Galloway, N.J. –  It’s an interesting time to be an economics student and Stockton’s Economics Society is not letting the COVID-19 pandemic prevent them from staying active and informed. 

The students, working with Assistant Professor of Economics Mariam Majd, hosted a Zoom conversation with Doug Cliggott, a former managing director and U.S. equity strategist at JPMorgan and Credit Suisse and currently a lecturer in economics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. 

“The goal of this event was to enable the Stockton community to get an insider’s perspective of financial markets dealing with the coronavirus,” said Majd. “The only way—in my view—to fully keep up with the changes is to talk about them, and that’s why I and Stockton’s Economic Society were so interested in publicizing this conversation.”

Professors and students from Stockton participated with undergraduate and graduate students, and professors from the Economics department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. 

Majd said Cliggott offered a real-life view of the current economic situation.

“The financial sector is changing so rapidly, and monetary policy has reacted to the coronavirus crisis is such a novel way, that we can’t hope to understand all the current dynamics by opening a textbook,” said Majd. “Someone like Doug who has spent decades in financial markets, and who has the benefit of seeing how the Federal Reserve’s policies manifest during a crisis, provides insight that we just can’t get through textbooks alone.”

Cliggott offered some historical perspective on the stock market and how the current situation could evolve.

Students said they appreciated learning about something as it was happening, and they left with a better understanding of the current financial crisis.

“Everyone who attended the conversation learned something new about the current state of the economy,” said Adnan Shuhan, Public Relations Chair of Stockton’s Economic Society. “As a finance student, I really appreciated Doug’s perspective on the possible future of the stock market.” 

Stephen Privitera, a student in Majd’s Money and Financial Institutions class, said his biggest takeaway is that we are only in the beginning of the crisis.

“He said that where we are now is analogous to a baseball game: we are only in the first inning and we have a long way to go,” Privitera, said. 

Ashlee Reyes, Treasurer of Stockton’s Economic Society, said she got a better understanding of what it means for the Federal Reserve to be the “lender of last resort” during a financial crisis.

“Hearing the perspective of a seasoned veteran really helped me understand the long-term ramifications of the policies being implemented” student John Palladino said.

A recording of the event is available from Adnan Shuhan, at shuhana@go.stockton.edu.

Reported by Katelyn Emick

#   #   #

 

Contact:
Diane D’Amico
Director of News and Media Relations
Galloway, N.J. 08205
Diane.D’Amico@stockton.edu
609-652-4593
609-412-8069
stockton.edu/media