Sylvia Brandt, Assistant Professor
Recent Publications | Recent Activities | Recent Presentations | Recent Grants | Curriculum Vitae
I am intrigued by the dynamic relationships between institutions, strategic behavior of firms and individuals, and regulatory design. My research examines these relationships in the settings of fisheries economics and health economics. My goal as an economist is to use the tools from economic theory to improve the public policy process.
The focus of my fisheries work is modeling two competing regulatory approaches: limitation of inputs and outputs ("command-and-control") versus construction of tradable property rights. There are two major themes of this research. First, strategic behavior in the industry increases inefficiencies in production prior to implementation of tradable property rights. Second, institutions that exist prior to implementation of tradable property rights can generate imperfections in the market for property rights. To learn more about U.S. federal fisheries visit, http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov.
My research in health economics examines the joint effect of environmental regulation and organization of the health-care sector on prevalence of asthma. Although both the medical understanding of the mechanisms involved in asthmatic episodes and the resources devoted to its treatment have increased, the rise in asthma is a well-documented international phenomenon. While the social costs of asthma are large enough to justify substantial policy interest, asthma is also of great concern because the health effects fall disproportionately on the young and poor in the United States. For more information about my research on asthma go to http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/2386.
Recent Publications
Sylvia J. Brandt, Felipe Vasquez Lavin, and W. Michael Hanemann, "Designing contingent valuation scenarios for environmental health: The case of childhood asthma" (September 29, 2008). Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UCB. CUDARE Working Paper 1076.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/are_ucb/1076
McEvoy, D., Brandt, S., Lavoie, N., Anders, S. Effects of ITQ management on fishermen’s welfare in the presence of an imperfectly competitive processing sector. Land Economics. 85(3).
Brandt, S., Ding, N. Share contracts in fisheries with transferable quotas. Ocean and Coastal Management. In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 24 July 2008.
Brandt, S. 2007. Evaluating tradable property rights for natural resources: The role of strategic Entry and exit. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 63(1): 158-176.
Sadof, M., Boschert, K., Brandt, S., Motyl, A. 2006. An Analysis of Predictors of Sustainability Efforts at the Inner-City Asthma Intervention Sites. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. 97(1): S31-S35.
Brandt, S., McEvoy, D. 2006. Distributional effects of property rights: Transitions in the Atlantic herring fishery. Marine Policy. 30(6): 659-670.
Ash, M., Brandt, S. 2006. Disparities in asthma hospitalizations in Massachusetts. American Journal of Public Health. 96(2): 358-362.
Brandt, S. 2005. The equity debate: distributional impacts of individual transferable quotas. Ocean and Coastal Management. 48(1): 15-30.
Brandt, S. 2005. A Tale of two clams: Policy anticipation and industry productivity. Regulation. 28(1):18-21.
Recent Activities
In September 2008, I accepted a joint appointment with The Center for Public Policy and Administration.
This fall I am starting two large-scale research projects. I am joining a team of biologists and anthropologists to study the effects of climate change on Mid-Atlantic fisheries. This 3-year, $1.2 million project is funded by the National Science Foundation (>>more). I am also working with colleagues at the University of Southern California to estimate the asthma burden and costs associated with traffic-related pollution (>>more).
I am advising two graduate students conducting field research with grants from the Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economist Program (LACEEP):
Laura Alayon. Regulatory compliance in small-scale fisheries in San Andres and Old Providence Islands
Abstract: The proposed research is to evaluate how contextual variables affect compliance with fisheries regulations. The analysis is to be carried out in two Colombian islands, San Andres and Old Providence, which share many cultural antecedents, but also have important differences that creates a natural experiment in which to evaluate how factors that vary systematically across the two islands affect the compliance decisions. A survey of fishermen on the two islands will be carried out and data from that survey will be used to econometrically estimate a model of compliance choices.
