sidhi draft layout

8/4/2019 SIDHI Draft Layout

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September 2011 Te Ocial Student Publication o the U.P. School o Economics

S D H I

I

art by Carlos Chua


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Market Call report. Throughthis prediction, GDP growthis expected to pick up by5.2% or within the growthtarget of 5%-6%.Hopefully,the expected increase ingovernment expenditure willbe enough to stimulate theeconomy and meet this goal.

On anothernote, hot money inflows

GDP for the second quarter was recordedwith a 3.4% growth, lowerthan the forecast of 4.4%growth. This is attributedto the progressive slow-ing down of the economy.

The GDP growthof 3.4% is lower than theforecast of 4.4% for Q2.This trend followed fromthe previous recorded quar-ter. GDP for Q1 was set toincrease by 0.8% from theprevious quarter. This isa pattern of occurrence oflower than expected eco-nomic growth as Q1 GD-

Palso slowed down to 4.9%,also to have lower than theforecast growth. With thesame quarter recorded lastyear, growth expected at4.5 to 5.5 was unmet, hav-ing only a figure of 4.4%.

Since PresidentAquino's term, the economyhas been described to bein astate of slowing down.The current global condi-

tion of the economy maybe a reason behind thesedeclining growth rates.

The Philippinesis also experiencing a de-crease in remittances fromthe Filipino overseas con-

tract workers. The Nation-al Statistics CoordinationBoard revealed during theirlatest figures that remit-tances dropped by 2.8%with the figures that of lastyear. These remittancescompose almost 10% of thecountry's GDP, a major fac-tor taken into account by theeconomy as it keeps local

businesses afloat despitethe low profits and incomes.

Budget deficit on theother hand is set to be lowerthan P250B expecting theeconomy to grow by 5.2%this year. Budget deficit isseen to be lower than 250Bas a foreseen improvementin the collection of taxeson the second half of thisyear according to the latest

peak S394M for August.On the net inflow

of foreign portfolio invest-ments, a peak of S394M isreached during the monthof August, the central banksaid. Compared to theS225M recorded the samemonth last year, the Au-gust hot money inflow went

up with a whopping 75%.

2 NEWS

Te CurrentEconomic Condition

o the PhilippinesRaaello Batobato


3/16

"For at least another hundredyears we must pretend to our-selves and to everyone that fairis foul and foul is fair; for foul isuseful and fair is not. Avarice andusury and precaution must beour gods for a little longer still."--John Maynard Keynes (1931)

What benevolencecould avarice and usury possibly have that a great economist would praise them insuch a dictum? Ironic, howavarice, being one of the sevendeadly sins, should be upliftedto the level of a god. Greed hap-pens to be a very sensitive wordin Filipino society. What with allthe corruption that prevails, il-legal logging that strips our for-ests naked and the "evils" of

capitalism. And usury, by defini-tion, is embodied by the decep-

tive loan sharks; 5/6 as theirploy is commonly known. How-ever, if one puts these wordsinto certain contexts, peoplewill realize that there is wisdomto the seemingly ironic state-ment of John Maynard Keynes.

Consider a competitivemarket. Anyone who is "greedy"for profit will enter into the indus-try and generate profit. Concur-rently, an additional competitorin the industry would lead tomore goods or services offeredand lesser market prices at that.The firm gets what it desires andconsumer welfare is improved.

Could the same godsbe justified in a Filipino soci-ety, considering that they have

brought infamy and distrust toour Senators and Congress-

men? And whatabout the dis-

tribution ofw e a l t h ?In our socie-ty, riches areconcentrated

only in anelite minority

while majorityof other Filipi-

nos struggle tomake ends meet.

The rich getting richerand the poor getting poorer isnot the whole picture, though.Capitalist societies have beencriticized as breeding exploita-tion and abuse. Only the owners

of capital really get ahead in lifewhile laborers are left physicallyexhausted and remain in thesame social stratum. But, ide-ally, the profits that go to ownersof capital accumulate and shouldcreate more jobs, augment na-tional income and leave every-one content. But why is this notthe case? The problem must liewith the actors and not the sys-tem. Perhaps there is apathy. In

which case, one can argue thatyou should hate the player andnot the game. Capitalism maybreed such mindsets but the ac-tions of the individual must beisolated from the system withinwhich one operates. Historycan attest that capitalism hasdone better to improve societiesthan other social organizations.

