LAS VEGAS — Graduating Clark County high school students who show the potential to make a significant contribution to the cause of economic liberty should seek a $2,000 college scholarship being awarded by the Nevada Policy Research Institute.

This is the third year that the Professor R.S. Nigam & NPRI Freedom Scholarship is being offered. It is open to all Clark County high school students — whether they attend a public, private, online or home school — if they plan to attend college beginning in the fall of 2013.

This year students interested in applying for the scholarship are asked to write a two-page essay on this topic: During the 2013 Nevada Legislative Session, there have been many calls for raising taxes. What impact would raising taxes have on the economy in general, on Nevada's unemployment rate and on struggling businesses and families?

“This scholarship provides a great opportunity to hear from the free-market thinkers and leaders of the next generation,” said Swadeep Nigam, who funded the scholarship program in the name of his father, an advocate of freedom and a professor of business in both India and Nevada.

“The tax debate is an especially hot topic this year, and this question will allow students to fully explore the effects tax increases would have on Nevadans,” said NPRI President Andy Matthews.

All applicants must have a grade-point average of at least 3.2 and complete an application, part of which is an essay responding to the question on taxes.

To be eligible, a student’s parents must have earned less than $100,000 in income in 2012, and the student must plan to attend a four-year degree program in Business, Economics, Political Science, Public Administration or a related field, at an accredited college or university.

Professor R.S. Nigam was a director of the Delhi School of Economics at the University of Delhi, a visiting professor at the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a senior fellow at the University of Wisconsin, in addition to academic engagements in Europe, the West Indies and Asia, including North Korea.

“This scholarship is a fitting way to honor Professor R.S. Nigam, a man devoted to education and who has taught both at UNLV and around the world,” said Matthews. “We appreciate this chance to honor Professor Nigam, and also to provide a scholarship to help a Clark County student continue his or her education.”

Essays and applications are due to NPRI by May 4, 2013.

Full details of the scholarship and applicant requirements are available at http://www.npri.org/docLib/20130213_ScholarshipApplication2013.pdf.

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