Women at Work

The Bright Side
Many of you might have heard that women are on the brink of becoming 50% of the workforce. Personally, I believe that this is truly a social milestone in the world's history. Women have finally been able to break through social barriers and make up half of the working class. Better technology, an increasingly egalitarian society, contraceptives, and access to higher education have opened millions of doors to women around the world. Ever since the world economy changed from the days of the hunter-gatherers, men were dominating the work force because of the demand for physical labor in agriculture (female physical labor ≠ male physical labor at that time). But, as our economy increasingly shifts to the service side, women have a better say in the labor market (potential of female brain = potential of male brain).


The Not-So-Bright Side
Now all that sounds wonderful, but wait, there's a catch. All this female empowerment comes at a price. Higher positions on the corporate ladder still prove elusive to the majority of women because a more lucrative job often requires more demanding work hours. If you are a mother of three children, more work hours don't exactly fit into your schedule, now do they? So here's the problem, many women are forced to choose between two options: a successful career and motherhood. Many fear that as women yearn for higher positions, their families will be neglected and the quality time will decrease. 


The Solutions!
More and more companies have embraced working at home and have made work a more family-flexible environment. While only a few countries have extended child care opportunities, other countries can certainly follow their example and set aside a larger percentage of taxes to having schools offer after-school activities. As society adjusts to this milestone, big companies must also as well. 


Question of the Post: How do you think companies can better adapt to this social milestone?

Meeting the KIVA Team!

I recently met part of the Kiva community at a social on Wednesday to celebrate the 10th class of Kiva Fellows in San Francisco! Having the opportunity to meet the minds behind Kiva was purely inspiring. As Kiva advocates congregating, we all felt the family-oriented atmosphere. Talking to people as invested (no pun intended) in Kiva as much as I am was an indescribable experience! I also want to thank all the Kiva Fellows and the Kiva Team for their work! They are liaisons who increase the peer-to-peer connection between the entrepreneurs and lenders like me!

Me and Mr. Premal Shah -- President of Kiva.org

Me and Ms. Chelsa Bocci -- Community Marketing Director of Kiva.org

So Much to Celebrate!

Hey everyone! I have a lot to celebrate in this post!


My 50th loan on Kiva: The initial amount of money I had loaned to female entrepreneurs around the world has been fully repaid! One complete cycle of loans has been completed! You can check out my Kiva page @ www.kiva.org/lender/saloni. Thanks to everyone who has supported Cherish, my small handicraft business from which the profits are directed to my personal Kiva account! I can't wait to help so many other women around the world achieve economic independence and better their lives! The number of people a single person can help with as little as $25 still astounds me every day. :)


My 2000th hit and 10th follower on my Miss Economist Blog: Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog! All this wouldn't be possible without the diligent readership of the hundreds who have visited this blog! Keep reading and making those wonderful comments!


Stay tuned in a few days for a new post on an article I read!


-Miss Economist

Kiva Update for the New Year!

Happy 2010! I just reviewed my 2009 Kiva microlending portfolio, here's an update!   www.kiva.org/lender/saloni

As a high school student, I contribute to Kiva to help woman attain financial stability in developing countries. I also use the principles of economics to spread the risk of my lending portfolio. Using the profits from my own non-profit handicraft business and occasional birthday gifts, I have helped 43 women thus far. I focus on women with low socioeconomic status and need less than a $1000 loan. I lend the repaid money to other entrepreneurs, creating a perpetual cycle of giving and receiving.

Highlights of my Kiva portfolio

Ø  100% of loans to women

Ø  Does not fund loans that promote gambling or alcoholism

Ø  43 loans funded in 18 countries

Ø  Smaller amount for each loan to spread the risk and help more women

Ø  Favors Kiva MFIs with a 4 or 5 star rating to minimize the risk of defaulted loans

Ø  Focus on entrepreneurs from countries with low per capita income

Ø  63% of loans funded in countries with less than 5,000 USD per capita income

Ø  77% of my loans on Kiva request less than 1,000 USD

Ø  100% of my loans as of Spring 2009 are dedicated to Maria Shriver’s Womens Conference Team

Ø  My loans make up 4% of all of Maria Shriver’s Womens Conference Team loans

Why I loan only to women in poor countries

A loan is not only money, but also an opportunity. By helping women with an entrepreneurial drive, I have helped them live out their dreams of financial independence and self-sufficiency. The synergetic combination of women and entrepreneurship can change Third World societies in unimaginable ways. Considering the social, economic, and political obstacles disadvantaged women have encountered throughout history, empowering women is necessary now more than ever in a world that is still ravaged by wars and populated by the impoverished. With loans as small as $125, these entrepreneurs can make ends meet on their own terms. If you give a woman a fish, you feed her for a day. If you give her a loan, you give her a fishing pole, a stand at a local market, food for her family for life, and a perpetual boost for their nation’s economy. A woman is not only an anchor for her family, but also for humanity.

