Dr. Jay Walker, assistant professor of economics, and Allyssa Wadsworth, a senior in the College of Business Administration, attended the 69th Annual New York State Economics Association Conference Oct. 7-8 at Farmingdale State College in Farmingdale, N.Y.
Wadsworth’s presentation was the culmination of research she worked on during the summer for Dr. Walker as part of her assistantship, which was funded by the NU library’s Undergraduate Student Summer Support Grant. Wadsworth presented the working paper, titled “Religion and Corruption: A cross-country analysis,” in Session A4: Microeconomics. The paper was co-authored with Michael Jetter (University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia) and Dr. Walker. The next step is to incorporate the comments received from the presentation at the conference as the group continues the project, with the goal of submitting it to a peer-reviewed academic journal.
This was the second time Wadsworth has presented at an academic conference, with her first being last fall at the Southern Economic Association meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana. The paper presented last fall is now under revision by a peer-reviewed academic journal.
Dr. Walker complimented Wadsworth on her work ethic. “I was very pleased with Allyssa’s efforts over the summer and her preparation for this presentation,” he said. “This again shows the types of experiences that are available at Niagara for undergraduate research, as well as the mentoring by faculty members for those students who are interested. In addition, special thanks go to Dean Tenpao Lee and my department chair, Dr. Dan Tompkins, who helped financially support Allyssa’s trip to Farmingdale.”
Wadsworth is currently working toward a double degree in economics and mathematics. She is planning on applying to graduate schools to pursue her Ph.D. in the fall 2017 semester. She is also working on her undergraduate thesis this year, a project with her advisor and mentor in the math department, Dr. Marlo Brown.
Wadsworth noted, “Attending the conference solidified my belief of networking in business. Specifically, there was a professor in my session who recognized me from a previous conference and provided helpful feedback as a discussant. Working for Dr. Walker has been an educational experience and pushed me beyond my comfort zone to create a project and build confidence through application of my previous studies. It was also a treat to work beside faculty throughout the summer. I would like to thank everyone who supported me through this process and encouraged me to go beyond my classes to learn new skills and develop existing ones.”
Dr. Walker advised, “I am confident that Allyssa’s experiences working on research as an undergraduate will help her in her pursuits as she begins the next step in her formal education.”