Visiting and Postdoctoral Scholars

The Initiative provides funding to facilitate hosting visiting scholars for short-term visits to conduct research with MSU faculty and students, present seminars or workshops related to the research, and participate in other activities related to IRAEA’s mission.

Short-term visiting scholar support is available for hosting researchers from other institutions to work with faculty in departments and colleges across MSU. These visits are typically no more than two weeks in duration and can occur during the academic year or the summer. Proposals are made by MSU faculty on behalf of the visiting scholar.

Visiting scholars supported by the Initiative are expected to devote a significant amount of their time and resources during their visit to work related to the Initiative's mission. 

Eligibility

Any MSU faculty member engaged in research related to regulatory and policy issues is eligible to apply for support to host a researcher with whom they are collaborating. Proposals must include a component that addresses research on the impact of regulation and/or policy in agriculture, healthcare, technology, labor markets, finance, natural resources, education, public safety, or other related sectors.

Proposal Requirements: Proposals should be submitted by the MSU faculty sponsor and should include the following.

1. An brief overview of the proposed scholar's activities during their visit and the projected outcome of the scholarly activities (including potential journal outlets for the research)
2. A brief statement that highlights the importance of the proposed scholarly activities in relation to regulatory and/or policy issues and how the activities align with the IRAEA mission
3. Current C.V.s for the MSU faculty host and the visiting scholar
4. A timeline for the visit that includes the dates of the visit and the anticipated schedule of scholarly activities during the visit
5. An itemized budget and budget justification for the visit and related activities. The budget may include, but is not limited to, travel expenses for the visiting scholar, costs of materials, space and equipment rental. Most budgets will not exceed $1,750.

Deadline and Submission Requirements

Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis. Please contact Wendy Stock (994-7984, wstock@montana.edu) or Vincent Smith (994-5615, vsmith@montana.edu) at any time if you have questions or would like to discuss potential visiting scholar ideas.

Proposal Review

Proposals will be reviewed by the IRAEA Visiting Scholars Review Committee soon after the proposal submission. The Committee is comprised of IRAEA administrators and IRAEA research fellows. The committee will judge proposals based on (1) the fit with the IRAEA mission, (2) the strength of the proposed scholarly work and the potential for peer-reviewed publication, (3) the research experience of the proposer and visiting scholar, and (4) the appropriateness of the budget.

Visiting Scholar Deliverables

Visiting scholars or their MSU faculty sponsor should coordinate with the IRAEA directors and communications specialist as they develop plans for the visit. MSU faculty hosts should provide IRAEA with copies of scholarly materials resulting from the visit for sharing with interested parties and for IRAEA reporting purposes.

• Tatyana Deryugina, Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics at the University Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, works with Research Fellow Justin Gallagher (DAEE) during the summer session. Deryugina’s research focuses on the effect of the environment on economic outcomes and health. The two researchers are in the early stages of brainstorming joint research projects that are at the intersection of their respective research agendas.
• Robert Fairlie, Professor of Economics at the University of California-Santa-Cruz, presented a seminar in September 2019 titled, “Isolating the ‘Tech’ from EdTech: Experimental Evidence on Computer Assisted Learning.” Fairlie was sponsored by IRAEA Co-Director Wendy Stock.
• Mark C. Rains, Professor of Geology and the Director of the School of Geosciences at the University of South Florida in Tampa, works with Research Grantee William Kleindl with LRES on an upcoming publication that focuses on wetland ecosystem function and service and their relations to Modern Portfolio Theory. In addition to collaborative work on the publication, Rains gave a seminar talk on March 11, 2020 titled, "Groundwater Subsidies to Salmonid Streams: A Decade of Collaborative Science and Outcomes in Alaska," as part of the Montana State University Institute on Ecosystems.
• Julian Reif, Assistant Professor with the Departments of Finance and Economics at the University Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, works with Research Fellow Mariana Carrera (DAEE). Reif is an applied microeconomist with a focus on health economics. He is principal investigator of the Illinois Workplace Wellness Study, a large-scale field experiment conducted among University of Illinois employees to understand both selection into and causal effects of workplace wellness programs. This study aligns closely with Carrera’s prior work studying the impacts of a workplace-sponsored health risk assessment on employees’ health behavior at a large regional hospital. Carrera and Reif will begin work on joint projects leveraging the experience and data they have collected in different settings.
• Glen Waddell, Professor of Economics at the University of Oregon, presented in July 2019 “Dispersion-Weighted Synthetic Controls.” Waddell worked with Research Fellow Isaac Swensen (DAEE) and short-term visiting scholar Jason Lindo, Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University.