How I reduce the risk of loans being defaulted

By understanding basic economics and the fundamentals of finance, I have learned how to make smart and small investments and how to disperse the risk of losing my money by funding several entrepreneurs. Favoring quantity over quality, I lend smaller amounts to many entrepreneurs rather than committing hundreds of dollars to a certain individual. By lending to entrepreneurs whose field partner risk rating is 4-5 stars, I spread the risk of losing money on a loan. By dispersing my loans geographically, I further reduce the risk of loans being defaulted because a country’s socioeconomic circumstances could dramatically change, affecting an entrepreneur’s repayment. According to Reuters UK, women are also more fiscally responsible.

What I have learned in terms of economics, business, and humanitarianism

By examining business plans, evaluating repayment terms, and judging the risk of a loan, I have learned much about making smart investments with humanitarian intentions. I discuss this learning as well as issues such as recession and poverty in my blog, Miss Economist (see links below). The bigger lesson I have learned is the importance of philanthropy. By helping those in less fortunate circumstances, I have realized how empowering women can change the world.

My next steps

Now that I have established 43 loans, I aim to not only continue funding more businesswomen but also to communicate the benefits of microlending to the youth and women of the world. By promoting philanthropy and humanitarianism, I will spread the message of microlending and empower women. In addition, I hope to pursue a degree in economics from a prestigious university such as Stanford or University of Chicago and use those skills in the real world. 

If you can help in any way, please let me know!

Black Friday Bonanza - A Look Back

A line of people hungrily wait for the doors to open at the biggest Macy's in their area. 3, 2, 1! The doorman opens the door and a stampede of shoppers rushes into the store, grabbing everything seen in sight. Louis Vuitton here! Rolex over there! While these bargain hunters ravage malls, the big brand companies roll the cash on in. What other day could it be? Black Friday.


Here is a brief overview of 2009's Black Friday. More shoppers headed over to the discount and department stores at 5 AM (23% of all shoppers) and targeted clothing (51% of all shoppers) and toys above all else. Favoring quantity over quality, most shoppers favored many items that were priced less than a few items at higher prices. Therefore, clothes, books, and toys were more profitable than large scale electronic products. Moreover, the magic word was discounts, discounts, discounts this holiday season. It is safe to assume that the stores that promised 75% to even 80% off favorite items reaped in the profits this Black Friday with $41.0 billion spent by shoppers all together, says the NRF. On average, most of the Black Friday shoppers (63%) did not intend to engage in the also popular "Cyber Monday" but hadn't completed the majority of their holiday shopping. Instead, not even 11% of shoppers had completely finished their shopping for November and December. Another study done by the NRF shows that most shoppers still hadn't checked off their holiday lists by December 9th and that most intended to continue shopping until the week before Christmas, prolonging the holiday season. 


And with that I wish you all joyous and safe holidays as we all prepare for 2010, which will hopefully be a year of immense progress for America.


Question of the Post: Any predictions for 2010?


Statistics retrieved from: The National Retail Federation (www.nrf.com)

Microlending Miracles

Imagine being able to change someone's life entirely for just.....wait for it.....$25. Seriously, just $25! Now what if this person was a destitute entrepreneur in need of a little financial support? Doesn't that sound incredible? Well, now you can help save the world $25 at a time through Kiva, a nonprofit microlending website (www.kiva.org).

Have you heard that phrase, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life"? Rather than just handing out donations to impecunious citizens of Third World countries, you can ensure that their future is looking bright through a microloan. How do microloans work, you ask? Well, through a lending site (such as Kiva), you can choose an entrepreneur who is requesting a loan starting at as little as $125. Over the course of the next few months, you'll be repaid in installments as their business flourishes with the money you lent them. Often they use the money to buy more inventory or expand their business in a certain way. As you are repaid, you can reinvest your money again to another person in need and create a cycle of wondrous microlending (Yay!). By lending a person money, you give them a chance to become financially stable, to rebuild their lives, and to break the cycle of poverty. I told you $25 can do a lot! For example, you can lend to a secretary in Kenya who wants a new computer to a farmer in Cambodia who needs to buy a cow and now even to New Yorker who needs to buy a new taxi! The possibilities are endless I tell you, endless! A microloan is truly a gift that keeps on giving.

