In the summer before the second year of ARE's Graduate Program, students begin their second-year econometrics projects, also known as the second year paper. Students select an economic question that is of interest to them, and craft an empirical paper under close faculty supervision. A good empirical paper requires three components: a concise, sensible, and relevant research question or hypothesis to test; reasonably good data; and an experiment, event, or set of circumstances that give the data a chance to answer the question asked. Identifying a good question is a non-trivial exercise that takes time and effort. Over the course of the second year students work with a faculty advisor to meet specific deadlines, and the top second year paper wins the Sidney Hoos prize.