Coe College recently issued the following announcement.
If you ask Ashley Robins ’21 to summarize what she’s studying in graduate school, you’ll probably hear her say, “I study the human, not the robot.”
Ashley is pursuing a master’s degree in behavioral economics at Cornell University after gaining a deep appreciation of the highly specialized field at Coe College. The business administration, political science and economics triple major was influenced to pursue behavioral economics because of professors like Associate Professor of Economics Drew Westberg ’05. Ashley said she valued his transparency because in addition to teaching students research models, he took the time to ensure students understood the issues with following a model.
“He would say it’s a model, but it doesn’t really capture a human. It captures a robot that we made in our head,” she added.
Behavioral economics is a method of economic analysis that takes into account human behavior to explain decision making. Ashley’s goal is to apply her education toward creating more inclusive, equitable and effective policies. Her advisor, Joan & Abbott Lipsky Professor of Political Science Kimberly Lanegran, led her toward the opportunities available in policy work.
“She made me realize how effective it was and how [policy] impacts everyone, even if they don’t want it to,” Ashley said.
“I was always a bit frustrated because in economics you assume people are rational and make choices in their best interest and they know all the information. But in real life, it’s not accurate. People don’t do things that are good for them a lot of times. I want to benefit the community that I live and work in, and I think the best way to do that is through policy,” she added.
Ashley’s graduate program involves courses on quantitative research methods, consumer psychology and advertising strategy. In place of a standard thesis, she will do a complete marketing analysis of the insurance company Pacific Life as part of a research seminar course.
Her time at Coe was an essential experience to build a great foundation for her studies at one of the few behavioral economics graduate programs available in the country.
“I definitely came [to Cornell University] with a bit of an advantage…Not a lot of people are able to triple major at any school, and even fewer people are literally able to text their professors asking for help. I think Coe’s small-sized programs and its emphasis on good teacher-student connections really helped me. I don’t think I would have gotten that at a larger university,” she said.
Coe professors like Drew and Kimberly are known for mentoring students during and after their time on campus. In addition to being internationally recognized scholars in their field, Coe faculty connect with students in a very personal way that empowers students to make things happen. Ashley might be navigating the new world of behavioral economics, but she will always be only one text away from help she trusts.
Original source can be found here.
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