DeVoe L. Moore Center:  DMC Research Brings Home Competition Prize

 

On April 3-5, three DMC interns–Yolanda St. Fleur, Danielle Waidley, and Mae Baltz–were invited to present their research in Las Vegas at the 2022 annual Association of Private Enterprise Education research competition. 

 

DMC researchers have a history of ranking highly at this competition. Last year, Noah Dankner, a current senior majoring in economics, won first place for his work on deregulating land use in Miami, Florida to promote housing development. This year is no exception, as Mae Baltz won second place with her research!

 

The Undergraduate Research Competition, co-sponsored by The Liberty Fund, Inc., solicited undergraduate research on the Association's general themes of political economy, private enterprise education, and free markets, but welcomed research from any topic. Twenty-eight students competed in the 2022 competition. A panel of judges evaluated the projects and selected the top two presentations while the audience voted on a third winner. Mae won second place with her research on “The Effects of Sober Homes on Property Value in Palm Beach County." (You can read her oped on the topic published in the Palm Beach Post here.) 

 

Mae’s research suggests that policymakers need to look more closely at establishing proper distances between sober homes and nearby residences. Current policies are likely inefficient and the product of NIMBY (“Not In My BackYard”)  interests to establish regulatory distance standards. Mae also suggests that more research should analyze the frequently overlooked issue of insurance fraud and consider performance-based payment systems such as the Patient-Centered Opioid Addiction Treatment (P-COAT) model.

Mae’s research was clearly a hit, as she also presented at this year’s Florida Undergraduate Research Conference in February. We are very proud of Mae’s hard work and consistency. The DMC is glad to see that her research is being acknowledged for its valuable policy suggestions.

 

 

 

Noah Dankner joined the DeVoe L. Moore Center in Fall of 2020. He decided to join the DMC because he wanted to expand his academic interests. Noah is now a senior at Florida State University and will be graduating this Spring semester with his bachelor’s degree in economics. After graduation, Noah plans to attend the master’s in applied economics program at FSU as a Kaul Scholar, wherein he will be a teaching assistant for an undergraduate economics class. 

 

Since joining the DMC, Noah has conducted extensive research on the relationship between housing supply and land-use regulation, specifically zoning. This research proved significant and valuable, as Noah won first place in the 2021 annual Association of Private Enterprise Education competition held in Miami, Florida. Now, Noah works as the DMC’s Public Policy Team Leader–an experience that he says he will carry with him forever. 

 

Outside of school and research, Noah is an avid scuba diver and skier. He can also be found at Talon Range trying to improve his skeet shooting skills. He is a fan of writing and performing stand-up comedy. Interestingly, he believes his DMC work has aided him in his comedy writing. “Better writing is better writing, no matter the field,” he says.