This special volume of the Duke Journal of Economics contains a selection of papers that were presented at the First Annual Undergraduate Economics Research Symposium. The Symposium, held on the campus of Duke University on April 4- 5, 2003, brought together eleven undergraduate students from colleges and universities across North Carolina to present their own original research.
The papers that were presented at the Symposium spanned a broad range of interests. Two papers dealt with international topics, three investigated macroeconomic issues, three explored questions in labor economics, and three considered topics in public economics. While most papers had some empirical contents, some theoretical work was also presented. All attendees of the seminar were impressed by the quality of research conducted by these undergraduate students. The below papers were chosen for publication in this special edition because of their outstanding content.
Of course, the symposium couldn’t have been such a success without the help of many. In particular, thanks for their hard work and dedication in organizing the Symposium goes to the students who gave their time as part of the Economics Students Union Symposium Planning Committee, including Patrick Dickinson, Shiying Lee, Ailian Gan, Alex Erlikh, Alicia Manning, Sara Unger, Jamie Kleinerman, Ivy Baumbah, and Justin Ford. A special thanks goes to Ruoxi Chen for his work on the Symposium web site. Drs. Connel Fullenkamp and Lori Leachman provided invaluable advice to the Planning Committee and Dr. Leachman also served as a key editor for this edition of the Duke Journal. Thanks for great administrative assistance and logistical planning go also to the Staff of the EcoTeach Center, Jennifer Socey and Ryan Millner, with special gratitude to Dorothy Armento. In addition, financial support from the Allen Starling Johnson, Jr. Fund, the EcoTeach Center, and the Duke University Department of Economics is gratefully acknowledged.
We trust that you will enjoy the below papers and look forward to our Second Annual Undergraduate Economics Research Symposium in Spring 2004!
Sincerely,
Professor Bradley Heim, Ph.D., Faculty Sponsor
Articles
Understanding the Crime Choice — The Role of Market Wages by Kathleen Wirth, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2003 with a B.A. in economics. She is currently working at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
A Statistical Analysis of OPEC Quota Violations by Pavel S. Molchanov, who graduated from Trinity College, Duke University in May 2003 with a B.S. in Economics, certificate in Markets and Management Studies, and a minor in German. He will start work later this year at Raymond James Financial.
Expanding the Monocentric Model: A Fixed Effects Approach to the Determination of Urban Land Values by James Roberts, who was the winner of the 2003 Economics Undergraduate Research Symposium Outstanding Research Prize. James Roberts is a Junior at Davidson College and is interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in economics after graduation.
Division of Labor in Marriages in Which She Earns More by Catherine Phillips
Home Sale Price and Public School Quality in Mecklenburg County by Laurel Clayton
