This volume is the sixth annual publication of the Duke Journal of Economics, formerly
the Undergraduate Economics Journal. Founded in 1988, the Journal is a showcase for
the outstanding contributions made each year to the economics discipline by Duke
undergraduates.
In this issue:
•Gary Cohen analyzes inequities in voting power;
•Tony Schopen explores the debates surrounding capital gains tax cuts;
•Arielle Horman investigates the causes and consequences of the declining number
of young black males in the “marriage market;”
•C. Geoffrey Bums pioneers new methods of estimating health care costs for
individual states;
•Travis Pearson examines the United States’ relative economic decline in the post-War
world;
•H. Peter Hess, Jr. addressed the issue of employing economic incentives to
control air pollution;
•Sean Fahey presents a critical analysis of the practice of short selling.
Each year the Duke Economics Faculty awards prizes to the most outstanding honors
theses. We would like to congratulate C. Geoffrey Burns and Tony Schopen for being
awarded first- and second-prizes respectively for the class of 1993.
The papers contained in this volume are abstracts of honors theses and other work done
by Duke economics majors. The:,;_ have been edited for length and clarity.
Thanks to Bruce D. Fitzgerald, the Allen Starling Johnson, Jr. Endowment Fund, Louise
Merriam, and the staff of the Duke University Economics Department
‘-.
Manuscript submissions should be forwarded to Dr. Edward Tower or Dr. Neil DeMarchi
of the Department of Economics.
MA TT CROSSLAND JOE SHIFFLER
ALL VOTES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL: AN ANALYSIS OF VOTING POWER
by Gary Cohen……………………………………………………………….1
THE CURRENT ISSUE OF CAPITAL GAINS
by Tony Schopen……………………………………………………………23
THE DECREASING AVAILABILITY OF YOUNG BLACK MALES IN THE MARRIAGE MARKET
by Arielle Horman…………………………………………………………..73
TWO MODELS TO PROJECT PER CAPITA PERSONAL HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES BY STATE, SELECTED YEARS, 1990-2020
by C. Geoffrey Burns………………………………………………………93
AMERICA’S RELATIVE DECLINE AND THE NON-ECONOMIC USES OF RESOURCES
by Travis Pearson…………………………………………………………111
THE EMISSIONS TRADING PROGRAM
by H. Peter Hess, Jr………………………………………………………151
EVOLUTION OF THE WINDHANDEL: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SHORT SELLING
by Sean Fahey………………………………………………………………169
