Four Economics majors presented their honors theses this week at the Mizzou's Undergraduate Fall Research Day, highlighting a wide range of economic research questions with real-world relevance. Topics included climate change's impact on agricultural production, understanding how agglomeration economies boost income, an investigation of housing affordability in the US, and the impact of free and reduced lunch eligibility on high school student attendance. 

The student researchers—Hunter Helmke, Sam Hirner, Erikan Editi Ikoh, and Macy Monical— shared their findings with faculty, peers, and community visitors during the event, which celebrates original undergraduate scholarship across disciplines. All four students were mentored by Dr. Alyssa Carlson as part of her Mizzou Economics Research Experience for Undergraduates program (Funding supported by NSF - 2337480). Throughout the summer and fall, the students designed their own research questions, collected and cleaned data, and analyzed their results using econometrics methods.