Emerson Grant recipient Katie Sarris, '04, like many, is not happy with the current economy and the impending global recession; however, instead of simply going out and spending money in order to stimulate the economy, Sarris has a slightly different strategy. She hopes to devise policies and programs to increase the success rate of new businesses, thus stimulating the sluggish economy through her Emerson project titled "Entrepreneurs."
The distribution of wealth, according to economists, can determine whether or not an economy will be prosperous or stagnant. A more equal distribution results in a higher number of entrepreneurs, yielding more businesses and business activity idealistically. However, the amount of capital, credit and investors may play important roles in entrepreneurial endeavors. Working with Hamilton Assistant Professor of Economics Ann Owen, she plans to determine the differences, if any, between old economy entrepreneurs and new economy entrepreneurs.
Through her study, Sarris will determine if the availability of capital, such as access to credit or other financial resources, is important to starting a new technology business that will be successful. Using the gathered data and the results of her studies, she plans to determine what policies and programs will increase the number and rate of start-up technology businesses. Sarris proposes to measure success in terms of the survival of the company, the number of employees, the sales of the technology business and profits of the business.
Sarris is a rising senior majoring in economics and mathematics at Hamilton.
Created in 1997, the Emerson Foundation Grant program was designed to provide students with significant opportunities to work collaboratively with faculty members, researching an area of interest. The recipients', covering a range of topics, will explore fieldwork, laboratory and library research, and the development of teaching materials. The projects will be initiated this summer, and the students will make public presentations of their research throughout the 2003-2004 academic year.
