The Paradox of Choice and Sense of Belonging in Economics

Tech, Books, and The Hoodie to Support a Good Cause

Why I do not Buy Gifts

If you are like me, then holiday shopping is a stressful experience because of the paradox of choice. The paradox of choice is the situation when you have too many options to choose from and therefore you cannot go through the decision-making process, so you avoid making a decision altogether. For me, the paradox of choice is overwhelming and I end up not buying any gifts for the holiday season. I spend so much time trying to find the perfect gift, and then end up with no gifts. So, if you ever wondered why I haven’t bought you a gift before, you now know to blame it on the paradox of choice.

The Solution

To help you out, I share some of the tech and books that I recommend this year. I will also tell you the story behind the Hoodies and Economics project and how you can support students’ experiences and their sense of belonging.

I have used every item that I recommend and provide affiliate links. If you purchase something using that link, I will make a couple of pennies to keep me motivated to continue creating more content, but know that you won’t be charged additionally for using the link! We all win, a mutually beneficial trade, as we say in economics!

Tech

MX Master 3 (for Mac) $99

I love this mouse. It is versatile, comfortable, and wireless. The battery lasts for a long period, I think I last charged mine two months ago.

---

MX Keys (for Mac) $99

I highly recommend the keyboard to go with the mouse. Similar to the mouse, I love how this keyboard feels, the battery life, and its functionality. A great upgrade for anyone looking to improve their desk setup.

---

For the YouTuber, or professor, that is committed to providing the best audio quality for their Zoom meetings and classes, a microphone is a must. I love the Samsung Q2U ($69.99).

---

For the podcaster or anyone recording audio, I love the Zoom H6 ($349.99). The 6 here indicates how many microphones you could plug in and record at once. If 6 recordings are overkill for you then try the Zoom H4 or the Zoom H1n. I have the H6, and I love it.

I started recording audio separately from my video in March of this year. It has improved the audio quality of my videos and has helped with reducing some of the audio noise I have from the echos of living in a loft. I am currently working on new Stata and Tableau tutorials for my class and for The Econ Games. The Zoom audio recording helps with providing better audio quality to accompany our class recordings.

---

Books

I can go on and on about books. I will keep it simple. The one financial literacy book I recommend this year is Get Good with Money, Tiffany Aliche the Budgetnista, does an amazing job of covering the major personal finance topics. Her book is light on recommending steps and provides a good cost-benefit analysis of different approaches to personal finance decisions. I have made it clear that my view is that your personal finance decisions should take into consideration many factors in your life and the current state of the economy. I love this book so much that next week I am gifting every high school teacher that is affiliated with the NKU Center for Economic Education (CEE) a copy of the book when we meet for our holiday gathering.

---

Another book I love and refer back to often is Storytelling with Data. It is assigned reading for students enrolled in my Data Tools for Economics and Business students that I teach in the Spring. It is also required reading for any NKU CEE Fellow that works at the CEE. If you work with data, and have to present on data, this book is for you.

---

The Hoodie

I am excited about this hoodie. If you watch my YouTube videos or follow me on Instagram, then you know that Hoodies make up 70% of my wardrobe. I love them, I feel comfortable in them, and I think they look great. A couple of weeks ago, I released an early morning Instagram Reel. It was economic news that I couldn’t wait to share. I was wearing a hoodie with my hood up. I had several people reach out and mention how I “did not look professional in my hoodie” and that I would improve how far my message got if I dressed more “professionally”. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but this time it stood out to me as something worth doing something about. I found myself wondering how often do we marginalize people’s message by what they are wearing? Economics has a lack of diversity problem. Are we excluding people from our major and profession by what they wear, how they look, or where they are from? I believe everyone belongs in economics.

To raise awareness I created this hoodie that I named Hoodies and Economics to raise awareness that everyone belongs in economics, even if they are wearing a hoodie. I designed the hoodie myself, and you can buy it from my website. I am donating 10% of each sale between now and January 1 to the NKU CEE Student Luncheons program. We meet every Thursday to have lunch and discuss professional development or current economic issues. We have developed an amazing community of students, and I will use the 10% contribution to help provide lunches for students and continue to develop a sense of belonging on our campus.

How to Buy the Hoodie

You can purchase your own Hoodies and Economics swag at www.abdullahalbahrani.com/shop. These hoodies are top quality, soft, and comfortable. You can walk around representing economics, and know that you are helping to improve the sense of belonging in economics. Buy a hoodie for yourself, your colleagues, or for your favorite economics student.

Watch this Week’s YouTube Video