Duke Economics

Awards and Showcases

Best Thesis Prize

The Economics Department is pleased to be able to offer the Allen Starling Johnson, Jr. Best Thesis Prize, given yearly in recognition of outstanding research by an undergraduate and through the honors program. Prior Prize winners include:

• 2011 Winner, Jeffrey Shih-kai Shen, "Market Power & Reciprocity among Vertically integrated Cable Providers"
• 2010 Winner, Matthew Rognlie, "Spurious Jump Detection and Intraday Changes in Volatility"
• 2009 Co-Winners
  • Sara Murray, "Valuing Localized Externalities: Hog Operations in North Carolina"
  • Allison Smith, "Does the Quality of Public Transit Affect Commuters’ Response to Gasoline Price Changes?"
• 2008 Winner, Andrey Fradkin, “A Comparative Study of the International Content of Implied Volatiling”
• 2007 Co-winners
  • R. Selin Dilmenter, “A Theory of Evacuation as a Coordination Problem”
  • Tzuo Hann Law, “The Elusiveness of Systematic Jumps"
• 2006 Winner, Joel Wiles, "Mixed Strategy Equilibrium in Tennis Serves"
• 2005 Co-Winners
  • Shiying Lee, "Financial Market Development: Does Financial Liberalization Induce Regulatory Governance Reform?"
  • Yuanshu Deng, "Another Pricey European Import? An Economic Analysis of the Artist's Resale Right"

Economics Honors Thesis Poster Session

The 2012 poster session will be held on Tuesday, April 24th from 5:00 - 7:00pm in the Gothic Reading Room. Everyone is welcome to join - refreshments provided!

Archival Theses

All theses that earn Distinction are published and available through Perkins Library. Another quick source is the Duke Journal of Economics. Each year it publishes top undergraduate theses, including Best Thesis Winners (see above for direct links). The Journal also produces a yearly ESU Undergraduate Research Symposium Edition. Click here for recent issues and submission guidelines.