The Recession

I have been asking myself whether students, like myself, are really hurt by the recession. My case is special since I am an international student and my wealth would be more conveniently measured by looking at the spot exchange rate.

There are of course the people who suffer most during recessions, workers. The United States labor force consists of 155 million people and some of them are most likely students.

Wealth decrease and workers, as well as students, suffer because of it. It could be a student who pays the tuition by himself and has a part time or full time job. It could also be a student whose parents support his education. Regardless the situation, the struggling economy will make it hard for both students.

The situation changes for international students. However, it is important to understand that this recession is global and the same problems regarding wealth might occur in other nations too.

It is very likely that the dollar will weaken because of the huge debt in the United States. This will obviously help international students. I have experienced periods when I have transferred certain amounts of money from Sweden to the United States and received $2,000. When transferring the same amount of money a year later, I would only receive $1,200.

These are rough numbers but it should give people an idea of what can happen to international students. It can certainly hurt people transferring larger amounts as well as it can benefit some when the dollar weakens. 

Being a student during a recession is certainly an advantage compared to being in the labor force assuming tuition costs are covered and no paid job is needed during the time of study.

One thing that really benefits students is that prices go down. This might not always be the case due to inflation but it is true for this recession. Some firms have to liquidate; others have to compete during shrinking demand.

Prices are going down and sales are an extremely common sight in New York these days. This is true for retail stores as well as supermarkets and grocery stores. With a weakening dollar, this is a very favorable situation for international students.

It is a good time for coming to the United States to study. The recession does not only make it somewhat more affordable for people, it also gives people the opportunity to study markets, macroeconomics, and finance in an extremely interesting time.