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2008 Award Winners

1st Place Winner - MDRC

Student/Author:Sarah Ireland
Undergraduate School Affiliation: Yale University
Paper Title: Intergenerational Mobility By Race: Can The Black Middle Class Reproduce Itself (PDF 312K)

Abstract: What is the fate of the black middle class? The rise of the black middle class is a relatively recent phenomenon, and as such, it remains to be seen whether it successfully passing its prosperity to the next generation. Building upon various models used by Featherman & Hauser (1978), Hout (1985), and Mazumder (2005), this paper uses intergenerational elasticities and mobility tables to examine the transmission of class status from one generation to the next. Data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID) is used to compare the differences in mobility between middle class blacks and whites over the period from 1968-2003. The results indicate that African-Americans in the middle class show higher levels of class persistence than middle class whites and that the black middle class is actually growing over time, while the number of whites in the middle class is shrinking.

1st Place Winner - ICPSR

Student/Author:Poh Lin Tan
Undergraduate School Affiliation: Princeton University
Paper Title: Examining the Economic Basis of Ethical Vegetarianism (PDF 196K)

Abstract:People who choose to be vegetarian for ethical reasons often believe that their choice has a small but positive impact on the welfare of animals. This paper examines the main economic arguments that are widely used in support of this belief as well as competing theories that claim that ethical vegetarianism in fact leads to more animal suffering. Using national chicken and pork production data from the United States Department of Agriculture and household-level expenditure data, I provide some estimates of the elasticity of quantity of each meat type produced to changes in consumer expenditure on it. The data suggest that elasticity of supply is positive and smaller than unity, and that values are larger when the changes in expenditure are negative. On the other hand, there is little evidence to support the rival hypothesis that ethical vegetarianism results in greater animal suffering.

2nd Place Winner - ICPSR

Student/Author:Corina D Mommaerts
Undergraduate School Affiliation: University of Michigan
Paper Title: The Effect of Property Taxes on Elderly Residential Geography: A County-Level Analysis (PDF 164K)

Abstract:This study seeks to better understand the effects of local property taxes and public education expenditures on where the elderly live at the county level in the United States. I use population data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Decennial Censuses, and finance data from the Census of Governments from 1977 through 2002, as well as average property tax rates from the National Association of Home Builders. Using ordinary least squares and panel regressions, I examine various specifications of this econometric model. The empirical results suggest that there is a negative relationship between property taxes and elderly residential locations overall. The relationship between education expenditure and elderly residential location is somewhat blurred, suggesting that the widely held view that seniors oppose education spending may not hold true. Taken as a whole, these findings imply that elders focus more on property taxes rather than the allocation of these taxes.

3rd Place Winner - ICPSR

Student/Author:Caroline M. Savello
Undergraduate School Affiliation: Yale University
Paper Title: Manipulating the "Truth": The Unintended Consequences of Truth-in-Sentencing Laws in California, 1992-1996 (PDF 528K)

Abstract:Determinate sentencing policies have changed the face of the criminal justice system over the past 30 years, but the most recent trend-Truth-in-Sentencing-aims not to readjust sentencing conditions, but rather to ensure that convicts serve most of their assigned prison sentences. However, this study finds that TIS has unexpectedly influenced sentencing behavior. After the adoption of Truth-in-Sentencing laws in California in 1994, violent offenders saw fewer convicted counts, less severe convictions, and decreased assigned prison sentences. Moreover, robbery and aggravated assault offenders are spending less time in prison after the implementation of Truth-in-Sentencing, suggesting that the law has not achieved its aims and may have even worsened the situation in California.

Previous ICPSR Undergraduate Research Paper Competition Winners

The winners, abstracts, and full text from award winners from previous years are found on the Previous Award Winners page.

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