SP.278 Real World Economics   /   Student Projects

First Week: April 30

(Wed, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, 24-619)

Calvin Sizer:
Education and Budget Shortfalls


Elizabeth Farrelly,
Meredith Knight:
Profits/Environment
(parts 1 and 2 of 3)


Second Week: May 07

(Wed, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, 24-619)

Celeste Chudyk:
Profits/Environment
(part 3 of 3)


Yelena Yakunina:
Labor Market Outcomes


Laura Hajj:
Instant Runoff Voting


Third Week: May 14

(Wed, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, 24-619)

Kathy Lin:
Economic Impact of Service


Chris Suarez:
Education


Calvin Sizer Education and Budget Shortfalls
The purpose of this project is to provide information about the effects of state and local government budget on Education. This will take Los Angeles Unified School District as a case study. This project will also include a comparison contrasting how different districts are funded.
Meredith Knight - Week 1
Elizabeth Farrelly - Week 1
Celeste Chudyk - Week 2

Profits/Environment
We are investigating the relationship between economic prosperity and environmental prosperity. We will have some case studies on businesses that incorporate environmental and social responsibility into their practices, investigate examples of governments balancing these "triple bottom lines" when dealing w/ development projects, and present examples of income-generating NGOs.

Meredith Knight: Morals over Money (ppt)
Yelena Yakunina People's outcomes in the United States labor market
In my work, I am looking at what is happening in the United States labor market today: why the country has such a great inequality in the income distribution and what the factors that influence people~Rs outcomes in the labor market are. I am interested in who gets ahead with what kind of jobs, what wages people are paid and how these wages are determined. I also look at immigration and race as the important factors determining economic situation in lives of many people in the United States. Why people come to the country and what "American Dream" is for them are also the issues in my work.
Kathy Lin The Economic Impact of Service
I am investigating the impact of volunteers and donations on the economy (hours, revenue, etc generated by volunteers and donors). In particular, I am looking at either (1) the effect of bad times on the economy, (2) the effect of having people begin volunteering early (when they're still in school), and the recent boom of service graduation requirements... or maybe both.
Chris Suarez Education
The intent of this project is to determine national trends in state education data, and, from this data, determine whether the Federal Government's minimal role in the education sector should be expanded. This project will focus on the primary and secondary levels, and will do state-by-state comparisons. Specific categories that will be examined are teacher/pupil ratio, per pupil expenditures, and ethnic factors as they correlate with academic achievement. The national rubric used for academic achievement will include standardized tests and transcript data. Although these aren't pure indicators of achievement, we can garner insight on what the federal government should do to bring states up to an equal level. As the project continues, objectives and conclusions will probably expand.

Links:

Downloads:
Laura Hajj Instant Runoff Voting
Instant runoff voting is a superior voting method to plurality voting for many reasons. IRV can change how the voters votes, allowing them to express their desires freely and without the "lesser of two evils penalty". I will discuss the mechanisms, history and uses, and personality of IRV.
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