Holy Cross Senior Earns Honorable Mention in International Essay Contest

WORCESTER, Mass. – Paul Riley, a senior economics major from Malden, received an honorable mention, with a $250 cash prize, in an international essay contest titled “The Benefits of a Free Market Economy.” The contest, which drew more than 100 entries, was sponsored by the Association of Private Enterprise Education.

By conducting an economic analysis of environmental policy to answer the topic “Can Free Markets Protect the Environment?”, Riley showed how a lack of free market systems underlies most environmental problems. The submission grew out of a paper Riley wrote last fall for his Law and Economics class taught by David Schap, professor of economics.

The essay was judged on the clarity of writing, the quality of thinking it reflected, and the extent to which it recognized or incorporated relevant ideas suggested by supporting articles available on APEE’s Web site.

Riley is planning on pursuing a career in finance and using his economics and finance background within a professional sports organization.

He served as a research assistant last summer for Victor Matheson, assistant professor of economics, where he researched college sports economics issues, including writing an economics paper on the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament titled “Is there a Major Conference Bias in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?” that will be submitted for potential publication.

Riley has been a four-year member of the Club Hockey team, and is serving as captain this year.

The Association of Private Enterprise Education, in Chattanooga, Tenn., was created by educators and business people committed to furthering economic understanding.