Undergraduate Awards | Department of Economics

For over 30 years the Economics Department has celebrated Economics Day; an occasion to recognize teaching and research achievements by undergraduate and graduate students and exemplary teaching by the economics' faculty.

Details about and photographs from the most recent Economics Day events are archived here:

This section contains an archive of the most recent undergraduate award winners and faculty award winners.

The Shanbaum Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Economics is awarded to the outstanding economics major in the graduating class with a very high Econ and cumulative GPA and excellence in research, and includes a cash award. The prize is awarded upon recommendation of the faculty of the Economics Department.

2023 Shanbaum Prize Winners - Kyle Hancock and Roshie Xing
2022 Shanbaum Prize Winners - Renan Muta and Nianzu Xiong
2021 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Stephanie Grossman
2020 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Spencer Kersh
2019 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Ezra Brooks
2018 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Natalia Ruh
2017 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Hong Ken Teoh
2016 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Pearl Li
2015 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Lauren Schumaker
2014 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Hardik Gupta
2013 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Jonathan Roth
2012 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Andrew Judson
2011 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Lisa Rickles
2010 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Hanzhe Zhang
2009 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Andrea Limpuangthip
2008 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Rebekah Stevens
2007 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Gregory Slavin
2006 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Arthur Chiang
2005 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Caitlin O'Neil
2004 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Achyuta Adhvaryu
2003 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Daniel Stahl
2002 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Catherine LeGraw
2001 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Shahin Merchant
2000 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Alana Jacobs
1999 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Stephen Ong
1998 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Ozgur Onder
1997 Shanbaum Prize Winner - Boon Lian Chan

The Simon Kuznets Fellowship Award in Economics (Awarded by Penn Institute for Economic Research) is awarded to two juniors with outstanding potential in Economics, upon recommendation of the faculty. Winners receive a cash award.

2023 Kuznets Award Winners - Anvit Rao and Saavan Myneni
2022 Kuznets Award Winners - Veeraj Jindal and Roshie Xing
2021 Kuznets Award Winners - Liza Brover and Hongbo Wen
2020 Kuznets Award Winners - Antonio Canales, Stephanie Grossman
2019 Kuznets Award Winners - Edward Plunkett, Michael Bogdanos
2018 Kuznets Award Winners - Karen Whisler and Shaked Barkay
2017 Kuznets Award Winners - Claire Pajot and Natalia Ruh
2016 Kuznets Award Winners - Zachary Griff and Katrina Truebenbach
2015 Kuznets Award Winners - Alexander Hasslinger and Pearl Li
2014 Kuznets Award Winners - Chase Harrow and Steven Jaffe
2013 Kuznets Award Winners - Brian Collopy and Jennifer Matte
2012 Kuznets Award Winners - Matthew Klein and Jonathan Roth
2011 Kuznets Award Winners - Shepard Berg and Joel Tee
2010 Kuznets Award Winners - Leila Decker and David Klatt
2009 Kuznets Award Winners - Phillip Benedetti and David Richards
2008 Kuznets Award Winners - Aaron Rosenbaum and Anna Tuchman
2007 Kuznets Award Winners - Rebekah Stevens and Johanna Engel
2006 Kuznets Award Winners - Olga Epshteyn and Alexandra Dogariu
2005 Kuznets Award Winners - Gregory Meila and Arthur Chiang
2004 Kuznets Award Winners - Jeffrey Cohen and Nicholas Ryan
2003 Kuznets Award Winners - Michelle Goldberg and Irene Azenberg
2002 Kuznets Award Winners - Hee Young Kim and KarLai Ng
2001 Kuznets Award Winners - David Schweidel and Catherine LeGraw
2000 Kuznets Award Winners - Lauren Blatt and Lauren Cohen
1999 Kuznets Award Winners - Sandra Apfeldorf and Budhaditya Bhattacharyya
1998 Kuznets Award Winners - Leon Fresco and Manilo LoConte
1997 Kuznets Award Winners - Catherine R. Hardy and Mr. Ozgur Onder

The Lawrence R. Klein Prize for Outstanding Research in Economics by an Undergraduate (Awarded by Penn Institute for Economic Research) is awarded to a senior for outstanding research in Economics, upon recommendation of the faculty. The winner receives a cash award. Emphasis is placed on a research paper, usually written in the Honors Seminar or in an Independent Study.