Greed, avarice, usu-ry - such words need not havethe negative connotation com-monly attached to them. Hav-

ing such gods can be healthyand beneficial when directed ata goal or when committed to acertain conviction. Having suchtraits could very well be meansto an end - a greater end. Forgreed, avarice and usury are

tempests which fuel one's de-sires, but with the temperanceof reason, compassion and con-viction, greed is definitely good.

In a level that tran-scends the materiality of eco-nomics, and in turn placesthese gods in a more generalcontext, greed can help achieveone's goals. It can induce oneto hone oneself and persevere.

It motivates people; it makesthem pursue their dreams witha bloodthirsty vigor. But asmentioned earlier, there is afine line separating the benevo-lence and malevolence of greed.

It only seems fitting toconclude with another quotefrom a more contemporary per-sonality to show that Keynes'wisdom, though formulated

almost a century ago, is stillvery much applicable today.

"If greed unleashesthe spirit of entrepreneurship,and if it motivates individuals towork for the good things in life,there may be a silver lining inthe trait. Many good things arederived from self-interest, which

potentially translates to goodfor others as well."-- MichaelYoshikami, Founder, President,and Chief Investment Strate-gist of YCMNET Advisors, Inc.

3 FEAURE


4/16

Another semester is

about to end and surely somuch things have happened.I started cleaning up my com-puter by deleting old, useless,academic files from the previ-ous semesters and clearing upmy browser's web history to ac-celerate its speed when loadingfiles from the internet. Suddenly,something caught my attention.

It wasn't really some-thing new, but apparently, it wasmind-boggling and perhaps, re-ally disturbing. As I scroll backfrom June to September, therewas nothing except this sitewhich is popularly named Fa-cebook. All these months, myprecious time was spent for thisunitless, non-academic elective,

which goals to strengthen ourclose ties with different people.

Having said that, it istimely for this another websiteto be revisited by my fellow stu-dents and schoolmates as thesecond semester approaches.It has been abandoned formonths, and now, it will regainthe spotlight in our web brows-

er's history as people rush to ac-cess it not just for any updates

with their current academicstanding but also for their sub-

ject enlistment. He is our all-timefavorite buddy, companion andbest friend. We call him CRS.

We meet again

It's another season for UP stu-dents to perform old rituals tohelp them get through this has-sle and annoying procedure

of choosing their desired subjects. Perhaps choosing isn'treally what is annoying rather itis seeing in front of your com-puter screen that the subject'sdemand exceed by more than500% of its total slot. What'seven worse is that everythinghappens in random. Your fatelies in the hands of this unknownand perhaps inefficient mecha-

nism, which will either grant youyour most precious class or anopportunity to enhance your per-suading skills by begging yourprofessors for a single more slot.

Luckily, my charmshave been effective and for thepast 5 semesters, my relation-ship with CRS has been effec-tively tested and strengthened.

So far, the worst scenario wasfor me to engage again inthe

second batchrun of sub-

ject enlisting.N o n e t h e -less, it onlytakes me one

enlisting period to complete

my ideal class schedule.

Some good advice

Upon reflecting and carefullyanalyzing the factors which ledme to this consistent achieve-ment, I have taken down thecommon things that most peo-ple observe during the enlist-ment period which might helpyou land on your most pre-ferred subjects and schedules.

1. Don't beafraid to enlist and enlist! Sinceassigning chosen subjectswould be done randomly by thesystem, it would be practical tomaximize the enlistment periodby enlisting in more than onesubject of the same kind. After

all, you are allowed to enlist fora total of 20 subjects! With somepowerful novena paired withsmall acts of kindness, perhapsyou'll end up getting one of them.

2. Rank yoursubjects according to your pref-erence and based on how muchyou need them. It would some-times work when you orderyour subjects according to their

chronological importance. Prior-itize the class you need the most!

3. Know which GEs arenot in demand and are unpopu-lar among the student popula-tion. After all, they might beworth taking. If they really are,feel free to share them to us!4. If time permits,take your major subjectswhen these are off-season.5. Be aRegistration Assistant.

P e r h a p ssome will find thisguide useless. Itreally dependson CRS's mood.

Some are luckyto get all the subjects that theyhave enlisted.Some are con-tented with getting3 subjects. Someare too unfortunateto receive nothing.

