Two undergraduate interns have been chosen as Brickell Metcalf interns for Spring 2016: Jenny Wang, Class of 2018, and Elaine Yao, Class of 2017. Both will be working with Jeffrey Grogger, the Irving Harris Professor in Urban Policy at the Harris School of Public Policy.
Launched this year, the Brickell Metcalf Internship Program is an initiative facilitated by the Becker Friedman Institute, aimed at providing research opportunities to University of Chicago undergraduate students.
The internship is funded by Mark Brickell, AB’74, and Anita Brickell, AB’75, MBA’76.
Jenny Wang
The Brickell Metcalf internship is for undergraduate students interested in conducting research with the intent of increasing liberty. The program aims to produce research to develop a better understanding of the effects of law, regulation, and government policy on human behavior. Students are encouraged to choose from a number of possible research opportunities offered by faculty members, who submit proposals for desired research assistant support.
Second-year Jenny Wang will work with Grogger on a project about intergenerational transmission, comparing the education and income trends of various social groups over the course of three generations. Other topics she may be working on during her internship include research on soda taxes and police regulation.
Wang is interested in the fields of urban development, analysis of crime statistics, public education policy, and income inequality. She plans to major in mathematics with a specialization in economics. Wang serves on the TEDxUChicago board and plays for the women’s ultimate Frisbee club team, and she enjoys running and reading in her free time.
Third-year economics undergraduate Elaine Yao will work with Grogger on examining possible police racial bias using data from years of traffic stops in Chicago.
Elaine Yao
Originally from Connecticut, Yao is primarily interested in topics at the intersection of politics and economics, including the influence of government and regulations on markets, and economic theories of policymaking and institutions. She is also interested in environmental and energy topics and contemporary Chinese issues, and has worked with Dali Yang in Beijing to research the development of a pioneering environmental policy regime in Shandong province.
Faculty from the Department of Economics, the College, Booth Graduate School of Business, Law School, and Harris School of Public Policy submitted proposals for research support. The Department of Economics Undergraduate Program aided in facilitating faculty-student placements.
Posted: 4/4/16