Previous Award Winners

Congratulations to previous competition winners!

2007

1st Place Winner

Student/Author: Scott M. Noveck
Undergraduate School Affiliation: Princeton University
Paper Title: Testing the Theory of Rational Crime with United States Data, 1994-2002 (PDF 1MB)

Abstract: Do criminals in the United States respond rationally to changes in incentives, or is crime inherently an irrational phenomenon? Building upon models used by Ehrlich (1973), Levitt (2002), and others, this paper uses a model of rational crime to examine the elasticities of seven index crimes with respect to changes in law enforcement expenditures and economic incentives using state-level United States data from the years 1994 through 2002. Our empirical results are consistent with the economic model of criminal behavior first proposed by Becker (1968), in which higher levels of law enforcement reduce crime through a deterrence effect, and other recent studies suggesting that aggregate crime rates have a significant rational component.

2nd Place Winner

Student/Author: Jonathan Robert Young
Undergraduate School Affiliation: Union College
Paper Title: Vaccinating the Next Generation: Are Children with Foreign-Born Mothers Less Likely to Receive Recommended Immunizations? (PDF 524K)

Abstract: Immunizations improve the health of the population and reduce health care costs by preventing the onset of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, many children in the U.S. are undervaccinated. Using cross-sectional data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, this paper investigates whether foreign-born mothers are less likely to vaccinate their children. The number of children born to immigrants has increased substantially in recent years, and they form a significant portion of the population. Because they are typically unfamiliar with the U.S. health care system, immigrants are less likely than non-immigrants to seek medical care. This paper finds that foreign-born mothers are less likely than native mothers to take their children to health care professionals for the Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccination and the diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccination. Thus, to improve childhood vaccination rates, physicians should target foreign-born mothers and educate them about the importance of these immunizations.

3rd Place Winner

Student/Author: Kristian Voss
Undergraduate School Affiliation: State University New York at New Paltz
Paper Title: Support for the Far Right: The Desire for Cultural Preservation in an Increasingly Globalized and Multicultural Europe (PDF 512K)

Abstract: In this study I set out to explain support for far right parties in countries of Western Europe that have been democratic since the end of World War II. Using individual level analysis of survey data from the European Social Survey 2004/2005 and country level analysis of aggregate and survey data from the Eurobarometer 59.2, I am able to offer an explanation of support for the far right. The results show that cross-national differences in support for far right parties are particularly the result of public opinion on cultural preservation as a reaction against increased immigration of foreign peoples.

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