Student Essays Analyze Financial Crisis

Recent Westmont economics and business graduate Kayla Stilwell of Bakersfield, Calif., won $500 for her first-place entry in a campus-wide essay contest about economic liberty and the financial crisis. Stilwell’s essay, “Government Failure and the Ensuing Crisis,” explores the reasons behind the financial crisis and evaluates the role of previous federal government policies. The Westmont Economics and Business Department and the economics honorary society Omicron Delta Epsilon (Alpha Pi chapter) sponsor the annual essay contest.

Professor Edd Noell says judges commented that Stilwell’s essay “employed a strong marshaling of arguments and evidence, careful organization and reasoning, and a superior writing style.”

Senior Reanna Kuitse from Goshen, Ind., won $300 for her second-place entry. Senior John Evancoe from Irvine, Calif., and sophomore Emily Rottman from Brookfield, Wis., share the $200 third-place award.

With a rising number of bank failures and homes in foreclosure, recent federal government efforts have focused on bailing out failed financial institutions and possibly nationalizing banks with taxpayer funds. Noell says many analysts see these efforts as inconsistent with the economic freedom affirmed in the U.S. Constitution. “Students were asked to provide alternative policies more aligned with economic freedom,” he says.

A panel of judges, which included economics and business department faculty, critiqued the essays on quality and quantity of arguments and evidence offered, organization, writing skills, depth and breadth of research and clarity.