The Student Section of the AAEA holds a paper competition each year. Students submit a research paper which is judged by one panel of judges, and present their research at the AAEA meetings, and that research is judged by another set of panels. Both the paper and presentation results are combined for a final ranking. This year's winner was Megan Sheely of Purdue University. Congratulations to Megan and her advisor Frank Dooley.
The competition provides students a valuable opportunity to showcase their academic and presentation skills, and provides them with a unique resume line. All high-quality papers are published in the SS-AAEA Journal of Agricultural Economics.
This year's competition included seven superb papers, all of which can be found here. Additionally, for the first time, we taped several of the presentations so that students new to the competition can observe how the presentations are typically conducted and the type of questions typically asked by the judges. The presentation of the winning student, Megan, can be viewed here. Another superb presentation was given by Myriah Johnson, which can be observed here.
I think the last paper by Chris Rodgers from the University of Florida provides an effective example of how a simple regression can aid practical decision-making. Chris, and his advisor Michael Gunderson, graciously provided the data accompanying the paper so that instructors may use it in their class. Please only use the data for teaching purpose.
Enjoy!