Nonetheless, people

shouldnot lose hope! After all,there issuch a thing as manualenlistment which we are all toofamiliar as well. Let us just beoptimistic that as the systemimproves, it will be more just,fair, and friendly to the studentsmost especially to those whowere able to enlist first. Like acasinoslot machine, who knowswhat's going to happen next?

Casino SlotmachineMarvin Joseph Marayag

4 FEAURE


5/16

5 FEAURE

Thesis is the last hurdle one must overcome before graduation.

Everyone has their ownpreferences on when to takeEcon 199. Those who prefer thefirst semester say that it allowsyou more time than the second.It is perhaps because late sub-missions are tolerated during

the first sem! there are hear-say accounts of submit-

ting Thesis during thesem break or right

before the start ofthe second sem.The second se-mester, on theother hand,does not giveyou this libertysince gradua-tion is also dur-

ing April . just afew weeks after

the end of class-es. Begging for ex-

tension of deadlineswon't really work. The

first sem allows you to takeadvantage of the second sem

just in case you get INC or flunkThesis completely. (Seriously?Sad face.) Those who preferthe second semester would fin-ish up their subjects during thefirst and have 6-12 units left, sothey could give full attention andmake a last hurrah.

To solo or to partner? I person-ally chose to go solo, and hereare the reasons why:

1. You hold your own time and

you can go at your own pace.

You have an exam in anothersubject, so you pause from do-ing Thesis and concentrate onthat, but your partner isn't in thesame situation. Today, you wantto oversleep; your partner hasa 4h and 30m break from 8:30-1:00. You have scheduling is-sues.

2. It eliminates the free riderproblem.

No one wants a lazy-ass The-sis partner, especially thosewho hate free riders (well, whodoesn't?). Then again, for themore passive ones, they mightprefer someone to check up onthem. The key of team dynam-ics is TRUST. You cannot al-ways work together since youare pressed for time. You musttrust the work of your partnersince rechecking everything is

simply counterproductive. Butof course, you must talk to one

another to brief about what you

did. Focus on each other's forte.

3. It eliminates all human re-source problems.

Basically going soloeliminates conflicts. You can pullyour own hair; curse yourself orwhatever it is that you do whenyou have gone mad. Most likely,your partner would be your bestfriend, and when emotions get in

the way, your friendship mightsuffer. You are friends with aperson not because of his workethic, so be wary and make surethat your friendship will surpassbumps of a more work-relatedrelationship. Also, imagine, ifyou are frustrated with the The-sis itself, being mad at your The-sis partner, which means losingyour best friend as well. Yourbest friend is your outlet of these

emotions--the person who keepsyou sane and keeps you going.He or she is not the object of it.

Finally, when you getto working on the Thesis topic it-self, my advice is to look at avail-able data and think of relevantissues that you may tackle withwhat is present. Being too ambi-

tious and thinking of topics be-forehand, which is a mistake thatI made, allows for more creativequestions. But sometimes, thedata really isn't there. No mat-ter what you do, you can neverextract or extort data. Not unlessyou collect your own data, whichis very time consuming. Youalso have to be keen on yoursampling methods.

Review of Related Lit-erature (RRL)--this is what I hatethe most. I cannot take scanningand reading literature then typ-ing it down to be cited as supportfor my findings. It stops the flowof ideas. Sometimes you are justin a typing frenzy and you writedown what you know. (8 semes-ters is not for nothing) Type.Take a break. Read again. Aftereverything has been said anddone, you go on with citing oth-ers' studies to make your worksubstantial.

Thesis is a sem-longprocess. You cannot do it in amonth, especially during the lastmonth. Make bi-weekly dead-lines. Give yourself enough timeto think and get in the zone toreally work on it. It is all abouttime management. In the end, Iactually find it to be the most re-laxing Econ subject in the wholecurriculum.

Tes-is So Much Fun!Jennier Hope Ngo


6/16

I remember when Iwas a freshman, back whenI still had a life, if there wasone question that everyfreshman was throwingaround it was "Dude, whatGE's did you get?". Come

to think of it, until today that'sthe same question I ask thefreshmen that I meet. It's sucha great conversation starterbecause every single per-son you meet in or from UPwould have at least one greatstory with the General Elec-tives, or GE's, they took. Itmay be about how the sub-

ject was so insanely easy it'dhave made any Atenean or

LaSallian cry, or such a ter-ror it must have been brewedup from, at the very least, theSeventh Circle of hell. Every-body wants to share their ex-perience with GE's. Luckily forme, I have about 400 wordsleft to share about my UP GEstories, so if you've read thisfar you might as well finish it!

