Seminars

Mariah Ehmke

University of Wyoming

Aaron Smith

University of California, Davis

Tanya Rosenblat

University of Michigan

Jill McCluskey

Washington State University

Can Income Predict Food Safety Risk in Retail Food Environments?

Abstract In this study, we model the relationship between food safety and the average income in the surrounding community. Using data on the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes collected from grocery store delis, we find that stores located in census tracts whose residents are in the lower quartiles of income have higher L. monocytogenes prevalence. The only other statistically significant sociodemographic variable is the category of "other races," which includes Asian, American Indian, and mixed-race residents.  We argue that a store's census-tract income is useful in predicting the prevalence of L. monocytogenes, and thus low-income status should be considered as a risk factor.

Jerry Skees

Global Parametrics

Introducing Global Parametrics: A Dialogue with the Founder

Abstract Global Parametrics (GP) is a commercial enterprise with a social mandate which aims to develop financial disaster risk management solutions to counter the risk of natural disasters in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). GP investors are DFID (British) and InsuResilience Investment Fund (Germans). GP aims to lead the market in providing access to sustainable risk transfer services by bringing together climate and seismic sciences, financial engineering and risk-taking capacity to offer tailored solutions to those investing in efforts to aid the poor and vulnerable. GP should also be positioned to develop effective indexes that can be replicated on a global scale. GP owns a global risk hazard platform that allows us to structure financial solutions to help firms manage direct loss and business interruption caused by extreme weather (drought, excess precipitation, heat waves, extreme weather events that drive animal and plant disease, etc.) and other catastrophe events (tropical cyclone, earthquake, volcanoes, flood, etc.).

Amanda Countryman

Colorado State University

Teaching Tactics to Engage Diverse Learners

Abstract Educators face numerous challenges while teaching undergraduates, graduates and professionals. This seminar will explore innovative teaching strategies to reach students with diverse learning styles and backgrounds, and instructional methods to overcome theory-averse attitudes. Teaching tips and tactics will be shared for novel approaches to managing classroom structure, content delivery, assessment design, and course evaluation.

Nathan Hendricks

Kansas State University

Marginal Cost of Carbon Sequestration through Forest Restoration of Agricultural Land in the Southeastern United States

Abstract We analyze the cost-effectiveness of carbon sequestration through afforestation via the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We use the correlated random effects (CRE) probit model to estimate the impact of an increase in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rental payments on land use transitions. The CRE model allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity and exploit exogenous variation in returns over time. Our estimates are used to simulate land use change and carbon sequestration supply curves over different time horizons. At the average historic CRP rent rate, 2.09 million tonnes of carbon are sequestered annually at a marginal cost of about $45 per tonne of carbon under the 1-year horizon---equivalent to removing 453,379 passenger vehicles from the road each year. Increasing the rent to reflect a payment of $62/tonne of carbon increases annual carbon sequestered by 1.40 percent, 7.02 percent, and 14.08 percent over 1, 5, and 10-year time horizons.