Economics: Technical Economic Analysis

As printed in Barron’s, May 8, 2017

Article: “Talking with Andy Johnson”, Andy Johnson, Portfolio Manager, Neuberger Berman Strategic Income (a financial company that manages investor’s money)

“…. When Andy graduated from high school in 1980 he followed the logical path for anyone good at math and science – engineering. That led to a position working on radar detection for defense giant Northrop Grumman, and the realization that he didn’t want to work in isolation. “It was very, very solitary, it’s just you and the problem.” Andy left his engineering career to work in finance, where he could be part of a team.

 

1. Paragraph 1 – Is Andy correct that engineers should be working in isolation – “just you and the problem”? Support your answer as to why or why not.
2. Paragraph 2 – Several parts of this course (Technical Economic Analysis) are about economic feasibility of projects – explain why Andy should or should not have been working alone. Include the definition of “economic feasibility.”