At the very top ofmy list will be an all-time fa-vorite, Nat Sci 1. No mat-

ter what, don't ever believeanyone who ever says thatthe GE is a horrible subject,because they'd be under-stating it. Nat Sci 1 would beone of those subjects brewed

straight from hell. It was sobad that I was ecstatic tohave received a 45 out of100 in my exam, becausethat was already enough tobe exempted from the finals!

Next on my list wouldbe Nat Sci 1's complement,Geog 1. I remember my oneand only requirement in thisclass was a take-home examby groups of 5, which had toanswer the question "whatwas your favorite geographytopic and why?" in 500 wordsonly!However, it was a 7 amclass, so I guess this was theuniverse's way of being fair.

I took two Englishclasses, English 11 and 12.My English 12 GE, WorldLiterature, was such a treatbecause I was able to enlistalong with two good friendsof mine. Moreover, my pro-fessor was also quite a treat(to look at). Nevertheless,the class made me feel very,

well, classy adding epicslike the Odyssey, plays likeFaust, and poems like Inferno(obviously) to my bookshelf.English 11 was also thor-oughly enjoyable because it

's one of those insight-ful kinds of courses. Everymeeting we discussed anew story or poem, and soevery meeting was some-thing new to look forward to.

Comm 3 was one ofthose classes that everybodysaid would be great, whichsort of left me disappointed.Perhaps it was because I hadsuch a high expectation thatit didn't quite live up to thehype I had generated for it.This was one of the coursesthat didn't really add anythingto my knowledge, because Ican already speak in publicquite fine. Always choose anelective you think you'll actu-ally learn something from, thisone's for you freshman! Well inthe end, for all it was worth, Igot a date, as required by thecourse's curriculum. At leastfor a day I wasn't a lonely guy.

I was quitesurprised by how much I enjoyed my next GE, Art

Stud 1. I never drew, neverpainted, never did anything re-motely artsy. I was never thatguy, until Art Stud 1 changedmy life. Okay so I didn't shift toFine Arts or anything, but since

taking that class I've sort of hadthis new appreciation for art. Ihighly recommend this class.

Lastly, the motherof all GE's, the highly cov-eted MST so rare its demandreaches four digits on CRSpre-enlistment: Science, Tech-nologies and Societies. It'sso great I had to spell out itsentire course name. If you'venever heard of this class, youhave to be deaf, because evenstudents from other schoolsknow about how badass thisclass is. And yes, I took it.

General electives willalways be the pleasant breakfrom hard-hitting majors. It'salso one of those classes thatyou share with students fromall over the campus. Most im-portantly, even if you probablywon't have any practical usefor them, it's good to knowthat you know something.

Always choose an elective you think youll actuallylearn something from...

My top 7

GEs(out o 7)Raael Mirauente

6 FEAURE


7/16

By the law of sequence, we can assume thatdoctors give birth to pediatricians, dogs bring about puppies and writers breed writers, However, such cannot fullybe the case for Juan C. Tuvera

and Kerima Polotan-Tuverawhen they gave birth to theireighth child, Mariam Soraya.

Having Palancanawardees for parents must havemeant shelves and shelves ofbooks in the family library. Wellindeed, because of this, thekid Mariam loved English andL i t e r a t u r e .

Though she loved reading alot, Mariam's long-time dreamwas to become a psychiatrist.It wasn't until entering collegethat she realized she wanted tobecome an economist instead.Pursuing her bachelor's degree

in Economics at the Ateneo deManila University,Mariam foundthe course to be a highly intel-lectual and interesting field.

Mariam's blood as awriter inevatibly flowed. Sheworked as Associate Busi-ness Editor for the now de-funct Evening Post and writerfor People magazine. She hasalso written commentary for a

couple of national newspapers.

Growing up with herwriting skills, Mariam saidshe has from time to timebeen compared to her fa-mous storyteller mother."It was inescap-able," she said.

On the other hand,Mariam's continuedinterest in Econom-

ics allowed her to fin-ish graduate studies at

the London School of Eco-nomics. She brought her MSdegree to the Philippines andstarted teaching History of Eco-nomic Thought, better knownas Economics 109, in 2006.