César Viteri Mejía. Valuation of attributes of Galapagos Islands tourism: A discrete choice experiment
Abstract:
The goal of this research is to analyze potential revenues gains from improvement of the visitation experience from an enhanced tourism management system in the Galapagos Islands. This system should be consistent with the different types of visitors arriving at the archipelago, and comprise an integrated management of natural visitation sites and local towns. Using data collected from a discrete choice survey, we will estimate the willingness to pay for attributes of a visit to the Galapagos.
Recent Presentations
Peer refereed
Brandt, S. Gale, S., Tager, I. Economic Analysis of an Asthma Intervention Using Propensity Score Methods. American Society of Health Economists. Durham, NC. June 2008.
Brandt, S. Vasquez, F., Hanemann, M. Valuing what matters to the family: A research protocol for contingent valuation surveys. American Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Berkeley, CA. June 2008.
Brandt, S., Hanemann, M. Valuing Reduced Asthma Morbidity in Children. Annual Meetings of the American Economics Association. Chicago, Illinois. January 4, 2007.
McEvoy, D., Brandt, S., Lavoie, N., Anders, S. The Effects of ITQ Management on Fishermen’s Welfare in the Presence of an Imperfectly Competitive Processing Sector. Annual Meeting of the American Agricultural Economics Association. Long Beach, California. July 24, 2006. Presented by David McEvoy.
Brandt, S., Ash, M. Forecasting the Effects of the Clear Skies Act on Health Disparities. International Health Economics Association. Barcelona, Spain. July 11-13, 2005.
Invited seminars
Brandt, S. New Methodologies for Valuing Health. Zumberge Workshop. University of Southern California. October 20-21, 2008.
Brandt, S. The Economics of Asthma. Presentations to the Health, Econometrics and Data Group and Health Policy Center. University of York. November 5 & 6, 2008.
Brandt, S., Hanemann, M. Willingness to Pay for Improved Health: Comparison of Stated and Revealed Preference Approaches. Environmental Economics Seminar Series. Yale University. April 25, 2007.
Brandt, S., Hanemann, M. Valuing Reduced Asthma Morbidity in Children. US EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics, National Center for Environmental Research and Office. Morbidity and Mortality: How Do We Value the Risk of Death and Illness? Washington, D.C. April 10, 2006.
Brandt, S. Institutional Distortions of Markets for Tradable Property Rights. Institutional Analysis Seminar. Haas School of Business. University of California, Berkeley. March 23, 2006.
Brandt, S. Economic Analysis of Health Interventions. Institute of Business and Economic Research. Berkeley, California. January 30, 2006.
Brandt, Sylvia and Michael Hanemann (presented by Brandt) "Designing a Revealed Preference Survey." Industrial Economics. April 30, 2004.
Brandt, Sylvia. "Measuring Strategic Bias from Property Rights." University of Connecticut, Economics Department. April 9, 2004.
Recent Grants
Co-Principal Investigator. New approaches to estimating cost and burden of traffic-related air pollution. $326,173 (UMass $78,000). Awarded May 29, 2009. >>More
Co-Principal Investigator. Climate change and Responses in a coupled marine system. National Science Foundation. $1.2 million (UMass $175,000). Awarded May 27, 2009. >>More
Principal Investigator. What determines household investments in health? The case of childhood asthma in a Low-income urban areas. University of Massachusetts Research Faculty Grant. $24,212. 2008-2009.
Principal Investigator. Economic assessment of asthma intervention. Centers for Disease Control -- UMASS subcontract from UCA-Berkeley School of Public Health (prime), $108,328. 2003-2005 and 2007-2008.
Principal Investigator. Institutions, economics and regulatory design in fisheries. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, $82,793. 2003-2005.
Co-investigator.Controlling Asthma in American Cities Program – Phase Two: Intervention implementation and evaluation. Centers for Disease Control. $1.3 million. (UMass $108,328). 2003-2005 and 2007-2008.
