John Dunlop Undergraduate Thesis Prize in Business and Government

The John Dunlop Thesis Prize in Business and Government is an annual award for Harvard undergraduates, provided by the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at Harvard Kennedy School.

Established in 2007, the award is given to the Harvard College graduating senior who writes the best thesis on a challenging public policy issue at the interface of business and government. Papers that examine the business-government interface with respect to regulation, corporate responsibility, energy, the environment, health care, education, technology, and human rights are particularly encouraged, however papers on other topics will also be considered. A $2000 prize is provided to the winning entry.

To be considered for the 2026 John Dunlop Thesis Prize, please fill out this application. The deadline is May 21, 2026 at 12 noon; Entries must be submitted as PDFs to mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu.

The prize is named after John T. Dunlop, the Lamont University Professor Emeritus, a widely respected labor economist who served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1969 to 1973. An adviser to many U.S. presidents, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dunlop was secretary of labor under Gerald Ford, serving from March 1975 to January 1976. In addition to serving as secretary of labor, Dunlop held many other government posts, including: director of the Cost of Living Council, (1973-74), chairman of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee (1993-95), chair of the Massachusetts Joint Labor- Management Committee for Municipal Police and Firefighters (1977-2003) and Chair of the Commission on Migratory Farm Labor (1984-2003). Dunlop served as the second director of the Center for Business and Government from 1987 to 1991. The Center, renamed in 2005 as the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, focuses on policy issues at the intersection of business and government. Prof. Dunlop died in 2003.
 

2026 Prize Recipient 

Recipient

Bona Yoo

Thesis

Disturbing Facts and Ominous Danger Signals: A Modern-Day Revisitation of Triffin's Paradox Through Global Dollar Reserve Demand and US External Deficits

Read the press release on Bona Yoo's thesis.

Previous Prize Recipients