Ryan Yap
Ryan studies Economics at The University of Warwick. He is one of the overall coordinators for the Warwick Economics Summit 2023- the largest student-run conference in Europe!
Why did you choose to study economics?
I think rather unusually, I chose to study Economics from quite a young age as numbers and analysis always fascinated me. I really enjoyed (and still do!) reading the Economist, which provided great insights about the current issues/situations of many countries, allowing me to learn more about how the world works.
How would you describe economics?
In its simplest form, economics is trying to understand how people work and interact with each other to use the often limited resources we have to satisfy everyone's needs and wants.
If you had a time machine and could meet your 16-year-old self, what advice would you give them?
Which stocks to invest in!
Joking aside, I would tell myself to read into a wider field of economics literature. There are just so many interesting topics out there, and I do regret not picking some of them earlier.
What is your favourite part of economics?
The fact that there are so many branches of economics, there is essentially economics for anything you can think of! Personally, one of my favourite branches is football economics. There is a book called "Soccernomics" which is the Freakonomics of football, which really brings in how behavioural economics affects decisions within football.
I also like the simplicity of many of the fundamental economics models, and how they often could apply to real life (although some models are not always easy to apply in practicality).
Is there anything you would do differently if you had the chance?
I do sincerely enjoy my degree and the work I have done in university so far, so no regrets there. Maybe I would have relaxed more, especially in high school, as while yes, your grades do partially determine your future, there are always other pathways. Just because some people do it one way, doesn't mean that you have to!