The first post

Hello,

My name is Ellie. I am currently studying International business and Finance at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. I have never thought much about economics until my sophomore year, when I took honors macroeconomics and international economics courses. I discovered how fascinating economics as a field are and decided to take more courses even though I didn't need them for my major.

For Christmas 2008, my parents gave me a wonderful book called "Three Cups of Tea". I have always been aware of the third world countries and their problems, but this book opened my eyes. I realized that not many women in this world are as blessed as I am, they cannot go to school, work, and as a consequence make informed decisions about their present and future lives. I have decided to dedicate my passion for economics to the women of this world.

In the summer of 2009, I had the chance to attend a FEE seminar in Michigan. Here I was introduced in the Austrian economics movement, its theories and applications in today's world. I come from the Czech Republic, a country where only 20 or so years ago, ideas of free market were forbidden and laughed at by the government, yet many of those suffering under the communist regime were longing for it every day. This is why I decided to dedicate my passion for economics to economic freedom.

Combine economic freedom and women and you get the topics of my current research: Advancement of Women via Foreign Direct Investment, and also Freedom in the World and the Glass Ceiling for Women.

In my near future, I want to apply to graduate school, learn more about international and development economics and apply what I learn to more research in the areas of economic freedom and the lives of women around the world. I wish that one day, I could advise governments of those countries where women suffer; I wish that these governments were doing things better and that one day, women had the same freedom to choose for themselves as men have today.