Best Paper Prize

Each year we sponsor the Political Economy Program Best Paper Award. This award is given annually to the best student paper on any topic related to the field of political economy. Those wishing to enter the competition should send their paper to the Director of Political Economy Program by one week before the last day of classes in the spring semester, at noon. Submissions will be evaluated by the PE faculty based on the following criteria: relevance of the topic, quality of the analytical reasoning, persuasiveness of the argument, and clarity of the prose. The award winner will be announced during exam week. They will receive a $50 gift certificate for a local independent bookstore.

 

Past Winners

 

The 2023-24 prize was awarded to Zeya Korytko for her essay “Breaking Bad Diplomacy: The Perilous Nexus of Fentanyl, China and U.S. Policy” submitted for her course International Political Economy (IA340).

The 2022-23 prize was awarded to Daniela Rivas Clavel, Kate Smith, Hanadi Dreca, and Diego Flores Hernandez for their essay “Keeping up with the Remittances: How remittances—unlike the Kardashians—are reducing global inequality,” submitted for their course International Political Economy.

The 2021-22 prize was awarded to Ana Sundvall for her senior thesis “Big Goals, Micro Loans: Microfinance and Poverty in Guatemala” submitted as a senior thesis for the Department of International Affairs.

The 2019-20 prize was awarded to Mikah Bertelmann, Sarah Lind-MacMillan, Celia McDonald, and Mary-Claire Spurgin for their paper “Employee of the Month: How AI Increases Inequality in the Workplace and the World.” This paper was submitted for the class IA340 International Political Economy.

The 2018-19 prize was awarded to Ella Bock, for her paper “Consumption and Power in the United States” written for Professor Tymoigne’s class “Radical Political Economy”.

The 2017-18 prize was awarded to Zane Dundon for his paper “Litigating Sovereignty: Evaluating Determinants of Investor-State Dispute Settlement Outcomes“ which he wrote for his Political Science thesis.

The 2015-16 prize was awarded to Caroline Gray for her paper “Profit-Share Corps: Addressing Global Poverty Along Corporate Supply Chains” which she wrote for her Spring 2016 Social Justice in the Global Economy class.

The 2014-15 prize was awarded to Sophie Owens, Emilie Newton, Sophie Westover, and Sasha Mancisidor. Sophie Owens and Emilie won for their co-authored paper “Vote Yes on Human Rights Abuses: United States Turns a Blind Eye to China’s Brutality,” which they wrote for their Spring 2015 International Political Economy class. Sophie Westover and Sasha won for their co-authored paper “Poor Decisions: How New Findings in Behavioral Economics Can Inform Aid Strategies,” which they wrote for their Spring 2015 International Political Economy class. 

The 2011-12 prize was awarded to Ella Antell.  Ella won for her paper “Red, White, and Blue: Anticommunism, Business, and Labor in 1930s Portland,” which was her Fall 2011 History thesis.

The 2010-11 prize was awarded to April Hersey.  April won for her paper “Sustainable Development Through Carbon Trading Markets: An Assessment of the Clean Development Mechanism,” which she wrote for her Fall 2010 Economic Development class.

The 2008-09 prize was awarded to Sarah Grossberg. Sarah won for her paper “When Will the Water Stop? A Study of Water Privatization in Developing Nations,” which she wrote for her Fall 2008 Economic Development class.