November 2019
The Economics Department is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s undergraduate awards for academic excellence. The department celebrated the achievements of these outstanding students at a reception held on November 29, 2019. We are most grateful to the donors and sponsors of these awards, and appreciate their support of the efforts of our students.
- The Al and Eleanor May Scholarship in Economics
- The Alexander Mackenzie Scholarship in Economics
- The Arthur Hosios Scholarship in Economics
- The Banker’s Scholarship in Economics
- The Brian Mulroney Award
- The Donald Dewees Undergraduate Award
- The Frederick G. Gardiner Scholarship in Economics and Political Science
- The Jack L. Carr Scholarship
- The Lorne T. Morgan Gold Medal in Economics
- The Mary Child Scholarship in Economics
- The Mary Keenan Award
- The Nanda Choudhry Prize in Economics (Year II)
- The Nanda Choudhry Prize in Economics (Year III)
- The Noah Meltz Undergraduate Award in Labour Economics
- The Paul L. Nathanson Scholarship in Economics
- The Ramsay Scholarship in Economics
- The Reza Satchu Award for Excellence in Economics
- The Safarian Scholarship in Economics
- The Smith Family Scholarship in Economic Policy
- The Stefan Stykolt Scholarship in Economic Theory
- The William G. Wolfson Scholarship in Economics
- The William T. Jackman Scholarship in Corporation Finance or in Transportation Economics
The Al and Eleanor May Scholarship in Economics
This scholarship was named in honour of Al and Eleanor May. It was established by their children, Dorothy Wolfson (nee May), Mark May and William Wolfson. It is awarded based on academic merit and financial need. The winners are:
- Henrique Spanoudis Matulis
- Farah Radwan
The Alexander Mackenzie Scholarship in Economics
This award commemorates the late Alexander Mackenzie, and is given to a student enrolled in an Economics program who has completed at least two full courses in Economics in the session for which the award is made. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Tianyu Du
The Arthur Hosios Scholarship in Economics
This scholarship was named in honour of Arthur Hosios, and established by the family and friends of Arthur Hosios. The Scholarship is held by one or more students on the basis of an original research paper that the applicant submitted as part of the requirements of a 300 or 400 level Economics course taken at the University of Toronto (St. George campus), for which the applicant received a credit. The applicants’ work will be evaluated based on originality and presentation. There are two awards – one each for the winning and second best paper. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winners are:
- Kathleen Yuanxin Chen and Saarah Nuzhat Sheikh
Chen and Sheikh won the first place with a paper titled “Teen Pregnancy Prevention: Effects of Federal Funding on Teen Health Outcomes”. It was submitted in ECO475H1S. The teen pregnancy rate is higher in the United States than in any other Western industrialized country. In 2010, the Obama administration injected $190 million of new federal funding for innovative and evidence-based approaches to sex education, while reducing funding for abstinence-only- until-marriage programs. Chen and Sheikh build a novel data set to investigate the effectiveness of this change in federal funding. Using a difference-in-differences design, they exploit natural variation in the timing of funding allocation decisions in order to investigate the causal impact of receiving federal funding for sex education programs on county-level teen sexual health outcomes. They did not find any significant impact on teen fertility nor STDs, at least at the county level.
The runner-up winner is:
- Tallah Usman
Usman won the second place with a paper titled “Brothers in Arms: Peer Effects in the Canadian Expeditionary Force”. The paper was summitted in ECO499H1Y. It utilizes a unique WWI data set to test whether performance (in the form of medals and commendations) is linked to company peer effects. The data consist of military records from all of the 630,000 soldiers that participated in the Canadian war effort merged with data sources identifying soldiers killed, soldiers awarded medals, and soldiers’ full names and data of birth. Separate Nominal Rolls were consulted to identify the composition of the companies. No previous systematic studies of peer effects had been conducted for Canadian WWI veterans. The paper finds significant evidence of peer effects – individuals in companies with a higher degrees of homogeneity were more likely to perform better (i.e., receive more medals).