• Daniel Bigelow, Research Agricultural Economist with the USDA Economic Research Service, presented his research working paper "Following the Market? Hedonic Valuation Using Sales Prices versus Self-reported Values," in February to DAEE faculty and students.
• Michael Boland, Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, will work with Research Fellow Anton Bekkerman in July. They will organize a seminar focused on their research related to new tax laws and their effect on cooperative equity management.
• Sheila Burke, Health Policy Professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, will present a community lecture on June 25 about healthcare policy and federal health developments. Burke is being hosted by IRAEA Research Fellow Peter Buerhaus. During her visit, Burke will also present to various university students and administration as well as meet with administrators at Bozeman Deaconess Health.
• Amanda Countryman, Associate Professor in the

  Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, presented with research fellow Eric Belasco "Trade and Agriculture: Where Are We and How Did We Get Here?" at the 2018 Agricultural Economic Outlook Conference in November, research based on their paper, "The Impact of Trade Regulations on Montana Export Access." 

• Daniel Hartley, Senior Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, worked with research fellow Justin Gallagher to conduct follow-up research based on findings from their co-authored paper, "Household Finance after a Natural Disaster: The Case of Hurricane Katrina."
• Glen Waddell, Professor of Economics at the University of Oregon, worked with research fellow Isaac Swensen and visiting scholar Jason Lindo on their research paper, "First Estimates of Long-term Effects of Violent Media Content." Waddell also presented a seminar to DAEE faculty and students on important research methodology for policy analysis. 
• Jason Lindo, Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University, worked with research fellow Isaac Swensen June through August on their research paper, "First Estimates of Long-term Effects of Violent Media Content."
• Marianne Page, Director and Economics Professor at the Center for Poverty Research, University of California Davis, presented a public lecture in July titled, "Breaking the Poverty Cycle: The Role of the Safety Net." Local experts Heather Grenier, CEO/President of the Human Resource Development Council, and Christie Twardoski, Chief, Public Assistance Bureau of the MT Department of Health and Human Services, provided commentary on Dr. Page’s presentation.
• David Rippligner, Associate Professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, North Dakota State University, worked with distinguished visiting scholar Gary Brester and research fellow Anton Bekkerman and presented their research project "The U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Production Sector: An Example of a Cournot Equilibrium?" at MSU during a brown bag lunch in April.