Asked if the subject isher forte, Mariam chuckled andsoftly replied "I hope so,"andwent on to say that her teachingpreparations include reading farahead, digesting the subject andtranslating it to a version that teen-agers could easily understand.

From this specificsubject, Mariam hopes thather students would be able to

entirely understand the con-cept of individual greed, know

if it is good, andweigh the prosagainst the cons.

For a whileafter 2006,Mariam restedfrom teachingand worked for

UP Manila asa researcher and editor. Be-fore her teaching stint in Dili-man this year, Mariam alsoworked for the extensionprogram at UP Pampanga.

Although from theLondon School of Economics,Mariam still gets intimidated bythe UP School of Economics.

"Why, it's the UPSchool of Economics."

"Prestigious," she added whenasked about her impressionof the School. She said thatshe presumes the studentsof the school to each have anIQ above average. During thecourse of her teaching, she

observed that her students arebright and disciplined and reallydo their share of school work.

This year, Mariam re-turns to UP Diliman not only toteach but also to finish a Mas-ter's degree in French. Justa few years ago, she won atranslation award in UP Ma-nila for translating to Taga-log Gustav Flaubert's French

short story, "A Simple Heart".

A simple heart is alsowhat inspires Mariam, for shementioned that she looks upto Nelson Mandela becausethere is no hatred in the man'sheart. Besides Mandela, Mar-iam also would like to meetPrincess Diana. Mariam as-serts that Princess Diana was

underestimated and her truebrightness not appreciated.Besides teaching

and studying, Mariam usedto scuba dive. Nowadays,she's into reading and sleep-ing. Given all of these andby the law of sequence, wecan still assume that writersgive birth to writers and more.

Writers breed writers

and sometimes,

economistsJoana Bagano

7 FEAURE


8/16

ALONEJuliet Fe Laguda

I can see the sun falling

after the day is donemy fears are also crawlingcause there's no point inwishing

in the eyes of some it'ssolemnbut the passion keeps onhuntinghunger for the impossiblearisesto keep the flames fromgoing

I don't care what they thinkDon't care what they sayDon't care what they doI'll keep the fire burning

So much pride have beentakenThe bitterness were leftupturnedAll the memories havereturnedBut it cannot change theundone

Probie out o Econ

I am under the flesh

Watching, waiting

I am under the clouds

Running, playing

I am under the sun

Reading, writing

I am under the skies

Moving, helping

I am under the stars

Hoping, praying

I am under the ground

Rotting, decaying.

LINEAR?Joana Bagano

"Trade is nothing else but a Commutation of Superfluities; for instance: I give

mine, what I can spare, for somewhat of yours, which I want, and you can spare."

-Dudley North, 17th Century economist and writer on free trade

8 LIERARY


9/16

SomeoneJuliet Fe Laguda

From the time there's an emptiness

A little something I will surely missMy heart is saying there's some-

thing wrong

I wish someone would come along

Someone who will make my life

complete

Someone who will give me cour-

age to compete

Someone who will give color to my

life

Someone who is always at my side

You smiled at me the sweetest

smile

You cam into my life at the right

time

When you said hello

My heart suddenly throbbed fast

I can't deny

If you wanna make me feel this

way

I want to let you know

How you make my day so gay

You give me hope

When all my hope is gone

Now i know

You are my only Someone

Fate

"Everyone has the brainpower to follow the stock mar-

ket. If you made it through fifth-grade math, you can

do it."

- Peter Lynch, Wall street stock investor

9 LIERARY/CULURE


10/16

The UPSE Schoolympicsis an annual sportingevent among the studentbody of the School of Economics. Now on its 21styear, the Schoolympics iscurrently organized by the

UPSE Student Council SAC(Sports Arts and Culture)Committee headed by sen-ior Van Chrisitan Valdez.Last year's Schoolympicsended with Batch '07 on top,followed by Batch '09 in sec-

ond place, Batch '08 in third,and Batch '10 finishing last.