2023 Klein Prize Winners - Elizaveta Brover and David Jin
2022 Klein Prize Winners - Mira Potter-Schwartz and Isaac Tham Hsien Yong
2021 Klein Prize Winner - Jipeng Liu & Karthik Tadepalli (co-winners)
2020 Klein Prize Winner - Aoife Coady
2019 Klein Prize Winner - Nathan Ausubel
2018 Klein Prize Winner - Catherine O'Donnell
2017 Klein Prize Winner - Hong Ken Teoh
2016 Klein Prize Winner - Rachel Philbin
2015 Klein Prize Winner - Peter Hess (Honorable Mention to Neeti Singhal)
2014 Klein Prize Winner - Julie Berez
2013 Klein Prize Winner - Seth Pollack
2012 Klein Prize Winner - Kathy Qian
2011 Klein Prize Winner - Eben Lazarus
2010 Klein Prize Winner - Hanzhe Zhang
2009 Klein Prize Winner - Matthew Franklin-Lyons
2008 Klein Prize Winner - Robert Medina
2007 Klein Prize Winner - Benjamin Kowitt
2006 Klein Prize Winner - Priya Naik
2005 Klein Prize Winner - Jasmin Lau
2004 Klein Prize Winner - Andrew Smith
2003 Klein Prize Winner - Mary Zaki
2002 Klein Prize Winner - Michael Lorelli
2001 Klein Prize Winner - Jonathan Church
2000 Klein Prize Winner - Joshua Beer
1999 Klein Prize Winner - Masa Culumovic
1998 Klein Prize Winner - Catherine Hardy
1997 Klein Prize Winner - David Wong Chun Leong

The Phi Beta Kappa Society celebrates and advocates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences. The Delta Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was founded at the University of Pennsylvania in 1892. The Electoral Board meets every spring to elect new students who have distinguished themselves through undergraduate research and by breadth of study in the liberal arts.

Devika Albert
Eliza Cagnoli
Kyle Hancock
David Jin
Rithika Lanka
Allen Lee
Stephanie Nam
Yifei Pei
Marilyn Pereboom
Anvit Rao
Roshie Xing

The Kravis Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching in Economics is given to recognize outstanding undergraduate teaching in Economics. It was the firm belief of Irving Kravis that deep scholarship in Economics goes hand in hand with commitment to undergraduate teaching. Each year the award is given to two standing faculty, one tenured and one untenured. Recent recipients are:

2023: Petra Todd and Joachim Hubmer
2022: Xu Cheng and Margaux Luflade
2021: Dirk Krueger and Karun Adusumilli
2020: Luca Bossi, Anne Duchene, Wayne Gao, John Lazarev, George J. Mailath and Guillermo L. Ordonez
2019: Jesús Fernandez-Villaverde and Annie Liang
2018: Hanming Fang and Sarah Moshary
2017: Rakesh Vohra and Francis DiTraglia
2016: Guillermo Ordonez and Aislinn Bohren
2015: Harold Cole and Mallesh Pai
2014: Antonio Merlo and Francis DiTraglia
2013: Jere Behrman and David Dillenberger
2012: Hanming Fang, Xu Cheng, and Rebecca Stein
2011: Holger Sieg and Ufuk Akcigit
2010: Andrew Postlewaite and Flavio Cunha
2009: Antonio Merlo and Elena Krasnokutskaya
2008: Dirk Krueger and Aureo De Paula
2007: Kenneth Burdett and Guido Menzio
2006: Antonio Merlo and Volker Nocke
2005: Kenneth Wolpin, Jan Eeckhout, and Gwen Eudey
2004: Petra Todd and Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde
2003: Antonio Merlo and Stephen Yeaple
2002: Jan Eeckhout and Rafael Rob
2001: Antonio Merlo and Kaivan Munshi
2000: Roberto S. Mariano, Roberto Perli and Martin Asher
1999: Herbert Levine and Nicola Persico
1998: Francis X. Diebold and Petra Todd
1997: F. Gerard Adams and Roberto Perli
1996: Herbert Levine, Arleigh Hess and Yochanan Shachmurove
1995: Robert Inman and Christopher Hanes
1994: Francis X. Diebold and Christopher Hanes
1993: Michael L. Wachter and Stephen T. Coate
1992: F. Gerard Adams and Stephen T. Coate
1991: Herbert S. Levine and David L. Crawford
1990: Michael L. Wachter and William B. English
1989: Claudia Goldin and Rafael Rob
1988: Herbert S. Levine and Steven A. O'Connell

The Kravis Award for Exemplary Performance in Teaching Undergraduate Research is awarded once every 5 years. Recent recipients of this award are:

2022: Jere Behrman