Celebration of Academic Excellence for Economics Students 2025

The 2025 Celebration of Student Academic Excellence Student Showcase was held on April 30, 2025 at the Alumni Arena and honored undergraduate and graduate students.

To see the other presentations: Celebration of Academic Excellence - University at Buffalo

Cap-and-Apply: Unintended Consequences of College Application Policy in South Korea

Taekyu Eom

Starting in the 2013 academic year, the South Korean government implemented a policy limiting students to a maximum of six college applications. This paper examines the impact of this application cap on matching quality and the socioeconomic gap in college prestige. Using college-level administrative data, I find that matching quality decreases as second-tier colleges are able to attract more desirable students following the introduction of the cap. This finding aligns with theoretical predictions from a simplified model in which colleges compete for top applicants and applicants exhibit ability noise. Moreover, I extend the model to incorporate application constraints influenced by socioeconomic status (SES). The theoretical framework suggests that the cap reduces the socioeconomic gap: after the cap, the number of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds attending more prestigious colleges increases, as the constraints primarily limit applicants from higher socioeconomic groups. Empirical analysis supports these theoretical predictions. These findings may provide valuable policy insights for the U.S. higher education market.

Pricing Strategies and User Retention in Matching Platforms

Arghyadip Gupta

Digital platforms connect buyers and sellers, job seekers and employers, and even people seeking relationships. But how do pricing models shape platform behavior and user experience? In this paper, I explore how subscription and commission models influence platform incentives. Subscription-based platforms, like LinkedIn Premium or Bumble, charge monthly fees and often benefit from keeping users engaged longer-even if it delays successful matches. However, commission-based platforms, such as Airbnb or real estate services, only earn when users complete transactions, aligning more closely with user outcomes. By examining how these models affect participation and match success, I highlight why some platforms struggle to attract users despite offering free services, and how pricing strategies shape overall platform design. My findings provide insights into user behavior and platform dynamics.

Policy assessment of minimum wage regulation: From theoretical debates to promising economy

Smruti Vaity

The dynamic interplay between extensive economic research and rigorous policy implementation has been a subject of intense debate among economists, social-scientists and policy makers. This comprehensive research paper titled "Policy assessment of minimum wage regulation: From theoretical debates to promising economy" contains critical review of the economic literature and a retrospective assessment using qualitative, empirical, historical and philosophical approaches. Labor market is the crucial segment of the economy and minimum wage legislation has a prolonged history, especially in the United States of America, in terms of both legal implementation and its interaction with economic research. The minimum wage has definitely been a core element of public policy; however, the question still exists perhaps yet to be unraveled is that can we use minimum wages as a policy toolkit to increase an economic self-sufficiency? This paper represents cost-benefit analysis of minimum wage and also, it delves into the complexities and appropriateness of such policy perhaps to investigate how it affects employment, equity, social and economic well-being in the labor market. Utilizing appropriate methodology such as literature review, economic analysis, data treatment, and econometric modelling, I believe this paper would contribute significantly to the discipline of economics by offering substantial policy recommendations and bringing new perspectives. 

Buffalo Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Light Rail Expansion Benefit-Cost Analysis

John Ambrosi

Light rail usage as a form of commuter transportation has been proposed for the Amherst suburban area of Buffalo, New York. The 2013 proposal by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority presented an expanded light rail system from the currently existing Buffalo City light rail. This report addresses the costs and benefits associated with constructing and operating an expanded light rail system. Costs and benefits include fiscal and social factors such as materials, labor, maintenance, emissions, noise pollution, and personal vehicle wear savings over 50 years at a federal discount rate of 2%. Data are Erie County tax parcel data, US Census and Environmental Protection Agency information, and published sources. ArcMap and Microsoft Excel were used for analysis. Roadway expansions by eminent domain property acquisition is a significant cost beyond those of the railway construction. Project costs are too large to recommend the project based on benefit-cost analysis.

Effect of Syringe Exchange Programs on Crime: Evidence from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Haylee Sipos

This research estimates the causal effect of a syringe exchange program (SEP), Prevention Point Pittsburgh (PPP), in Pennsylvania on crime. SEPs provide sterile syringes and a disposal site to prevent the spread of illnesses from needle sharing among drug users. Funding for SEPs continues to expand, despite the sparse or mixed evidence about the intended and unintended consequences of these programs. I construct a novel dataset of PPP locations, opening dates, and weekdays of service with daily census block group (CBG) police reported incidents. I use an event study framework with treatment defined based on the rollout and schedule of PPP locations. For CBGs within 1-mile, I find a decrease in all incidents, possession and distribution of a controlled substance the day of and day after a location's weekday of service. There are decreases in incidents of burglary and assault, while there is no effect on theft, homicide, or robbery.