Thread by @ProfPaulPoast

Great question!

Short Answer: My dad owned a gas station.

Long Answer: [THREAD]

https://twitter.com/janecca_chin/status/1151532984392126464

One summer in elementary/Jr High, folks in my small town (Covington, OH) were teasing my older brother and I about rolling in 💵💰

Why did they think that? Because the price of gasoline at the pump had risen dramatically in late August of that year.

👇 are the average prices at the pump in Ohio for the months of July through Nov of that year (data from @EIAgov)

eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_p…

Of course, my dad wasn't bringing in big bucks: he had to pay more for the gasoline being delivered to his station

The year? 1990

The cause? Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

I became fascinated by the idea that a military event on the other end of the globe could influence the local economy in small town Ohio

So I eventually studied economics and political science in college (@miamiuniversity), taking as many courses with an international focus as possible. Wrote my senior thesis on economic sanctions & why governments are unresponsive to them (inspired by US sanctions on Iraq).

Ever since, I've continued to study the link between economics and security.

I frequently recount this story to my undergrad students. Thanks again for posing the question so that I could share it here!

[END]

P.S. This story is also why one of my favorite books is @DanielYergin's "The Prize"

amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Que…