Elon team applies data analytics, economics skills in The Econ Games

Four undergraduate students proposed market entry recommendations for Fischer Homes during the competition hosted by the University of Kentucky.

A team of Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students tested their skills during the 2022 Econ Games conference hosted by the University of Kentucky.

Hannah Chaput ’23, Isaac Schwartz ’23, Sarah Mirrow ’24 and Cole Meixsell ’25 with Assistant Professor Lauren DiRago-Duncan at The Econ Games.

Representing Elon in the data analytics and research competition were Hannah Chaput ’23, Isaac Schwartz ’23, Sarah Mirrow ’24 and Cole Meixsell ’25.

The event tasked teams from nine schools to collect and evaluate publicly available data to determine which three new markets sponsor Fischer Homes should enter. Students had one day to research demographic and labor market trends in multiple cities across the U.S, analyze the data and create a presentation with their recommendations.

“The Econ Games was a challenging experience because the students didn’t know what they would specifically be asked to do until they arrived,” said Brandon Sheridan, assistant professor of economics. “Teams had to collect data from public sources this year rather than being given a dataset, which provided an additional challenge of collecting data with differing formats. Despite this added wrinkle, the Elon students created a wonderful presentation and performed well.”

Lauren DiRago-Duncan, assistant professor of economics, accompanied the team to Kentucky. Prior to the competition, she hosted a practice meeting with the Elon team. “I answered some minor questions while we were at Elon, but the students did all the work for the competition from start to finish,” she said. “The four students possess a great deal of perspective and I was impressed with what they came up with. Especially since we flew in just that morning and completed all the tasks within 24 hours.”

In reflecting on his Econ Games experience, Meixsell shared: “I was one of the few first-years at this event, and I was placed in an environment where I was expected to be on par with sophomores, juniors and seniors. It was definitely a challenging experience, but one where I learned valuable data analysis, communication and presentation skills that I would not be able to receive in a classroom setting.”

While at The Econ Games, the Elon team also attended a networking reception and a keynote presentation by Kyle Noth, group lead, international interoperability at The MITRE Corporation.