Student Research in Economics

Capstone Research Papers and Posters

2014 Papers and Posters

•    Gillespie, Martha.  The School District of Philadelphia's Charter Schools:  Are Charter Schools Overcoming the Socioeconomic Disadvantages of Philadelphia's Students?
•    Mulherin, Rebecca.  The Effectiveness of Social Media Advertising for Local Restaurants
•    Costello, Alexander.  Missing the Market:  Problems with Renewable Electricity in PA
•    Suliman, Walid.  How Does Pennsylvania Healthcare and Education Spending Affect Income Inequality
•    Silva, Leo.  Seven Crappy Hours of Our Life
•    *Berridge, Randy. The Woes of Public Higher Education: An Economic Analysis of State Spending on Public Higher Education
•    Diehm, Zach.  Perceptions and Peer Pressure:  A Study of Lancastrian Tipping Habits
•    Oblender, Matthew.  Does Money Buy the Grade? How Does State Public School Funding Affect PSSA Scores?
•    *Simmons, Logan.  Risky Mortgages Damage Housing Market: Has Lancaster County Beaten the Odds?
•    Shultz, Ryan.  The Giver's Rationale: A Study on Giving and Personal Welfare
* Student Presentations

2013 Papers and Posters

  • * Croyle, Matthew E - Breaking the Cycle: An Analysis of High School Dropout Behavior in Solanco School District

  • Draper, Ashley R - Steeling Coatesville: A Historical Analysis of the Connection Between a Steel Town and the American Steel Industry

  • Fox, Charles J - Feeding the Children: Does the Summer Food Service Program Subsidy Matter?

  • Hess, Steve M - What's in Your Backyard? A Historical Economic Analysis of PA's Energy Resources

  • * Teti, Zachary F - Let It Grow: An Econometric Analysis of Farmland Preservation and Development in Lancaster County, PA

  • Thurston, Zachary D - Higher Education, Even Higher Tuition: Study on the Effects of Increasing Tuition on Enrollment at Pennsylvania State

  • Troncale, Joseph C - Where Have They Gone?  Manufacturing Job Trends in Eastern PA Since 1979

2013 Honors Theses:

  • Draper, Ashely - Reaching Revitalization: An Analysis on Factors Leading to the Successful Economic Revitalization of a City

  • * Phan, Phouc - Buyer Verification in a Market for Lemons: Experimental Evidence

2012 Papers and Posters

  • Crescenzo, Michael P. "In the Word, Not of It:  The Amish Struggle to Preserve Their Culture in Hard Economic Times"

  • Hand, Chaney M. "Cash or Credit?  Why Millersville University Students Have Credit Card Debt"

  • Koons, Kaleb L. "Spring Cleaning: Pennsylvania Resident's Willingness to Pay for Chesapeake Bay Watershed Clean-up Projects"

  • McCauley, Ryan W.  "Prison Bars Break the Bank:  An Economic Analysis of the Lancaster County Ready2Work Program's Effect on Recidivism and Its Cost Effectiveness"

  • Moon, Eric K. "Big Fracking Deal:  An Analysis of Marcellus Shale through Classical, Marxian, and Ecological Schools of Economic Thought"

  • Robinson, David C. "New Jersey! Better Than the Rest?  The New Jersey Housing Market's Resistance to the Financial Crisis"

  • Sawyer, Brett L. "Got Wikipedia? A Study on Wikipedia's Effects on College Students"

  • Shue, Benjamin C. "Got Ethanol?  A Study of Rising Corn Prices and Diversification in the Pennsylvania Dairy Industry"

Honors Theses

(Title, Author, Year, Faculty Committee)
* denotes Omicron Delta Epsilon Research Award winner

  • Beating the Odds: Creating a Value-Based Investment Strategy for Long-Term Superior Results, Erik Baker, 2007, Suliman, Madden, Guo
  • Does Foreign Direct Investment Converge Economies?*, Ryan D. Walker, 2007, Suliman, Smith, Baker
  • Clustering the Economy, Brenda Chavez, 2006, Smith, Gumpper, Madden
  • Variations in Individual Decision Making: Children, Adults, and Economic Theory*, Patricia C. Grieggs, 2006, Baker, Smith, Madden, Gumpper
  • The Power of Equality, Evan Gentry, 2005, Madden, Suliman, Callari
  • Nuisance Taxes and the Brain Drain, Justin Kleinfleter, 2004, Suliman, Smith
  • Aristotelian Ethics as an Indicator of Company Stock Performance, Steve Elliker, 2003, Suliman, Smith, Ward
  • Stock Typology and the S&P Game, Jesse Ellis, 2003, Suliman, Smith, Gumpper
  • Happiness & Subjective Well Being: Determinants with an International Comparison, Lauren Williams, 2003, Smith, Gumpper, Madden
  • Evaluation of Union Membership, 1800-2001, Terrance J. Doherty, 2002, Smith, Gumpper, Suliman
  • Identification and Analysis of Significant Industry Clusters and Employment Trends in Lancaster County, Bill Stadden, 2002, Smith, Gumpper, Madden
  • Valuing Water Quality Improvements in the Chesapeake Bay, Kelley Appleman, 2001, Gumpper, Madden, Smith
  • The Relationship Between Athletic Participation at MU and Post-Graduation Income, Brian Hanks, 2001, Madden, Gumpper, Smith
  • Lancaster Merchants 1756-1789: An Unequal Distribution of Wealth, David Howell, 2000, Madden, Gumpper, McLarnon
  • Factors of Production in the United States: A Time-Series Analysis, Ron Horst, 1999, Margolis, Madden, Shultz, Smith, Suliman
  • Integration of the Russian Financial Market: Inter-Regional Analysis, Anna Katseva, 1998, Suliman, Fenwick, Guo, Gumpper, Margolis