Samford University Brock School of Business student McNeil Honea has been selected as one of three winners of the 2023 Carl Menger Essay Contest and invited to attend the Southern Economic Association (SEA) meetings, Nov. 18-20. Honea is the first Samford student to be selected as a winner of this essay contest.

Honea submitted a paper that he wrote over the summer titled, “James M. Buchanan and John Maynard Keynes: An Empirical Examination of Democracy in Deficit.” He will present at the SEA Conference meeting while connecting with other professionals in the economics field. 

He briefly explained his paper, saying, “I argue for the importance of rules that constrain politicians and their spending behavior. Using a panel data regression model and linear regression models, I demonstrate the importance (and effectiveness) of rules that combat politicians’ incentives to debase U.S. currency and increase our national budget deficit. My empirical analysis, I hope, provides an important contribution to discussions of balanced budget rules in political democracies.”

Honea credits economics professor, Art Carden, for his support during the application process.

Carden said, "McNeil's essay, which he wrote for Econ 415 based on his paper from Econ 301, takes fiscal discipline seriously and has the potential to evolve into an important contribution to our understanding of the monetary consequences of fiscal profligacy.”

The Carl Menger Essay Competition is sponsored by the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics and recognizes undergraduate scholarship in the Austrian tradition.