Special Edition

2004 Undergraduate Research Symposium

This special issue of the Duke Journal of Economics features papers presented at the Second Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. The Symposium, which was held on April 16-17, 2004, is a forum in which undergraduates from North Carolina institutions present their original research on economic topics, and discuss their findings with other students and researchers. It has the flavor of a professional academic conference, in that papers are selected on a competitive basis and authors are given a limited amount of time to present their main ideas and findings. On the other hand, each presentation is followed by a generous amount of time for audience discussion of the papers so that the authors can receive constructive criticism and continue to improve their work. Presenters and audience members agreed that this was an enjoyable and productive experience.

The Symposium was initiated last year because we believe that there is a great deal of high-quality undergraduate research taking place at Duke and other universities in the region that deserves recognition. The papers selected for the 2004 Symposium support this belief. Their topics are diverse, interesting, and timely. On the first day of the Symposium, papers were presented on the compensation of professional athletes, the impact of housing segregation on earnings, the effectiveness of AIDS awareness campaigns in Africa, and the effect of the Euro’s introduction on France’s foreign trade. The following day’s session included papers on the economic determinants of Congressional voting, the degree of rationality of college students, the factors that influence female crime, and the effect of charter schools on student achievement.

We commend all of the authors for the hard work and dedication that they demonstrated in producing such high quality research papers. Special congratulations go to Douglas Sue of UNC-Chapel Hill, whose paper entitled “Cognitive Anomalies and the Assumption of Economic Rationality: An Empirical Investigation of UNC Students” won the Best Paper Prize.

Many people contributed to the success of the Symposium and they have our sincere gratitude. We begin with the Paper Selection Committee, which included the following students: Jonathan Kirkland, Susan Wolff, Stacy Seely, Jared Toothman, Jamie Kleinerman, Stephanie Mata, Amir Khan, Peri Kadaster, Ailian Gan, and Shiying Lee. Several faculty also served on the Committee, including Lori Leachman, Emma Rasiel, Genna Miller, and Ed Tower. Paul Dudenhefer gave an excellent training session for the students on the Selection Committee. The staff of the EcoTeach Center was equally essential to the success of the Symposium. Ryan Millner, Jennifer Socey, and Dorothy Armento did a great job of planning the logistics and made sure the event ran smoothly.

Special thanks go to Steve Pagliuca, Managing Partner of Bain, for agreeing to speak at the Recognition Banquet, as well as to Professors Lori Leachman and Tom Nechyba, who welcomed the attendees on behalf of the Economics Department. Finally, our thanks go to the Allen Starling Johnson Jr. Fund, the EcoTeach Center, and the Department of Economics for their financial support of the Symposium.

We invite you to enjoy all of the Symposium papers in this issue, and we look forward to next year.

Connel Fullenkamp