Economics Ph.D. Students Named Winners of 2021 Graduate Paper Competition

Posted February 17, 2021

Archana Ghodeswar & Vikrant Kamble received second and third place in this year's Graduate Paper Competition! 

The contest's winners were unveiled on Jan. 22 after participants presented their papers and findings to panel members. The papers were judged by an interdisciplinary group of 17 College faculty members. 

Second place ($1,000 prize): Archana Ghodeswar, School of Economics, "Trading One Waste for Another? Unintended Consequences of Industrial Ecology Policy in the Indian Electric Power Sector"

Ghodeswar explores the concept of industrial ecology, the practice of "utilizing industrial waste by-products as productive inputs," in the context of coal-powered electrical plants in India, finding that reusing fly ash in the generation process can have injurious effects such as increased CO2 emissions. 

"I enjoyed the opportunity that the IAC CRIDC conference gave me to share my research with my fellow research community," said Ghodeswar. 

Third place ($750 prize): Vikrant Kamble, School of Economics, "The effect of air pollution on labor force participation of married couples in India"

Kamble's research delved into one particular externality of pollution: The effect of pollution-induced health complications on a worker's spouse. He finds that pollution illness can lead to loss of work hours due caregiving and potential overwork due to the need to "compensate for this loss of household income."

“It was a privilege to represent the School of Economics. This would not have been possible without continuous guidance and support from my advisor Matthew Oliver, Director of Graduate Studies Prof. Olga Shemyakina, and School Chair Laura Taylor," said Kamble. 

Read the full story here.