The Schoolyp-ics-21 finals series officiallyopened on September 10,2011 at the Departmentof Agrarian Reform (DAR)Gym with the traditionalOath of an Athlete Cer-emony. Preliminary rounds

Tensions riseas Schoolympics 21 ends

soonGarie Ouano

were held mostly in August.This year, Schoolympicshosts 12 main events -(in no particular order)Cheerdance, Futsal, Men'sBasketball, Women's Basket-ball, Volleyball, Badminton,Frisbee, Ping-pong, Chess,Tug of War, Sack Race,

and a Video Competition.According to a

highly reliable SIDHI source(name withheld), currentstandings reveal Batch'09 to be on top of the game.There is no clear informa-tion as to who this year'sMVP will be, but the spe-cial award is determinedthrough an aggregated

score of points and fouls.Some things to note

about this year's Schoolym-pics, there is overwhelm-ing opinion that this yearwas one of a few that theFreshies did not flop in theCheerdance Competition.Batch '11 showcased a va-riety of tosses that can rivalthat of UP Pep! In other as-

pects, tensions mount aswell as one of the Tug-of-wargames resulted to an anony-mous person crying becauseof offensive remarks fromthe audience. Schoolym-pics-21 is evidently a test ofmaturity as it is a test of skill.

Schoolympics-21 isscheduled to culminate onOctober 7, 2011 at Spanio

Bar. Details to be releasedsoon by the UPSE-SCSAC Committee.

14 NEWS


11/16

The UP Econom

ics Society External Affairs

Committee staged the first

National Economics Sum

mit at the UP Engineering

Theater last September 17.

The said conference

which went on from 8am to 3pm,

tackled issues on education, la-bor and Philippine development.

Guest speakers includ-

ed notable figures specializing

in the aforementioned topics,

like Professor Solita C. Monsod,

former Education Undersecre-

tary Juan Miguel Luz, Depart-

ment of Labor and Employment

Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz,

and National Economic Develop-

ment Authority Director-General

Dr. Cayetano Paderanga, Jr.

Attendees included the

top students of economics from

universities all over the metro,

and participating economics or-

ganizations: Adamson UniversitySociety of Economics Students

(AUSES), Adamson University

Business Economics Society

(ADUBES), Ateneo Economics

Association (AEA), Ateneo Man-

agement Economics Organiza-

tion (MEcO), DLSU EconOrg,

FEU Economics Society (FEU

Ecosoc), JRU Economics So-

ciety (JRU Ecosoc), PLM Eco-

nomics Society (PLM Ecosoc),PUP Economics Research So-

ciety, San Beda Economics So-

ciety (San Beda Ecosoc), St.

SchoEconOrg, UA&P Business

Economics Association (BEA),

UP Organization of Business

Economics Majors (OBEM),

UST Artlets Economics Society,

and the UST Econom-

ics Society (UST Ecosoc).

The NES is part of UP

Ecosoc's month-long 53rd an-

niversary celebration. The NES

was organized by the Externals

Committee headed by externals

chairperson Regina Reinoso.

EcoSoc presents rstNational Economics Summit in

UP DilimanBeatriz Bayudan

10 NEWS


12/16

2 Fish, 5 Loavesby Mae Angeline Alivia o the University o La SaletteWinning entry, PSE Academe Week 2011 Photo Contest

11 CULURE


13/16

The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) with itstheme, Integrated Learningon Stock Market Investing (iLearn Stock MarketInvesting), launched the2011 Academe Week fromSeptember 5 to 10, 2011.

The six-day eventtargeted to educate highschool, college and post-graduate students and edu-cators with topics aboutstock market investing andto persuade the members ofthe academic community tobe active participants in thePhilippine capital markets.

The PSE joined forc-es with the Council of Eco-nomics Students (CES), theJunior Philippine Econom-

ics Society (JPES), the PSEBlue Chip Club (PSE-BCC),PSE Market Education De-partment (PSE MED) andthe Bedan Business Spec-trum Foundation (BBSF) tomake the said event possible.

University of thePhilippines - Diliman hostedthe 4th day of the Academeweek (Sept. 8) at the UP Col-

lege of Engineering for theFundamental and Techni-cal Analyses Seminar whichwas designed for collegeand MBA students, inves-tors, and practitioners fromdifferent fieldsinterested tolearn methods used to ana-lyze securities and makesound investment decisions.

Speakers on the

said day were Mr. Jose MariLacson, head of research atCampos, Lanuza& Co. for thefundamental analysis and Mr.Leo Quinito, director of PSEcapital markets developmentfor the technical analysis.

For the second part ofthe Academe Week, the Pres-entation of Security AnalysisReport encouraged securi-ties specialist students, stockbrokers, and even investors to

accomplish an equity securityanalysis to facilitate the PSE,beginner and veteran inves-tors, and the investing publicvarious studies, news, andreferences through funda-mental and technical analysis.