Feel free to check out my lender profile by visiting: www.kiva.org/lender/saloni

Another great way to help out Kiva: click your hearts out at http://www.smallthingschallenge.com/index.php

Now go explore Kiva for yourselves :)

Amazing Adam Smith

We've all heard of him in our basic history and economic courses. We've heard of his world changing principles and ideas. We've heard he was briefly kidnapped by gypsies as a child (ok maybe not all of us...but it's true). Who is this man, you ask? Adam Smith (duh)! Sure, sure we've heard of the "invisible hand" and "self-interest" as mentioned in his The Wealth of Nations (Sorry, I can't underline on Blogger), but have we heard of much more?

In Jonathan B. Wight's fictional adventure Saving Adam Smith, Adam Smith channels his spirit into the mind of Harold Timms, a Romanian immigrant, in order to communicate with doctoral student, Richard Burns. Burns is on the verge of being launched into the highly privileged domain of academia with a revolutionary dissertation, much to the interest of his mentor, Bob Lattimer, and the WorldChemm, a major corporation. However, his attention is diverted when Harold comes to Burns regarding the voice of Adam Smith, who is taking over Harold's mind. Adam Smith is infuriated with the current state of the economy. Forced to listen to this voice, Richard goes on a road trip (from the Virginia to the Silicon Valley) and learns the "morality behind markets" from his conversations with Adam Smith. However, their lives are soon endangered when radical Max Hess plots to kill them. A jam-packed journey filled humor (including a poker game with your favorite Enlightenment thinkers), peril, romance, and economic theory, Saving Adam Smith is certainly a page turner. Wight aims to bring attention to The Theory of Moral Sentiments, the essential root to Smith's later novel. Now, if Saving Adam Smith has piqued your economic interest, I highly recommend it!

Now that you know the basic plot line, here's a brief discussion:

This book brings light to the true intentions of Adam Smith and the core of his philosophy as it differentiates between self-interest and selfishness, explains that justice is needed in a society before free markets can be adopted, and emphasizes the need for "healthy competition."

People are often mistaken with Smith's philosophies and believe that he glorified any and all means to make a profit, which is untrue. Yes, Smith was an advocate for free markets and capitalism, but he also believed that justice is essential to a society before such economic models can be implemented. All of this is explained in his lesser known work, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which emphasizes that morality is the foundation for an economically sound world. Smith also believed that a balance of competition in the market leads to technological progress. As stated on page 127: "The perennial search for profit leads to unending innovation and business transformation! Every business re-makes itself to survive."

And that is just a small nibble of the wonderful insights this book has to provide, now go read it!

Works Cited
Wight, Jonathan B. Saving Adam Smith. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002.


Question of the Post: If Adam Smith were able to come back to life, what do you think he would suggest to fix the economy?

Miss Economist Update

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while (you gotta love high school)! My exams ended and I just started working on another post which should be up soon! Keep checking back and thanks for the support!

~Miss Economist

POV on Poverty

So for a school club I'm in we had a Multicultural Day where students have a booth where they research a bit about a certain country. I signed up to host a booth and was assigned to my country, Kenya. I was just perusing through the CIA World Factbook Website to catch snippets of important statistics I could use for my poster and I saw Kenya's estimated unemployment rate: 40%. Then, I researched the GDP per capita: $1,600. This got me thinking. How does one get caught in the seemingly never ending cycle of poverty?

Well, I came up with a few possible answers: lack of a sufficient education for the masses, expensive health care, natural disasters, and corruption of the government.

If you want to become a CEO of a major company or a powerful lawyer, how are you going to get there? The answer is simple: an education. However, many children do not have access to a local school because either the school is too far or too expensive. Some children do not even have parents to provide for them. How are we going to get children off plantations and into classrooms with teachers? If an educated man loses his job, there are still so many other opportunities he still can branch out to. An uneducated man, however, can only perform one form of job, manual labor.

Well, we can even take this down a notch. What if you were a miner but can't afford the proper health care to oversee your health? If you break your arm, your job is gone. Your life spirals down into the abyss of poverty. Some causes of poverty are beyond our control, like a corrupt government. What if your nation's government claims to be creating all these awesome reforms and providing benefits for those below the poverty line, but just eats up all that money for itself?

Let's say you have a farm. It's profitable and life for you is going pretty swell. Alas, a devastating storm hits your area. Your land is no longer fertile and is ravaged by the brutal environmental factors. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly the one who controls the storms of the world.

Is poverty an ugly side of our socio-economic model? You tell me.

Question of the Post: What do you think is the cause of poverty? How can this issue be resolved?


Works Cited:
CIA - The World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html

Cartoon #1

Hey readers! I will start adding my own original cartoon series to this blog (Forgive my drawing please!). Feel free to leave comments!