Furman University

The Department of Economics is proud to present the Hollingsworth and Waco Childers Undergraduate Research Scholars for Summer 2009. The Undergraduate Research Program is designed to encourage collaborative research between faculty and students in the Department of Economics.  The tradition of the summer scholars is to produce quality research and papers that are presented in various venues and sometimes published in periodicals such as The American Economist, Issues in Political Economy and The Undergraduate Journal of Economics

Nora Collins

I am a rising junior from Greenville, South Carolina who is working with Lauren Sribnick and Dr. Jones this summer.  My research will focus on the European Monetary Union and fiscal and monetary policy.  “We (Lauren and I) want to specifically look at the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy and address some of the controversies dealing with the successfulness of the EMU.  Also, my interest in the EMU was sparked by my acceptance into the Brussels study abroad trip this fall in which I will have an internship at the European Union.”

Lauren Sribnick

I am a rising sophomore from Columbia, South Carolina. Nora Collins and I are working with Dr. Jason Jones. Our question of interest is: Do the spillover effects of US monetary policy indicate asymmetry (in terms of shocks) among the EMU members? We are trying to determine the effectiveness of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as an optimum currency area. Symmetry is an important characteristic to consider when evaluating this. In order to determine symmetry or asymmetry, we will compare the effects that US monetary policy has on the individual countries of the EMU before and after it was established.