Four Furman University economics students who conducted Hollingsworth Undergraduate Summer Research projects in 2013 said the experience helped them map out their career paths.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to give students real research experience,\u201d said Jason Jones, an assistant professor in economics who mentored one of the teams.\u00a0 A faculty mentor \u201cguides them through the literature,\u201d but \u201cwe want them to develop their own ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two teams, of two students each, conducted research on very different subjects: obesity and the prevalence of fast-food restaurants and the question of how China\u2019s unit labor cost affected the country\u2019s exports and economic development.<\/p>\n
The research program encourages collaborative research involving students and faculty members.\u00a0 The students, with consultation with faculty, develop the project. Students generally spend eight to 10 weeks working full-time on the project although they may refine it over the following academic year.<\/p>\n
A paper is required by the end of the summer work, said Ken Peterson, John D. Hollingsworth, Jr., Professor and Chair of the economics department. Jones said a visiting scholar reviews the research and gives the students feedback.<\/p>\n
The research paper is critiqued in the fall and refined throughout the following school year, Peterson said. The work is presented at various Furman events and at outside events.<\/p>\n
Juniors Madelin Ward and Daniel Puette said they became involved in the summer research project because they wanted to do something in economics during the past summer.\u00a0 Puette said he had an interest in international research and wanted to focus on Asia, particularly China.<\/p>\n
Brittany Fulton and Sarah Harris, both seniors at Furman, said their research project, focusing on the availability of fast food restaurants and the effect on obesity, helped them find jobs or decide what direction they wanted to look.<\/p>\n
Harris said she became involved in a research project because \u201cI wanted to get a better grasp of what economic research is\u201d and how it can be used in creating policies, something in which she is interested. Fulton said she wanted to spend the summer doing something meaningful during the summer and decided research was the way to go.<\/p>\n
Both teams pitched ideas back and forth before finally deciding on what they wanted to study.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was impressed with how long it took to come up with an idea,\u201d Harris said, adding that she enjoyed finding the necessary data.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent a lot of time trying to create our model,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ward said the hardest part of the project she and Puette worked on \u201cwas the data. China\u2019s data is so hard to find.\u201d Then, Puette said, \u201cwe had to find a way to utilize the data\u201d in coming up with an explanation of the unit cost of labor\u2019s impact on economic growth.<\/p>\n
A major finding was that no matter what variables are used, the country\u2019s unit labor costs\u2014the cost of labor per unit of production\u2014will rise, Ward said. As that occurs, China could find that exports are no longer the best way of improving its economy and that increasing domestic consumption could be a stronger method to boost growth.<\/p>\n
Wages in China, which has been known worldwide as an exporter, are growing, Puette said. In recent years, the country\u2019s productivity has been increasing but not as quickly as wages.<\/p>\n
Fulton and Harris decided eventually to look at how the abundance of fast food restaurants impacted obesity rates on a county level.<\/p>\n
The results, they said, is that an increase in the availability of fast-food restaurants increases the amount of money spent in that sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there are more restaurants, people spend more money at fast food restaurants,\u201d Fulton said.<\/p>\n
They also found that the more grocery stores an area had, the lower the obesity rate.<\/p>\n
Results were \u201cstrongly significant, but the magnitude was small,\u201d Harris said. \u201cI think we expected a stronger link between the expenditures in fast food restaurants and obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones said the research experience \u201cserves them quite well\u201d as it teaches students to think clearly, analyze data, skills that will be useful\u00a0 in any career they may choose even if they choose not to go further in economics research.\u00a0 \u201cNot many undergraduates have this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fulton said the project \u201chelped me decide the type of job I wanted after college,\u201d she said. It also helped her while interviewing. She plans to join Keybridge Research in Washington, D.C., in July. Harris, who was already interested in working with economic policy, also said the research project will be helpful in interviewing and job searches.<\/p>\n
Puette, who has an interest in the \u00a0international arena, said the skills he acquired will be useful in a career.\u00a0 Ward said the experience was helpful in learning to work with another person, something that will be useful in the future.<\/p>\n