The MSU Department of Economics is proud of the undergraduates working on and presenting original research. One of the strengths of a research university is all of the opportunities available for students to get involved in research, including their degree in economics. Last year, economics students presented their research and even published their original research.
University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum
In April, MSU undergraduate students presented their research mentored by Economics faculty at the 2026 University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF) at the Breslin Center.
Finn Chambers presented his research, “Visualizing Political Division from 1789 to Today,” interested in the political history he learned along the way.
“I learned that in the first Congress there weren’t formal parties, just anti-administration and pro-administration blocks,” Finn said.
Undergraduates present their research at the Breslin Center during the University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF). Photo credit: Jacqueline Hawthorne, College of Social Science.
Tina Chio presented her research, “Surviving Senate Scrutiny: Confirmation Politics for High-Level Nominees,” reflecting on the skills that she acquired through the project.
“One thing I learned is that while doing research, I can learn a lot about collecting data and python, and that also helps with my econ career and future in grad school,” she said.
Tina Chio presents her research at 2026 UURAF.
Prachurjo Das presented his research, “The Causal Impact of Air Pollution on Student Academic Performance.”
“I used a two-way fixed effect model to see if the PM2.5 level could change the standardized math test score across the counties in Michigan,” he said. “I found that one unit increase in PM2.5 is associated with 0.042 standard deviation decline under the two-way fixed effect model, which is worth two to three weeks lost learning from school. The key take away was higher exposure to PM2.5 is associated with lower test scores that the result is marginally statistically significant.”
Prachurjo Das presents his research at the 2026 UURAF.
Sumaiya Imad presented her research, “The ‘Freedom’ Paradox: Why Survivors Remain Vulnerable Despite Strong Anti-Trafficking Laws in Bangladesh,” taking away the importance of who is leading.
“What I learned from my research is that there is a gap between legal policy and the implementation of it, so we need to practice more survivor-led re-integration models specifically when we’re trying to solve something as immanent and big as trafficking,“ she said.
Economics junior Mason Hambley presented his research “Restoring Histories: Digitization of 19th Century New York Enslavement Records,” learning about incorporating new technology into research.
Mason Hambley presents his research at UURAF.
“One key takeaway is that AI methods can be used to help speed up the transcription process for historical documents allowing for historians to get a better grasp on primary sources,” he said.
Tyler Webb presented his research at UURAF and received first place.
Tyler Webb presented his research, “Predicting Mlb Arbitration Salaries Through Multiple Regression,” and won first place in the History, Political Science, and Economics and category.
Meeting Presentation
MSU undergraduates Claudio Duhanxhiu and Dawson Mohr presented their research “Tax Policy and Rental Housing Costs: The Effects of East Lansing’s 2012 Income-Based Appraisal Reform,” at the 90th Midwest Economic Association Conference in March 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.
MSU Undergraduates Claudio Duhanxhiu (left) and Dawson Mohr (right) at the MEA Conference.
“A key takeaway from the experience was how rewarding it was to present our research in a professional academic setting and engage with others who were interested in similar economic topics,” Claudio Duhanxhiu said. “It gave us the opportunity to receive thoughtful feedback, build confidence in communicating our work, and better understand how research can contribute to broader conversations in economics.”
The research Claudio and Dawson presented is based on their final project during the EC499 course, the capstone course for economics seniors where they create and present original research.
Publishing
Undergraduate students Matteo Capodivacca and Isaac Estill will see their research paper, “How does the legalization of sports betting impact traditional gaming tax revenue?” published in the Columbia Economic Review.
Economics Research Course
Economics seniors may take a senior seminar class, EC 499, where they work on original economic research and then they present their research to their classmates and professor for feedback.
Armagan Caglayan shared that the presentations are what he enjoyed the most during the class.
“Seeing many presentations from different individuals and groups about different topics was fun and enlightening,” he said. “I wish we had more time for it so we could have a longer discussion.”
One thing he learned from the course was that to begin a research project, you find data after you set your research question.
"Setting a question and then finding the data for it is a very difficult and a rigorous process, and you might have a very important and fun to research question, but no data. Finding an interesting question with data was a difficult but informative process for both of us in the project.”
Julissa Davila and Nhan Nguyen's presentation.
Julissa Davila & Nhan Nguyen used their results to understand if having a Michigan Promise Zone Designation resulted in higher high school completion rates in their project “Effect of Michigan Promise Zone Designations on Community Educational Attainment.”
Daniel Hughes, Isacc Estill & Matteo Capodivacca bet that online sports gambling had an impact on traditional gambling and gaming tax revenue in their project, “How does legalization of online sports betting impact state gaming tax revenue?”
William Carvalho explored whether Medicaid coverage for GLP-1 drugs for weight loss would result in decreasing obesity in his project, “Effects of Medicaid Coverage of GLP-1 Drugs on Weight loss.”