By Gabriella Mestre Background and Research Objective In my thesis, I examine the effect of peremptory challenges, attorneys’ right to reject a certain number of potential jurors without a stated reason, on minority representation in juries and minority conviction rates. Despite efforts by the courts to prevent discriminatory uses of peremptory challenges, Read More
2023 Senior Theses
Leveraged Landlords: Life-Cycle Portfolio Choice With Rental Properties, Mortgages, and Margin Calls
By Lucas Szwarcberg Even though as many as 8% of taxpayers report rental income, the reasons for which individuals invest directly in this sector rather than exclusively holding diversified stock portfolios remain largely unexplored. My thesis investigates the hypothesis that households invest in individual rental properties because they can take out a mortgage to finance Read More
From Urban Form to Friending Bias: Testing Jane Jacobs’ Hypotheses
By George Crowne Motivation In an increasingly fragmented America, the question of how to socially integrate different groups of people is growing in importance. Research has shown that cross-group social integration has effects on a variety of outcomes ranging from educational attainment to overall health to income inequality. One theory for reducing cross-group bias stems Read More
Econ Thesis Class of 2023
Congrats to the amazing Class of 2023 Ec Thesis Writers! We’re so excited to share some of their work here and at the Poster Session at the Ec Department’s inaugural Undergraduate Conference Highlighting Excellence in Economics Research! If you’re in town, join us Thursday, April 27 (details in various emails from the Department).