W.J. Usery, Jr. Endowed Chair

Purpose

The W.J. Usery Chair of the American Workplace is looking for the year’s best paper in labor economics written by a Ph.D. student. The award carries a cash prize and is intended to encourage high-quality, independent research by doctoral students.

Student Eligibility

• Applicants must be enrolled in Georgia State University’s economics department’s Ph.D. students at the time of submission.
• The paper must be written primarily by the student. Co-authors are permitted, but not with anyone who has already earned a Ph.D., including faculty.
• Students may receive this award only once during their Ph.D. program. Previous recipients are not eligible to apply again.

Paper Eligibility

• Labor economics is broadly defined and includes empirical, theoretical, and applied research on labor markets, human capital, education, health, inequality, personnel economics, the economics of the family, public policy related to labor markets, and closely related topics.
• Submissions must consist of a complete paper. Preliminary proposals, research plans, extended abstracts, or incomplete drafts will not be considered. Most students are likely to submit a dissertation chapter that will likely evolve between the award submission and the final dissertation or publication.
• The work must be your original work and if co-authored, you contributed at least 50% of the effort.

Submission Requirements

• Applicants must submit an application to https://gsu.academicworks.com/ to apply (look under AYSPS). Do not worry about any written responses, you will only be evaluated on the paper (but be sure to write something, if only “N/A”) in any required prompts.
• Submissions are open between 11/1/2026 – 11/30/2026.

Selection Criteria

Papers will be evaluated based on:

• Originality and significance of the research question.
• Quality and rigor of the analysis.
• Contribution to the labor economics literature.
• Clarity of presentation and writing.
• Preference will be given to papers that focus on core labor topics and not established subfields (e.g., education and health), along with contexts in or applicable to the American workplace.

The selection committee reserves the right not to make an award if no submission is deemed to meet the expected standard of excellence.

Award

The recipient will receive a cash prize between $500-$1,000 (exact amount depends on available funds) and will be recognized by the W.J. Usery Chair and the economics department.