Undergraduate Awards

Econ Day

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