MIT Undergraduate Economics Association

Welcome to the MIT Undergraduate Economics Association website! We're a community of undergraduates passionate about economics, coming together to enhance academic pursuits, broaden career prospects, and expand networks both internally and externally.

Join us for engaging talks, social gatherings, and various events held throughout the year!

Stay updated by adding our: Google Calendar 📅

We look forward to having you with us!

Upcoming Event: Book Talk with Judd Kessler

November 20, 2025 @ 4–5pm in E51-376

Wharton economist Judd Kessler discusses his new book, “Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want.”

Judd pulls back the curtain on the hidden markets that determine who gets what in everyday life. Unlike familiar markets that you might learn about in your economics class — where what we get depends on how much we’re willing to pay — hidden markets do not rely on prices: you can’t buy your way into a better position. Instead, what you receive hinges on the rules by which the market operates, and the choices you make in them.

What are the tricks for getting reservations at the hottest restaurants, live-event tickets, job offers, and spots in elite preschools and selective colleges? What about finding a soulmate on a dating app or receiving a life-saving organ transplant? How can policymakers design these markets better?

Judd has spent a career studying and designing these very markets. Now, he reveals insights about how they work, how to maneuver in them, and how to tip the scales in your favor.

Judd B. Kessler is the inaugural Howard Marks Endowed Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His research and writing have been featured in leading media, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, NPR, Hidden Brain, and Freakonomics, among others. He is a sought-after speaker and an award-winning teacher. His courses in Wharton’s Business Economics and Public Policy Department are popular among undergraduates, MBAs, PhD students, and executives. He received a bachelor’s degree, MA, and PhD from Harvard University and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge. His first book is LUCKY BY DESIGN: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want, which was released by Little, Brown Spark on October 14, 2025.