Brady Smith
Brady is a double major in Economics (BS) and Mathematics (BS) with a minor in Statistics and Analytics. During his time in the economics department, he has excelled in his extensive coursework and has developed a strong passion for economics. Under the guidance of Dr. Jonathan Williams, Brady completed an honors thesis on competition between internet service providers. Specifically, Brady researched how one company alters its pricing when their competitor offers different types of internet technology. He found that there is often a broad price decrease in areas that are dense with high-speed fiber internet, concluding that this competitive reaction is an external benefit of fiber internet.
During the fall of his sophomore year, Brady began working in the EconAid Center as a Peer Tutor in economics. He continued in this role through the fall of his senior year. His work as a tutor has greatly contributed to his passion for economics. He has been recognized for his academic success by being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most honored college society, in his junior year. Brady worked as a Research Assistant to Dr. Jonathan Williams, where he wrote a number of computer programs in Python known as web scrapers to collect large amounts of publicly available data from internet service providers and other sites of interest. Brady made use of these skills working as a Software Developer with TDS Telecom. These experiences have all led Brady to pursue a career in economics research. He is interested in using empirical results to improve public policy and achieve more equitable and efficient outcomes. Brady will continue his economics education this fall at the University of Pennsylvania in their Economics PhD program.
Brady thanks his family, friends, and Dr. Jonathan Williams for their consistent support and encouragement.