•  Professor Jeremy Goh  (Singapore Management University) will work on three related research projects with two main MSU co-authors, Dr. Gary Caton and Dr. Lisa Yang of the Jake Jabs College College of Business and Entrepreneurship. He also developed further projects with other MSU scholars. His research activities included informal workshops and brainstorm sessions. Dr. Goh isa co-authoron the “trilogy” of credit rating agencies and the regulatory regime changes with Drs.Caton and Yang. The “trilogy” has three chapters,which are tentatively titled,“The Unintentional Consequences of Regulatory Regime Changes: Insider Trading Activities Surrounding Bond Rating Changes” (with Drs. Caton and Yang); "AreCredit Ratings Informative? Evidence from Regulatory Regime Changes” (with Drs. Louis Ederington, Yenteik Lee and Yang); and “The Informational Effect of the Dodd-Frank Act” (with Drs. Caton, Lee, and Yang).
• Jason Lindo (Texas A&M University) will work with Dr. Isaac Swensen, of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics, to organize a workshop titled, "Econonmic Perspectives on Reproductive Health Policies." The goal is to communicate their research on these topics to individuals who are well positioned to infuence policy in Montana. Workshop presenters include Kasey Buckles of Notre Dame University, Melanie Guldi of University of Central Florida, Lindo and Swensen. In addition to the workshop, Dr. Lindo and Dr. Swensen will continue ongoing research focused on "Is Interpersonal Violence Contagious," analyzing the effect of viewing real-life violence on violent crime reports using variation in the exact timing of UFC events.
• Michael McCullough (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) will work with Dr. Gary Brester, of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics, on a research project titled, "A Decade of Chaqnge: Evolving Costs of Regulatory Compliance in the Produce Industry," an expansion of a 2006 case study that examines the impacts of increasing costs faced by California farms.
• Lynn Hamilton  (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) will work with Dr. Gary Brester, of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics, on a research project titled, "A Decade of Chaqnge: Evolving Costs of Regulatory Compliance in the Produce Industry," an expansion of a 2006 case study that examines the impacts of increasing costs faced by California farms.
• William Megginson (University of Oklahoma) will work with Dr. Lisa Yang of the Jake Jabs College College of Business and Entrepreneurship. His research has focused on the privatization of state-owned enterprises, sovereign wealth fund investments, energy finance and investing banking principles and practices.

• Dr. Dan Rees (University of Colorado Denver) will work closely with MSU scholar Mark Anderson, of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics, and others on a research project titled, "Public Health Efforts and the Urban Mortality Transition," that will assess the effectiveness of regulations and policies intended to combat infectious diseases at the turn of the 20th century.

• Dr. Dominic Parker, (University of Wisconsin-Madison) is working with MSU scholar Randal Rucker, of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics, on a research project focused on taxi medallion markets and the impacts of Uber on medallion value, and is a co-author on the manuscript being prepared for submission to a professional journal.

• Dr. Stephanie Mercier, independent agricultural consultant and former chief economist for the Democratic staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee, gave a seminar in September to the department titled, “The Farm Bill Policy Process.” She and Dr. Vincent Smith worked on a paper titled, “Cargo Preference and the Cost of Food Aid,” which is currently under review at Applied Economic Policy and Perspectives. Mercier’s work on agricultural policy has received widespread national recognition for its excellence. She recently received the 2017 AAEA Award for the Outstanding Article published in Choices for her research on the interaction between the policy process and US agricultural policy.

• Professor John Siegfried (Vanderbilt University) who presented a research seminar on "Economics of NCAA Regulations," to students and faculty and presented "Better Living through Economics," (a book of essays by leading economists that summarizes the positive impact of economics research on a wide array of outcomes) to Dr. Stock's ECNS 251: Honors Economics class.
  
  
• Professor Jon Skinner (Dartmouth University), presented a research seminar on "The Health Benefits of Medicare Expenditures: Evidence from the Healthcare Cost Slowdown," to faculty and students.
  
  
• Professor Jason Lindo (Texas A&M University), presented a research seminar on "How Much Can Expanding Access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives Reduce Teen Birth Rates?" to faculty and students.
  
  
• Professor Todd Kuethe  (University Illinois) presented a research seminar on "A disequilibrium evaluation of public intervention in agricultural credit markets," to faculty and students.
  
  
• Professor Jeremy Goh  (Singapore Management University) presented a research seminar on "Are Bond Ratings Informative? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," to faculty and students.

• Mr. James Banovetz, a fourth-year Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was a visiting scholar in July 2017. He is working with Research Fellow Randy Rucker on a study of the impact of Montana liquor licensing regulations on the Montana hospitality sector, a sector closely linked to Montana’s tourism industry, which is the fourth largest sector of the Montana economy. A working paper, submission of the research paper to a high quality peer reviewed journal, and an informational op-ed are anticipated outputs from this visit.