Alumnus Alhi N’Guessan Couples Economics with Environmental Policy

Alhi N’guessan (M.A. in Economics’ 21) believes in using economics to alleviate the effects of climate change while minimizing future consequences.

ATLANTA—Alumnus Alhi N’guessan dedicated a significant portion of his graduate program to researching environmental economics and the implications of human-induced climate change.

His focus paid off when it led him to Georgia State’s 2021 Three Minute Thesis (3MT^TM) competition in March. He placed second with his work, “Impact of an Environmental Policy on Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rates (Case of the Swiss Carbon Tax).”

Originally from the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, N’guessan believes his studies enhanced his sense of purpose. He keeps the economic welfare of his home country in mind when theorizing ways to be of service to the Ivory Coast.

When asked what he would like to do with the knowledge acquired, N’guessan simply said he’d eventually like to return home.

“I want to be in a position where I can be of service. I am increasing my knowledge of data analytics to understand how to eradicate poverty and alleviate inequalities among different demographics. I am placing myself in a space to add practical assets to my theoretical knowledge.”

The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies’ master of economics program emphasizes public policy while teaching students how to take an empirical, interdisciplinary evaluation of the fundamentals of economics as it applies to environmental studies, education, economic development, public health, public finance and social welfare.

N’guessan accomplished this marrying of knowledge and policy by serving as the chief economist officer for the Student Managed Investment Fund of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, as a graduate senator in the university’s Student Government Association, and as a graduate teaching and research assistant. The positions offered him an opportunity to assist students and faculty within his department by developing a wide range of qualitative and quantitative analyses tasks.

It is to no surprise that his strengths were recognized. During the Annual Honors Day celebration, Spring 2021, N’guessan was awarded the Department of Economics’ Outstanding Masters Graduate Research Assistant Award for his remarkable tenacity and knowledge application.

N’guessan’s passion for economics now fuels his post-graduate job search.

“Everybody has dreams, and everybody has goals. I believe that hard work can make them possible. But I don’t need it to be easy; I just need it to be possible.”

Story by Victoria Bowden, M.P.P. Candidate