Economics students present research, take top award at regional conference
2013-02-20 10:07:08
Five Mount Allison University economics students recently travelled to Wolfville, NS to present their research at the Acadia University Student Economics Conference. One of the students, Jeff Hicks, won the prize for best student paper in the morning session. The students presented on a diverse range of topics from the amount of effort people put into bowling to the effect of childcare policies on the gender wage gap.
Hicks, who is from London, ON, presented research on vacancy rates in the rental market housing in 33 Canadian cities. He was interested in the effects of the Internet and mobility on vacancy rates. He developed two models to estimate the natural vacancy rates and their determinants, one a standard “rent-change” model used extensively in economic research and the second a recently introduced “rate-of-excess-demand” model.
“I'm grateful to the economics department for their support to attend this conference. It allows students to share their work with other students and faculty, outside the Mount Allison community,” said Hicks. “This provides a great way to receive additional feedback on our work, and gives us the opportunity to refine our presentation skills. It is also a chance to see what research other students are doing.”
Another student, Thulasi Krishnan, who is from Bangalore, India, presented her work on the relationship between capital and energy inputs in the metals manufacturing industry in Canada. “It was exciting to see the concepts that I learned in my courses being applied to highly relevant practical situations,” she said.
Nick Manuel, from Quispamsis, NB, presented his work on whether or not professional bowlers put more effort into a bowling tournament if they have done well recently, or if their effort is more or less consistent across all tournaments.
Stephen Spence presented his work in an area where there has not been much research. “I looked at the relationship between political tendency and economic performance among the individual U.S. states.” Spence, from Rothesay, NB used data on topical issues and political party representation in state legislatures to indicate political tendency and data on GDP growth, unemployment, and average family income to measure economic performance.
David Evans, who won the best student paper at the 2012 conference said “My research is trying to determine if Quebec’s subsidized day care program has an impact on the wage gap between men and women.” Evans, who is from Sackville, added, “This conference is proof that learning happens inside and outside the classroom.”
“The high quality of the presentations of these students and the recognition they receive for their work demonstrates both the strength of our students and the breadth of what it is possible to study in economics,” said Stephen Law, head of the economics department. “We are pleased that our support for these students has helped to produce such excellent results and we are confident that they are well-prepared for the challenges they choose in the future.”
Photo caption (l-r): Mount Allison economics students Nick Manuel, Stephen Spence, David Evans, Thulasi Krishnan, and Jeff Hicks recently presented on a variety of subjects at the Acadia University Student Economic Conference held in Wolfville, NS.