The Banker’s Scholarship in Economics
This award was established with a gift from the Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1891. It goes to the student with the highest standing in the intermediate macroeconomics course sequence. It is awarded based on academic merit and financial need. The winner is:
- Hairuo Yi
The Brian Mulroney Award
Endowed with a gift from Gerry Schwartz, this award goes to the student who achieves the highest mark in ECO230Y (International Economic Institutions and Policy), HIS 264H (Critical Issues in Canadian History), or POL214Y (Canadian Government and Politics). It is awarded based on academic merit and financial need. The winner is:
- David Vasconcelos De Paiva
The Donald Dewees Undergraduate Award
This award honours our colleague Professor Don Dewees, for his many years of service to the Economics Department. It is granted to students demonstrating excellence in Don’s areas of passion and expertise: The economic analysis of law, and the economics of energy and the environment. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Justin Hin Bong Yau
The Frederick G. Gardiner Scholarship in Economics and Political Science
This scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student enrolled in two of the following major or specialist programs: Economics, Political Science, and Public Policy. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- David Baldridge
The Jack L. Carr Scholarship
This scholarship was established through a gift from Professor Emeritus Jack Carr and his family, and is awarded to a student in either Rotman Commerce or the Department of Economics who achieves the highest mark in ECO209Y, macroeconomic theory and policy (for Commerce). It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Yijia Liu
The Lorne T. Morgan Gold Medal in Economics
This scholarship is awarded to the leading graduating student in a specialist or joint specialist program in Economics, based on the results in fourth year. Lorne Morgan, a veteran of both world wars, was an Associate Professor of Economics between 1932 and 1962, specializing in International Economics. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Edward Sulitzer
The Mary Child Scholarship in Economics
This award is given to the outstanding graduating student in an Economics Specialist program, based on performance in the courses required in the program. The scholarship was established in 1984 by Arthur Child, President and CEO of Burns Foods Limited. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Jinguang Yang
The Mary Keenan Award
This award is given to two students who have successfully completed the first year in the Faculty of Arts and Science, and who have enrolled in a specialist program in Economics. It is awarded based on academic merit and financial aid. The winners are:
- Javier Enrique Lopez
The Nanda Choudhry Prize in Economics (Year II)
This prize was established with a gift from the late Professor Emeritus Nanda Choudhry who retired in 1996. It is awarded to a student in a specialist program in Economics who has obtained the highest average mark in at least two of the required second year courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics and quantitative methods. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Rongrong Yu
The Nanda Choudhry Prize in Economics (Year III)
This prize was also established with a gift from the late Professor Emeritus Nanda Choudhry. It is awarded to a student in a specialist program in Economics, based on performance in at least two full Economics courses at the 300 or 400 level. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Kathleen Yuanxin Chen
The Noah Meltz Undergraduate Award in Labour Economics
This scholarship is awarded in memory of our colleague Noah Meltz who passed away in 2002. The prize goes to an outstanding undergraduate student in our third year course, The Economics of Labour (ECO340H). It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Jisoo Kim
The Paul L. Nathanson Scholarship in Economics
This scholarship was established in memory of Paul Nathanson who was the founder of the General Theatre Investment Company. It is awarded to an outstanding student whose program includes at least three full courses in Economics (A companion award goes to a student in Political Science). It is awarded based on academic merit and financial need. The winner is:
- Ren Che Ivan Hsieh
The Ramsay Scholarship in Economics
This scholarship is funded with a bequest of the late William Ramsay of Bowland, Scotland. Like the Paul Nathanson award, this scholarship is given to an outstanding student whose program of study includes at least three courses in Economics. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Kathleen Yuanxin Chen
The Reza Satchu Award for Excellence in Economics
This scholarship was endowed by Reza Satchu, co-founder of “The Next 36,” Canada’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Initiative. For many years, Reza taught the very popular course, “The Economics of Entrepreneurship.” The award is granted to an outstanding student graduating in Economics. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Jiarou Yu
The Safarian Scholarship in Economics
This award was endowed by our late colleague, Professor Ed Safarian, who was a member of the Order of Canada and a renowned policy expert.
The award goes to an outstanding student in a specialist program in Economics. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Yefei Zhang
The Smith Family Scholarship in Economic Policy
This scholarship was endowed by James C. Smith, and is awarded to an outstanding student in Economics who intends to focus his or her studies on economic policy or economic history. In addition to strong academic performance, this unique award is also based on student writing: Applicants must write a short essay analyzing a current economic policy issue. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Austin ZhengAustin tackled the issue of affordable housing in Canada. He presented a thoughtful discussion of both the economics of the affordable housing market as well as direct and indirect consequences of insufficient supply, such as the potentially deleterious health and educational impacts on children that may result from unstable housing.
Out of the essay pool, we also awarded one “Department of Economics Essay Prize in Economic Policy” to:
- Nathaniel McLeanNathan discussed the idea of a basic income plan with specific reference to its abilities to address the issue of poverty. His paper was well researched and offered a balanced and careful discussion of both the costs and benefits of a basic income plan.
The Stefan Stykolt Scholarship in Economic Theory
This scholarship was established in 1962 with a bequest from the late Stefan Stykolt, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto. It is awarded to a student in a specialist or major program in Economics who has completed ECO200Y/204Y/206Y and ECO202Y/208Y/209Y. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Gia Long Thang
The William G. Wolfson Scholarship in Economics
This scholarship was endowed by Bill Wolfson, who has taught our foundational courses, ECO100Y and ECO200Y. The scholarship is awarded to an outstanding Economics Major who has completed second year, including ECO200Y and ECO202Y. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Siyuan Tao
The William T. Jackman Scholarship in Corporation Finance or in Transportation Economics
This scholarship was established through a bequest of the late Mrs. W. T. Jackman in memory of her late husband, William T. Jackman, B.A. (1896), M.A. (1900), Professor of Rural Economics and later Transportation in the Department of Political Economy. It is awarded based on academic merit. The winner is:
- Jordan Sylvester Rajaratnam