The first part of theopening rites was held atthe PSE Ayala Board Roomshowcasing ceremonial activi-ties, the ribbon-cutting of ex-hibit, the launch of Teacher'sGuide and the PSE Acad-emy Website. The secondpart of the program was aBasic Stock Market Seminarfor educators that aimed to

orient those who attendedabout the stock market and toguide them on how investingin stocks can further secureone's financial future by be-coming a successful investor.

The whole event or-ganized other seminars suchas Listing and Capital RaisingSeminar, Fundamental andTechnical Analysis Seminars

and a Career Talk. Creativecompetitions were also facili-tated that included the Poster-Making Contest, Digital Pho-tography Contest, InfomercialProduction Contest, StockTrading Tournament, as wellas the Economic and CapitalMarkets Quiz Competition-and Best Thesis Competition.

PSE spearheads Academe Week 2011Macon Davila

14 NEWS


14/16

SOUR

A Ne

Are you looking for something newto immerse yourself in?How about a new book or aninteresting lecture from a guywho's actually renowned world-

wide (See TEDTalks)? Look nofurther for this corner will equipyou with what's new in the Econworld may it be in the School orabroad. You may have resignedyourself with hating Economicsas a subject in class but may-be, I can convince you to thinktwice about how you feel aboutit through what's new in mediaand popular culture. I'm no ex-pert (yes, if we see each otherin the hallway I can tell you whatmy EWA is and you'll doubt whyI even write about nerdy stuffin Economics) but from time totime, motivation has to comesomewhere and this is whereit comes from (at least for me).

I leave you with aquote from the famous J.M.Keynes who we all know and

kind of hate because of thehardship he's bringing us nowin all our subjects; neverthe-less, this quote will encourageyou and make you feel veryimportant about what you'restudying (or maybe not) at leastuntil the end of semester forit brings such great wisdom.

The study of econom-ics does not seem to require

any specialised gifts of anunusually high order. Is it not,

intellectually regarded, a veryeasy subject compared with thehigher branches of philosophyand pure science? Yet good,or even competent, economistsare the rarest of birds. An easy

subject, at which very few ex-cel! The paradox finds its ex-planation, perhaps, in that themaster-economist must pos-sess a rare combination of gifts.He must reach a high standardin several different directionsand must combine talents notoften found together. He mustbe mathematician, historian,statesman, philosopher-in somedegree. He must understandsymbols and speak in words.He must contemplate the partic-ular in terms of the general, andtouch abstract and concrete inthe same flight of thought. Hemust study the present in thelight of the past for the purposesof the future. No part of man'snature or his institutions mustlie entirely outside his regard.He must be purposeful and

disinterested in a simultaneousmood; as aloof and incorrupt-ible as an artist, yet sometimesas near the earth as a politician.

Watch out for anEconomics inspired play-list for our next issue!

BOOKS

A follow-up to his book, Predict-

ably Irrational, Dan Ariely, con-tinues writing about the irration-

ality of man. This time around,he focuses on the benefits andthe positive effects that irration-ality can bring to our lives. Weknow for a fact that Economicsis established on the theory of

rationality and that human be-ings make decisions based onreason. Of course, this is notreally what happens in real lifeand it is through experimentsand personal experiences thatAriely showcases the differ-ent aspects that lie beneaththe faade of acting rational. Inthis book, we learn more aboutprocrastination, revenge andadaptation among other topics.I personally enjoyed the chap-ter on the "Not-Invented-HereBias" which emphasized thatus as human beings like ideasthat are from ourselves andnot from others as well as the"The Ikea Effect" which talkedabout why we overvalue whatwe make. These are just two ofconcepts in the book shed lighton why man thinks like he does.

Mind you, these are not just hy-pothetical thoughts but actualexperiments are carried out inbig universities in the UnitedStates to put these conceptsinto life and understanding. Thebook also imparts knowledgeand tips as to how to act uponour irrational side once it hits us.

If you're looking foranswers as to why we act like

we do, Ariely's two books canprovide what you're looking

for. It is not a challengingand theoretical book thatwe are used to in Varian'sor Mankiw's (which is basedon rationality concepts).He acquires the use of real

life clever experiments thatrelates to everyone that iswhy it is also effective inimparting the message. Iwould highly recommendit to everyone who wantsa break from all the techni-cal readings that involvebusiness law, regressionlines, economies of scale,etcetera. You would be sur-

prised as to what the book can

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reveal to you about yourself.

