Agricultural and Resource Economics - 2012

Kevin Ray

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Ph.D., Economics, UC San Diego

Kevin Ray

thesis: Can Desert Dwellers Continue to Afford Lush Lawns: Analyzing Consumer Response to Rate Changes in Four Phoenix Suburbs

Advisor: Gary Thompson Thesis Title: Can Desert Dwellers Continue to Afford Lush Lawns: Analyzing Consumer Response to Rate Changes in Four Phoenix Suburbs Initial Placement:

Ph.D., Economics, UC San Diego

Alumni 2012

John Warner

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Cox Communications, Atlanta, GA

John Warner

thesis: The Potential Effects of Climate Change of Residential Water Demand in Phoenix, AZ

Advisor: Gary Thompson Thesis Title: The Potential Effects of Climate Change of Residential Water Demand in Phoenix, AZ Initial Placement:

Cox Communications, Atlanta, GA

Alumni 2012

Shweta Srinivasan

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Ph.D., Finance, University of Arizona

Shweta Srinivasan

Advisor: Satheesh Aradhyula Thesis Title: Technical Paper Initial Placement:

Ph.D., Finance, University of Arizona

Alumni 2012

Elizabeth Schuster

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

The Nature Conservancy

Elizabeth Schuster

thesis: Farm Resilience to Water Supply Variability: An Econometric Analysis of Risk Management Strategies in the Mexicali Valle

Advisor: Bonnie Colby Thesis Title: Farm Resilience to Water Supply Variability: An Econometric Analysis of Risk Management Strategies in the Mexicali Valley, Mexico Initial Placement:

The Nature Conservancy

Alumni 2012 Peace Corps Alumni Country of Service: Honduras Service Years: 2000-2004 Service Sector: Rural Development, Watershed Reforestation

How did the AREC program connect your service and help you prepare for your professional experiences?

For my Peace Corps assignment, I was assigned to lead watershed reforestation efforts in a small village in buffer zone of a cloud forest. However, farmers were more focused on sustaining their livelihoods than on planting trees. We found that by achieving organic certification for the farmers’ coffee, they were incentivized to plant trees as part of the organic certification – and it led to an increase in household income. I loved the idea of finding these win-wins to solving complex societal problems around environmental conservation, poverty reduction and other socioeconomic issues. AREC prepared me with a solid foundation and training in applied economics, providing with me a rigorous framework for evaluating problems and coming up with solutions in my current position as environmental economist with The Nature Conservancy.

Why would you recommend that an RPCV join our M.S. program?

My general feeling is that starting with a more specialized field – like economics – prepares you better as you move forward in your career. Later in your career, you can become a generalist but start specific, which gives you a tool box of methods and approaches to rigorously assess and solve problems. Further, economics is fundamentally about understanding behavior and predicting behavior change, which is a practical foundation for any future positions you might obtain.

Ibrahima Sall

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Ph.D., Arid Lands, University of Arizona

Ibrahima Sall

thesis: Attribute Preferences for Beef and Beef Alliances: A Bivariate Nested Panel Profit Approach

Advisor: Russell Tronstad Thesis Title: Attribute Preferences for Beef and Beef Alliances: A Bivariate Nested Panel Profit Approach Initial Placement:

Ph.D., Arid Lands, University of Arizona

Alumni 2012

Gaurav Arora

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Ph.D., Ag. Econ., Iowa State University

Gaurav Arora

Advisor: George Frisvold Thesis Title: The Effect of Environmental Amenities on Home Values in the Upper Santa Cruz Basin: A Hedonic Analysis Using Census Data Initial Placement:

Ph.D., Ag. Econ., Iowa State University

Alumni 2012

Haoting Luo

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Haoting Luo

Advisor: Roger Dahlgran Thesis Title: Distribution of Learning Benefits for Online AgEcon Courses Initial Placement:

Senior Design Engineer, Marvell Semiconductor, Santa Clara, CA

Alumni 2012

Fatima Luna

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Sonora Institute, Tucson, AZ

Fatima Luna

Advisor: Paul Wilson Thesis Title: An Economic Evaluation of Alternative Coffee Trading Regimes Initial Placement:

Sonora Institute, Tucson, AZ

Alumni 2012

Ashley Kerna Bickel

akerna — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 03:23:00 +0000

Economic Impact Analyst

Ashley Kerna Bickel

Ashley Kerna Bickel is an Economic Impact Analyst for the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Her work focuses on collaborating with Extension faculty and industry representatives across the state of Arizona to conduct economic impact and contribution studies. Her area of expertise includes working with the IMPLAN input-output modeling software as well as the statistical programs, SAS and STATA.

An alumna of the department, Ashley’s graduate student thesis was titled “Water for Ecosystems: Contingent Valuation in Colorado River Delta and Analysis of Western U.S. Water Market Activity.”

Degrees

M.S., Agricultural & Resource Economics, The University of Arizona
B.S., Environmental & Resource Economics, University of Nevada, Reno

Recent Publications

Peer Reviewed

Frisvold, G. B., Bickel, A.K., & Duval, D.F. 2018. Farm to school programs’ local foods activity in Southern Arizona: Local foods toolkit applications and lessons. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 8 (3): 20.

Kerna, A., Colby, B. & Zamora, F. 2017. Cultural and Recreational Values for Environmental Flows in the Colorado River Delta. Water Economics and Policy 3 (2).

Kerna, A., Frisvold, G., Jacobs, L., Farrell, V.A., Houtkooper, L. & Misner, S. 2015. Application of IMPLAN to Extension Programs: Economic Impacts of the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension SNAP-Ed Spending. Journal of Extension 53 (6).

Bickel, A.K., Duval, D.F., & Frisvold, G.B. 2018. Contribution of On-Farm Agriculture and Agribusiness to the Pinal County Economy. AREC website.

Non-Refereed

Frisvold, G.B., Duval, D.F., & Bickel, A.K. 2017. Arizona's Agribusiness System: Contributions to the State Economy. University of Arizona Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics.

Albrecht, D., Bentley, M., Coupal, R., Curtis, W., Kerna, A., Landis, M., Suhr Pierce, J., Williams, D. 2016. Building a Vibrant and Resilient 21st Century Economy. Western Policy Brief (3), Western Rural Development Center.

Advisor: Bonnie Colby Thesis Title: Water for Ecosystems: Contingent Valuation in Colorado River Delta and Analysis of Western U.S. Water Market Activity Initial Placement:

Sonoran Institute, Tucson, AZ

Alumni 2012