2026 Jim and Matthew Scarpati Honorary Applied Economics Conference Registration
Thanks to the generosity of Lynn Scarpati, the Department of Economics is proud to announce the 3nd annual conference in the Spring 2026 semester.
Participating students will present their papers in a conference format at the end of the Spring semester. The first-place prize comes with an award of at least $1500, the second-place prize comes with an award of at least $1000. Additionally, participants who were previously chosen for a proposal prize and successfully present in the conference will be awarded $250 each, and the committee reserves the right to award additional prizes to conference participants, including but not limited to the first- and second-place prize winners.
We will have our presentation and reception on May 14, 2026 9am-1pm where we will also announce our 2026 winners.
Conference Schedule
May 14, 2026 - Fronczak Hall, Room 408
8:45am – 9:00am: Breakfast
9:00am: Opening Remarks
| TIME | PRESENTER | PAPER TITLE |
| 9:05 am – 9:35 am | Bennett Schaefer | Can Resilience and Recovery be Explained by Industrial Composition? |
| 9:40 am – 10:10 am | Zack Wyse | The Nexus of Trade Openness and Structural Transformation in Africa |
| 10:15 am – 10:45 am | Owen Penhollow | Community Land Trusts and Neighboring Land Value: Champlain Housing Trust Case Study |
| 10:50 am – 11:20 am | Fahim Khawar | Information Shocks and Asset Repricing: A Natural Experiment in a Synthetic Economy |
| 11:25 am – 11:55 am | Aidan Maturo | A Cost Benefit Approach to Rain Barrels in Onondaga County |
12:15pm – 1:00pm: Lunch