’t just about receiving money, it’s receiving the opportunity to do more as well.

Joshua Tyler Patel

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2019 Jeffrey W. Baus ’59 Scholarship Recipient

Biography:  Josh Patel is a 4th year Economics Major and Accounting Minor. He is originally from the Inland Empire – about an hour away from UCLA. Josh decided to be an Economics Major after enjoying his AP Macroeconomics class in high school and later was convinced by Professor Gardner’s 1A class to pursue the Accounting minor. He has held multiple positions on campus, previously being a member of Moneythink and VITA, an undergraduate teaching assistant for Professor Lu for MGMT 120B, and is currently a supervisor within UCLA Residential Life. Josh is thankful for UCLA’s many resources, his friends and family.

Future plans:  Josh has interned with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) for the past two summers, and will return in the fall of 2020 as an Audit Associate. He plans to use the upcoming summer to study to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and travel as well. Josh plans to specialize in the tech and media industry and continue his knowledge of accounting and consulting in the future.

What does the scholarship mean to me? I am very grateful to have received the Jeffrey W. Baus ’59 Scholarship. This award not only validates my previous hard work and dedication, but also helps alleviate some of the burden of being a student worker. Supporting myself through college has been tough, but I’m very proud of myself and being able to manage my classes and work. This scholarship allows myself to continue to thrive academically and takes off some of the burden or being a student-worker. I am very thankful for Mrs. Baus and her commitment and dedication to UCLA, and hope that my career will allow me to give back and mentor future generations of Bruins.

Samantha Chandra

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2019 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

Biography:  Samantha Chandra is a fourth-year Business Economics major with double minors in Entrepreneurship and Digital Humanities. She grew up in Bali, Indonesia and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her college degree at UCLA. At UCLA, Samantha serves as the president for 180 Degrees Consulting, an organization with a mission to provide consulting services to nonprofits and social enterprises. Samantha was also involved in Bruin Entrepreneurs, the largest entrepreneurship community on campus, raising money for multiple events and eventually serving as Internal Vice President in her junior year. Samantha was also a Sharpe Fellow in the Consulting track, and was involved in other campus programs like the Social Enterprise Academy.  Samantha’s interests lie in the field of business, entrepreneurship, and design. Beyond campus involvements, Samantha has completed internships in various fields, including media entertainment, startups, venture capital, and consulting throughout her 4 years at UCLA. To put her interest and learnings in entrepreneurship into application, Samantha worked on a student startup in her senior year, developing and designing a location-based social media app for UCLA students.

Future plans:  Samantha will be pursuing a career in consulting upon graduation. She will be working at Deloitte Consulting as a Business Technology Analyst in their Chicago office. She plans to gain meaningful experience and exposure to different industries by working in consulting and eventually starting her own business, either back home in Asia or globally. She is also considering applying for MBA programs after a few years of professional experience.

What does the scholarship mean to me?  I am really grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Scholarship. Coming into college, I looked for scholarships and was told there were not many opportunities for international students. I was really thankful for this scholarship for giving me the opportunity to help out my parents who are supporting my education here, and I am really grateful to now be able to do that with this scholarship. I hope that my journey in the next few years will rightfully represent this scholarship, the economics department, and UCLA.

Samantha Chandra

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Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

Biography: Samantha Chandra is a fourth-year Business Economics major with double minors in Entrepreneurship and Digital Humanities. She grew up in Bali, Indonesia and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her college degree at UCLA. At UCLA, Samantha serves as the president for 180 Degrees Consulting, an organization with a mission to provide consulting services to nonprofits and social enterprises. Samantha was also involved in Bruin Entrepreneurs, the largest entrepreneurship community on campus, raising money for multiple events and eventually serving as Internal Vice President in her junior year. Samantha was also a Sharpe Fellow in the Consulting track, and was involved in other campus programs like the Social Enterprise Academy.  Samantha’s interests lie in the field of business, entrepreneurship, and design. Beyond campus involvements, Samantha has completed internships in various fields, including media entertainment, startups, venture capital, and consulting throughout her 4 years at UCLA. To put her interest and learnings in entrepreneurship into application, Samantha worked on a student startup in her senior year, developing and designing a location-based social media app for UCLA students.  

Future plans: Samantha will be pursuing a career in consulting upon graduation. She will be working at Deloitte Consulting as a Business Technology Analyst in their Chicago office. She plans to gain meaningful experience and exposure to different industries by working in consulting and eventually starting her own business, either back home in Asia or globally. She is also considering applying for MBA programs after a few years of professional experience.
 
What does the scholarship mean to me? I am really grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Scholarship. Coming into college, I looked for scholarships and was told there were not many opportunities for international students. I was really thankful for this scholarship for giving me the opportunity to help out my parents who are supporting my education here, and I am really grateful to now be able to do that with this scholarship. I hope that my journey in the next few years will rightfully represent this scholarship, the economics department, and UCLA.

Vidur Bhatia

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2019 Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship Fund Recipient

Biography: Vidur Bhatia is a 3rd-year student at UCLA majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Accounting. Born and raised in India, Vidur moved to the United States to attend UCLA in 2017. Since coming to UCLA, Vidur has held leadership roles in Bruin Hedge Fund and United Nations Association, UCLA. In addition, Vidur has interned at various investment banks and financial services firms and has been involved in business workshops such as Bruin Development Academy which have fostered his passion for business and economics. In his free time, Vidur enjoys playing tennis, investing in the stock market, and watching re-runs of Friends. 

Future plans: Vidur’s past internships and involvement in business clubs have inspired him to pursue a career in investment banking after graduation. He will be interning at Goldman Sachs in their investment banking division this summer. In the long term, he hopes to pursue an MBA and use his knowledge of finance and economics to start his own business. 

What does the scholarship mean to me?: I am extremely grateful to receive the Harold R. Mortenson Endowed Scholarship award as a recognition of my achievements at UCLA. I would like to thank the donors of the scholarship and the Department for their belief in my endeavors. The scholarship will help reduce my financial burden and allow me to focus on pursuing my educational and professional dreams. I hope to give back to the community one day and help others achieve their educational and personal goals like Mr. Mortenson helped me achieve mine.