Elon students present research at Eastern Economic Association conference 

The economics majors shared their theses during the annual meeting’s undergraduate research sessions.

Seven Elon University seniors presented their thesis research at the Eastern Economic Association’s conference held Feb. 25-28 in Washington, D.C. 

Alex Battaglia, Ameya Benegal, Michael Keenan, Danae Macleod, Carolyn Powell, Rebecca Sansale and Justin Schweitzer, all economics majors, participated in the conference’s 10 undergraduate research sessions sponsored by Issues in Political Economy (IPE). This was the 23rd consecutive year the IPE has sponsored sessions during the conference.

Fifty students from 22 colleges and universities throughout the country participated in two days of undergraduate research sessions. Students came from institutions such as American University, Belmont University, Furman University, Gettysburg College, North Central College, Siena College, University of Mary Washington, University of Northern Iowa, College of Wooster and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

The Elon papers presented were:

“How Does the Young Adult Mandate Affect Wages and the U.S. Labor Market for Younger Workers?”
Alex Battaglia (mentor: Katy Rouse)

“The Effects of Armed Conflict on the Incidence Rates of Infectious Diseases”
Ameya Benegal (mentor: Steve Bednar)

“Microfinance, Disasters, and their Impact on Business Outcomes: Evidence from Indonesia”
Michael Keenan (mentor: Steve DeLoach)

“Child Labor and Access to Financial Services”
Danae Macleod (mentor: Steve DeLoach)

“Behavioral Economics and the Motivation of Savings”
Carolyn Powell (mentor: Greg Lilly)

“The Predictive Power of Personality on Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Millennials”
Rebecca Sansale (mentor: Steve DeLoach)

“Crowdfunding Viability in Low-Income Nations: An Experimental Study”
Justin Schweitzer (mentor: Greg Lilly)

The IPE is the leading undergraduate research journal in economics and is co-edited completely by undergraduates at Elon University and the University of Mary Washington. Elon has co-edited the journal since 1998. The IPE is indexed in Cabell’s Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Economics & Finance. Professor Steve DeLoach serves as the IPE faculty advisor.

Submitted by Steve DeLoach, professor of economics