Several Elon economics students presented their research at the 20th annual Issues in Political Economy’s Conference on Undergraduate Research & Mentoring held Mar. 1-2 in Boston, Mass.
Senior economics majors Kate Easom, Celia Rose Eddy, Kathryn Hjalmarson, Bethany Neeb, Greg Nantz, Emily Plante, Alex Spitz and Justin Wanner participated in the conference, which was organized entirely by Kate Easom and Issues in Political Economy faculty advisor Steve DeLoach.
Roughly 60 students and two dozen faculty from 23 colleges and universities throughout the country participated in two days of sessions. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the IPE conference, students were treated to a special keynote lecture by James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics at MIT and president of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Students came from institutions such as Austin College, Colby College, Davidson College, Grinnell College, Gettysburg College, Stonehill College, St. Lawrence University, Shippenburg University, Tulane University, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The eight Elon papers presented were:
Katherine Easom, “Gender Inequality and Economic Growth” (mentor: Jennifer Platania)
Celia Rose Eddy, “A Study of the Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Year-Round Schooling on Student Achievement in Wake County, NC” (mentor: Katy Rouse)
Kathryn Hjalmarson, “Does an undervalued Yuan actually give China a trade advantage?: a look into China’s exchange rate and bilateral trade” (mentor: Steve DeLoach)
Bethany Neeb, “What makes world’s fairs successful in us cities?” (mentor: Thomas Tiemann)
Gregory Nantz, “Savings, Dependency, and Credit Constraints” (mentor: Steve DeLoach)
Emily Plante, “The Effects of WIC on Childhood Obesity Rates” (mentor: Katy Rouse)
Alex Spitz, “Urban Development and Investment in Germany” (mentor: Thomas Tiemann)
Justin Wanner, “Wage Premiums and Costs of Education” (mentor: Vitaliy Strohush)
Issues in Political Economy is the leading undergraduate research journal in economics and is co-edited completely by undergraduates at Elon University and the University of Mary Washington. Elon has co-edited the journal since 1998. The IPE is indexed in Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Economics & Finance. Professor of Economics Steve DeLoach is the faculty advisor to the IPE.
Written by Steve DeLoach