Minnesota Economic Association

2019 Undergraduate Student Paper Contest Winners

Senior Thesis

First Place

Noah Zwiefel, Macalester College
“What is the impact of a Medicaid expansion on the bankruptcy rate? Evidence from the ACA”
Advisor: Gary Krueger

Second Place

Dasom Ham, University of Minnesota
“Whose ‘War on Coal’?”
Advisor: Thomas J. Holmes

Third Place

Khadidja Ngom, Macalester College
“The Effects of Land Inheritance Laws on Agricultural Investment in Polygynous Households: Evidence from Uganda”
Advisor: Amy Damon

Term Paper

First Place

Noah Zwiefel, Macalester College
“The Efficacy of State-Level PrEP Access Programs: A Tale of Two States”
Advisor: Gary Krueger

Second Place

Matthew Yang, Macalester College
“Evaluating Minnesota Minimum Wage Increases Using Synthetic Control Methods”
Advisor: Gary Krueger

Third Place

Isaac Liu and Jacob Trout, Macalester College
“Intertemporal Decision-Making: ‘Smokers’ vs ‘Vapers’”
Advisor: Pete Federer

Economic Communications

First Place

Kapono Asunción, St. Catherine University
“A Policy Approach to Transphobia”
Advisor: Marina Gorsuch

Second Place

Victoria Kalina and Lauren Lenzen, St. Catherine University
“Feel the Burn: Sexually Transmitted Infections and Birth Control Choices in U.S. Young Adults”
Advisor: Kristine West

Third Place

Laura Herman and Ashley Chavez, St. Catherine University
“A Proposal to Increase Funding for Programs Combating the U.S. Opioid Crisis”
Advisor: Marina Gorsuch