Senior Eric LaRose was recently announced as one of six 2016-2017 Young Scholars Award winners by the American Enterprise Institute’s Values and Capitalism Project. This is the second consecutive year a Hillsdale student has won the prestigious award, which includes a $5,000 scholarship and the opportunity for students to defend their research theses in front of a panel of scholars in Washington, D.C.
“I was really excited, obviously, and quite a bit surprised,” LaRose said.
LaRose applied for the AEI award in June and discovered he had won mid-July. The application entails an economic policy-related thesis proposal, three letters of recommendation, and a different writing sample, according to AEI’s Academic Program manager Tyler Castle.
LaRose submitted a thesis on urban abandonment and its contributing factors in the inner cities. It seeks to answer the question of whether free-market policies combat urban blight and bring about a revival of American cities.
“While this may sound like a long ways from Hillsdale and there is little home abandonment here, Hillsdale has had problems with some of its commercial buildings in the downtown area,” Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram said in an email.
LaRose’s project began last semester when he became a research assistant for Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram.
“My project looks beyond population loss to other factors like crime and education and property taxes, and how they are contributing to residential abandonment,” LaRose said.
According to Castle, the goal of the Young Scholars Award is to give students the opportunity to produce high-level research.
“We have a broad range of issues that students write on, and this scholarship allows students who don’t necessarily go to big research institutions to produce high-quality work,” Castle said. “The award is about giving these students a platform as much as it is about their personal achievement.”
Hillsdale alumnus Jack Shannon ’16, who received the Young Scholars Award last year, said that the award probably played a significant role in the success of his graduate school applications. Currently studying at the London School of Economics, Shannon reflected on his experience presenting his thesis on the doctrine of just price by Domingo Banez at AEI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., which LaRose will have the opportunity to do in April.
“AEI puts together a panel of scholars who know a lot about what you’ve researched,” Shannon said. “The feedback from people who know what they’re doing is pretty invaluable.”
According to Shannon, receiving the award is only the beginning. Recipients of the Young Scholars Award are expected to complete extensive research on their chosen subject over the course of the year.
“My advice would be to get started on it early and be consistent with it,” he said.
According to Wolfram, the award is a testament not only to the strengths of Hillsdale’s economic program, but also to LaRose’s dedication to his project.
“Eric is one of the finest students we have at Hillsdale College,” Wolfram said in an email. “He has excellent research skills, is inquisitive and able to pursue ideas on his own. I am sure his thesis will be academically interesting but will also provide suggestions for how cities large and small can deal with this problem.”