MOVIES

A Beautiful Mind

directed by RonHoward and basedon the book writtenby Sylvia Nassar

ThePulitzer Prize-nominated bookthat is the biog-raphy of JohnForbes Nash (aNobel Prize win-

ner in Economics) is brilliantand thought-provoking. The filmadaptation which was released10 years ago brought the great-ness and genius of this man tolife and the inspiring story ofhow he came about with the

Nash equilibrium. I have nottaken game theory yet so I donot really want to talk aboutsomething I do not know butthe portrayal of Nash by RussellCrowe can really just inspireanyone to go out there, openyour horrifying math notebookand answer your differentialequation homework. The filmadaptation emphasizes moreon his struggle with paranoid

schizophrenia and his life in theacademe. Nash ends up marry-ing a student (Jennifer Conel-ly!!) and is portrayed as some-one who is a complete socialoutcast, so you see, this movie

actually has an absorbing plotthat deserves watching despite

of all the mathematics involved.The film is indeed refreshing inthis day and where everythingseem to be three dimensional.

Learning more onthe history of whatever topic

you study about in Econ is al-ways interesting consideringhow complicated things canget. I assure that you will en-

joy the feeling of fulfilment (vi-cariously through Nash). Thismovie is brilliantly executedand a must-watch for all as-piring Economists out there.

WHAT'S NEW

Hans RoslingTalk on Popula-tion and Eco-nomic Growth

Dr. HansRosling, a pro-fessor at Karo-linska Institutein Sweden anda co-founder ofthe Gapmind-

er Foundationwhich promotessustainable glob-al developmentgraced the UPSchool of Eco-

nomics with his presence on16 September 2011 at the SEAuditorium. Famed in TED-talks as well as his extensiveresearch, more than 300 peo-ple from all over the metro

attended the public lecture.

Before even attendingthe talk, I've already Googledhis name and with this cameout the Gapminder website thatfeatures a fantastic applicationfor your desktop that allows youto show animated statistics!The heading "There's nothingboring about statistics!" and thevideo that goes with it is whatfirst greets you in the said web-site. Yeah, I don't think so. I donot have any disdain about sta-tistics but considering the hard-ship I am going through now inEcon 131, I had to see the talklive to convince me otherwise.

Granted, thetalk was filled withdata, graphs, tables, and worksbut it was presented effectivelyand he was also quite the jollyman so the interpretation of allthe statistics weren't so bad. Iwill not do his talk any justice bytalking about it here, so insteadyou should go to the UPSE web-site and stream the video out. It

would't hurt considering that heis Youtube-famous with morethan 4 million views in his vid-eos! You will learn more abouteconomic development, pov-erty and health, education andthe connections between thesetopics and perhaps even enjoyit! No more boring data, indeed.

E: UPSE website

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rdy CornerLouisa Poco


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Editor-in-Chie Pamela Jean CorpuzAssociate Editor Louisa Camille Poco

Managing Editor Juliet Fe LagudaNews Editor Raaello BatobatoFeatures Editor Giselle JoseGraphics Editor Madeiline Joy AloriaLayout Editor Joana Rizza Bagano

Photography by Arsenio Lukban

SIDHI 2011-2012EDIORIAL BOARD

Writers:Joana Rizza BaganoRaaello BatobatoBeatriz BayudanBenedict BismarkMacon DavilaJuliet Fe LagudaMarvin Joseph Marayag

Jose MarellaGarie OuanoLouisa Camille Poco

Artists:Madeiline AloriaCarlos ChuaAnton Ragos

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[email protected]

For solicitations or sponsor-ship, contact the managingeditorJuliet Fe Laguda - 09266447335

...man, who can subsist only in society, was tted by nature to thatsituation or which he was made. All the members o human socie-ty stand in need o each others assistance, and are likewise exposedto mutual injuries. Where the necessary assistance is reciprocallyaorded rom love, rom gratitude, rom riendship, and esteem,the society fourishes and is happy. All the dierent members o itare bound together by the agreeable bands o love and aection,and are, as it were, drawn to one common centre o mutual goodoces. - Adam Smith, Teory o Moral Sentiments

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