When I was 16, my friend Cornelius and I, bought three billiard tables. We convinced a coffee shop owner to let us put the tables in the back of his café. We told him how much money we expected to earn and promised him half. We were sure the shop owner would have a look, since it was his money as well. Everyday after school we went to the cafe and thought about ways to improve our business. We cleaned up, bought better cues, a coin changer and even installed new lightning (the green ones in the picture). We where highly motivated because we saw the reward in the coin collector every day.
Intuitively we understood the working of the free market. We improved the lot of our players and the coffee owner, simply by pursuing our own self-interest. It was a win-win-win situation.
Unfortunately after only a year we had to stop our business. Our parents insisted that school was more important. (Through this, we learned how regulations can limit the market.)
After high school, I decided to study information systems but never left economics. I took all available economics courses and read every book I could get my hands on. Now, after being close to finishing my master in information systems, I want to proceed with a master in economics.
In my future career I hope to pursue both, my interests in economics and computer science.

Labels: Economics, Patrick