April 13 is deadline for YSU essay contest

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The deadline is April 13 to submit essays in the fifth annual Stocks Essay Competition at Youngstown State University.

The contest is named after Anthony Stocks, who served 16 years as the chair of the YSU Department of Economics. The winner receives $250, with $150 for second place and $100 for third place.

The competition provides all undergraduate students at YSU, regardless of major, an opportunity to explore any economic policy. In previous years students representing more than 30 majors have written about such diverse topics as fracking, nuclear disasters, foreign aid, immigration, marine pollution, alternative energy, leasing of turnpikes, factory farming, second-hand smoke, state budget deficits, union power, oil dependence, sports stadium subsidies, in-vitro fertilization, casino gambling, the Affordable Health Care Act, social media, minimum wage, free trade, outsourcing, the Youngstown 2010 plan and the Wal-Mart effect.

Applicants should submit an essay on any economic topic relevant to society. Essays should be about 2,000 words and have a clearly defined policy issue, which the author analyzes from all sides and then suggests a policy solution based on the arguments presented.

Essays should be emailed to stocksessay@gmail.com. The competition website is at http://web.ysu.edu/class/economics. The website also has links to winning essays from previous years.