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Rewriting the Rules: The Evolution of Economic Regulation in Modern America

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Hi Everyone. In this blog post, we discuss the effects of government regulation on the economy in the 21st century. This will serve as a historical analysis and overview of the issue. Regulation in the 2000s At the start of the 2000s, following the precedent set in the 1990s, the government largely left markets to their own devices, with minimal regulation and oversight. Financial markets expanded significantly, with the legacy of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 overshadowing the economy, resulting in the dismantling of parts of the Glass-Steagall Act (New Deal-era government regulation of the economy), which allowed the consolidation of investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance firms into conglomerates. This led to a sharp decrease in government power over the economy and to excellent profitability for financial firms, but also to volatility in markets without government oversight and checks. Another crucial piece of legislation from this period was the Commodity Futures Mo...
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The Phillips Curve in 2026: Why Inflation–Unemployment Tradeoffs Still Shape the Economic Landscape

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Happy 2026. In this post, we will be discussing the Phillips Curve, its different models, its mathematical foundation, and its impact on government and the broad economy! What is the Phillips Curve? The Phillips Curve is the inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation. It models the fact that when unemployment is low, inflation is high, and when unemployment is high, inflation is low. This statistical relationship was discovered by economist A.W Phillips, and has led to decades of economic research and policy based on the relationships discovered by Phillips. With this theory being tried and tested in many countries and economies, modern economists have built on the epiphany of Phillips, and have determined that since wage behavior (how wages and employment changes over time) heavily connects to price inflation, this model can also be used to assess how slack (more people looking for jobs than there are  available) or tight (more open jobs that available people to fill ...
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The Mathematics of Strategy: Understanding Game Theory Through Nash Equilibrium

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What is Game Theory? Game Theory is the quantification and examination of how individuals, entities, governments, and firms make decisions in a competitive system, mainly through the mathematical model of Nash Equilibrium. In this competitive system, individuals, called players, compete for business, opportunities, resources, and profits, and their actions affect the actions and outcomes of other players. This model helps identify the optimal rational decision for all players through cooperation or conflict. Also known as the “science of strategy,” game theory considers choices, payoffs, and incentives to analyze how players behave in competitive environments. The cool thing is that game theory can be applied to various sectors in addition to economics, such as computer science and politics, really shaping how entities react and shape decisions off each other. The Nash Equilibrium- How Game Theory works? With Game Theory, many complex mathematical calculations are involved. However, we...
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The Equation That Changed Wall Street: Understanding Black–Scholes

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Intro The Black-Scholes Equation is one of the most valuable and impactful advanced financial models in Wall Street history. In this article, I will discuss what it is, how markets and institutions use it, and why it is essential. What is it? The Black-Scholes financial model/equation, denoted through the equation above, is a mathematical formula used to calculate the fair price of options for equities, where an option is a contract that lets you buy or sell a stock at a set price in the future). In a financial system where volatility is widespread and inevitable in all sectors, based on a geometric Brownian motion (signifies natural volatility in markets), the Black-Scholes model hedges option with underlying assets, leading to a risk-neutral valuation (removes risk) for options. Fischer Black and Myron Scholes included four different groups of terms, Volatility (randomness of price), Delta & Gamma (sensitivity to price changes), Theta term (time decay), and Risk-free (discounting...
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Masters of Risk: Hedge Funds Uncovered

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 Intro Hedge Funds, the talk of the modern financial scene. In this post, we will unpack what Hedge Funds are, what strategies they employ, and how they can affect the economy and private investors. General Information Hedge funds are private investment institutions that invest capital from high-net-worth clients across many asset classes to generate profits. The goal of a hedge fund is to generate high returns for high-income clients through aggressive investment strategies, while also highly compensating the fund's managers. Managers of the Hedge Fund can be compensated in accordance with the 2 and 20 rule, meaning they receive 2% of assets under management and 20% of profits. Hedge funds influence the economy by setting a standard for risk management for investors seeking to balance “hedging” against risks and generate high returns. In addition, Hedge funds are less regulated than other financial institutions, enabling them to pursue high returns, but also contributing to volati...
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