The Duke Journal of Economics is published each year to showcase outstanding research in economics by Duke undergraduates. This volume contains both honors theses and essays. The articles are examples of research written by Duke Undergraduates and Masters students at various stages of their economics education at Duke. Honors theses which were presented at the 2008 undergraduate research symposium and are to be published in the special edition of the Duke Journal of Economics devoted to that symposium are not included here. Additional pieces will appear after their authors revise them.
The Allen Starling Johnson, Jr, prize for the best honors thesis was earned by Andrey Fradkin for his thesis: “A Comparative Study of the International Content of Implied Volatiling.” The prize for the best presentation at the 6th Annual Economics Undergraduate Economics Symposium was earned by Aleksandr Andreev for his honors thesis: “Assessing Disability Rates in the Russian Federation.” He has been awarded a Fulbright to Russia to continue work on the project.
Ten undergraduates and M.A. students wrote book reviews in the spring of 2008, which have been scheduled for publication in scholarly journals. We are delighted that their critical skills are being appreciated by the profession. These are:
- Megha Bisarya, Escape From Empire: The Developing World’s Journey Through Heaven and Hell, by Alice Amsden, MIT Press, 2007, Asian Journal of Social Science, forthcoming in early 2009.
- Mark Curtis, What Do We Know About Globalization? by Guillermo de le Dehesa, Blackwell, 2007, Journal of Economic Issues, forthcoming in December 2008.
- Johannes Fritz, Europe’s Troubled Region: Economic Development, Institutional Reform and Social Welfare in the Western Balkans, by William Bartlett, Routledge, 2008, Journal of East European and Black Sea Studies (published by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy and Routledge in Great Britain), forthcoming in September 2008.
- Ikee Gardner, Capital Rules: The Construction of Global Finance, by Rawi Abdelal, Harvard University Press, 2007. Journal of Economic Issues, forthcoming in September 2008 or March 2009.
- Chamindra Goonewardene, The Future of Microfinance and Poverty Alleviation, by Tazul Islam, Ashgate, 2007, Journal of South Asian Development (published in Australia), forthcoming in August 2008.
- Caitlin McLaughlin, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, by Muhammad Yunus, Perseus Publishing, 2008, Linked on the author’s web site: http://www.muhammadyunus.org
- Brian Mokoro, After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy, by Chrisopher Coyne, Stanford University Press, 2007, New Perspectives on Political Economy (published in the Czech Republic, Volume 4, Issue 1), http://pcpe.libinst.cz/nppe/
- Nur M. Adhi Purwanto, Colonial Legacies: Economic and Social Development in East and South East Asia, by Anne E. Booth, Hawaii University Press, 2007, ASEAN Economic Bulletin (published in Singapore), forthcoming in August/December 2008.
- Parul Sharma, India – The Emerging Giant, by Arvind Panagariya, Oxford University Press, 2008, South Asia Economic Journal (published by The Institute of Policy Studies, Colombo and Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, New Delhi), forthcoming in Volume 9, No. 2., July 2008.
- Gracia Sierra, The Elephant and the Dragon: the Rise of India and China and what it Means to All of Us, by Robyn Meredith, W. W. Norton and Company, July 2007, ASEAN Economic Bulletin (published in Singapore), forthcoming in September or December 2008.
We congratulate the students mentioned above and the authors of the research presented in this issue. Thanks go to Chris Genwright, who put the journal online.
Charles Becker & Ed Tower, Faculty Advisors to the Journal
Honor’s Theses
Tracking Decisions in North Carolina’s Public High Schools by Michael B. Harris
Predicting Financial Debt Crises: A Case Study of India by Matthew Sperber
How Information from a Strategic Alliance Network Relates to Future Acquisition Performance in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries by Stephen McGregor Raymond
Analyzing and Applying Existing and New Jump Detection Methods for Intraday Stock Data by W. Warren Davis
The Role of Conflict Diamond Sanctions in Civil War Resolution by Karin Sun
Socioeconomic Factors and the Outcomes of Thailand’s Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission program (PMTCT) by Wichsinee Wibulpolprasert
Articles
The impact of cigarette excise taxes on beer consumption by Jeremy Cluchey & Frank DiSilvestro
Greed and the Bloomsbury Group How the Concept of Greed Impacted John Maynard Keynes and His Friends by Adam Finkelstein
Predicting Urban Crime In Diverse Settings by Johannes Fritz
Does the State Business Tax Climate Index Provide Useful Information for Policy Makers to Affect Economic Conditions in their States? by Geoffrey King and Jake Palley
The Economic Implications of Child Labor: A Comprehensive Approach to Labor Policy by Jamie Gordon
The “Balancing Trade Act of 2007” by Brian Grube
Empirical Analysis of Rural Development along Interstate Highways by Andrew Kindman
Evaluating the Elderly Retired in a Tiebout Context by Harry Lee
Racial Disparities in Durham County Public Elementary Education: A Picture That Is More than Black and White by Kristen Manderscheid
Do Mandatory and Recommended Arrest Laws Decrease Female Homicide Rates? by Kari Points and Celeste Richie
U.S. Bilateral Free Trade Agreements with Chile and Singapore by Grant M. Reeves
Residential Water Demand in Durham, NC, at the Onset of the 2007 Drought by Wichsinee Wibulpolprasert