In July of 2024, the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) launched their second round of the Virtual Scholar in Residence (VSR) Program. To date the program has sponsored 25 virtual scholars in residence, with 15 Ukrainian scholars working together on research with UMass Amherst peers in 2023-2024 and 10 new scholars in 2024-2025. With support from the UMass Isenberg School of Management and the Office of Global Affairs, the program provides a mechanism for Ukrainian scholars to collaborate with research centers and faculty at UMass Amherst on scholarly topics of mutual interest. Awardees are affiliated with KSE for the duration of the program, and either reside in Ukraine or have been displaced by conflict. Scholars have collaborated with the support of Isenberg Schools centers such as the Virtual Center for Supernetworks and the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship, along with the departments of Finance, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Management, Marketing, and Operations and Information Management. Scholars participate in the academic life of KSE and UMass Amherst, including presenting at seminars and engaging with faculty and students. Scholar’s projects last for five months and awarded research grants of $5000 through the KSE Foundation.
The two institutions are pleased to announce the following successful candidates, their project abstracts, and collaborating Isenberg School of Management researcher.
KSE – Tymofii Brik & UMass Amherst - Giuseppe (Joe) Labianca
The project focuses on analyzing a set of surveys conducted in Ukraine from the early 1990s to 2021, with the aim of identifying the polarization of public opinion over time. By using factor analysis and social network analysis to explore connections among beliefs, the researchers seek to provide a comprehensive description of the structure of public opinion in Ukraine, with particular attention to trends in political and social polarization.
National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy– Nina Chala & UMass Amherst - Orlando Richard
This research examines the impact of the ongoing war on Human Resource Management in Ukrainian companies. Businesses face operational disruptions, employee relocations, and significant financial losses due to infrastructure damage and companies near combat zones must decide whether to relocate or adapt. Employees have been killed, injured, or displaced, and frequent air raid alarms interrupt work and businesses have adapted by relocating, operating remotely, or equipping workplaces with shelters. The research explores shifting labor markets and gender roles, with more women taking on traditionally male roles due to workforce shortages, and how companies like Vodafone and OKKO have implemented extensive employee support and evacuation programs.
Polissia National University – Vitalii Dankevych & UMass Amherst - Bogdan Prokopovych
Entitled "Post-War Reconstruction of Ukrainian Agriculture: What Role Will Local Agricultural Entrepreneurship Play?", the project investigates the transformation of Ukraine's agricultural sector before, during, and after the conflict, focusing on the role of local governments and entrepreneurs in the recovery process. The research emphasizes the critical importance of the agricultural sector and rural entrepreneurship to Ukraine's economy, examining how agricultural activities have adapted to wartime conditions and identifies key challenges faced by agribusinesses and exploring the role of local entrepreneurship in revitalizing the sector. Interviews with farmers and agribusiness representatives in Zhytomyr region reveal strategies used by agribusinesses to adapt during the war. Dr. Dankevych’s visits to conflict-affected rural areas study the specific conditions agrarian businesses face. The research will result in strategic recommendations for stimulating agricultural entrepreneurship, contributing to Ukraine's post-war recovery and long-term resilience.
National University, Odesa Law Academy –Borys Kormych & UMass Amherst - Anna Nagurney
“Strengthening Ukraine’s Connectivity with the World: Regulative Environment during the War and Beyond” is a project that aims to analyze the changes in Ukrainian export and import transportation flows affected by the Russo-Ukrainian armed conflict and the corresponding changes in the regulatory environment. It will explore the strategies the Ukrainian state and businesses used during the war (2022–present) to maintain their connectivity with foreign markets and assess the effectiveness of these strategies, as well as obstacles and bottlenecks. The project is an empirical study that collects primary data from Ukrainian transport companies and analyzes secondary data on foreign trade, transportation services, and transit routes. Expected outcomes include policy recommendations to enhance the adaptation of Ukraine's transportation infrastructure regulations, including sea, river, road, and rail, as Ukraine moves toward EU integration.
KSE – Olga Kupets & UMass Amherst - Ina Ganguli
Entitled “Gross job flows in turbulent times in Ukraine: Spatial differences and their determinants,” this study aims at the comprehensive analysis of gross job flows in Ukraine in 2008-2020, with a focus on spatial differences and their determinants. The observation period covers the Great Recession, Euromaidan (the Revolution of Dignity), Russia’s invasion to Crimea and Donbas, and the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic along with important policy changes which affected labor costs in Ukraine. To answer the question on which local factors explain variation in regional job creation, job destruction and net employment change, regional-level data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine are merged to the main dataset which is based on the firm-level panel data from the ORBIS database. The main hypothesis is that region’s human capital endowment, labor costs (including the share of low-wage workers in region’s wage employment), Krugman specialization index and export orientation are important determinants of regional job creation, job destruction and net employment change.
Ukrainian Catholic University - Myroslava Kushnir & UMass - Anna Nagurney
The project investigates the internal networks among Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their connections with military brigades in Ukraine, based on data from the social media platform Facebook. Data on crowdfunding activities for military purposes helps confirm assumptions regarding the critical role of civilian support for the Ukrainian military, as well as the unequal distribution of such support across different military units. The study also identifies the structure of the NGO network and highlighted the most influential organizations within it. The next research phase will include experimental efforts aimed at strengthening the network structure of these NGOs.
KSE – Pavlo Martyshev & UMass Amherst – Anna Nagurney
The research is related to impact assessment of the war in Ukraine on food security in Africa. Since Ukraine is a global exporter of agricultural products, the blockade of ports and the drop of agricultural output in the country was one of the key factors in the increase in the number of undernourished people on the African continent. At the same time, the opening of Ukrainian ports had limited effect on the increase in exports to low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This is explained by the significant demand for food in North African countries, which are located closer to Ukraine and have higher incomes. The main task of the study is to model the competition between the countries of North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa for Ukrainian grain, considering local prices and freight costs. The project has significant policy relevance, as it analyzes the importance of the humanitarian program «Grain from Ukraine» aimed to provide food assistance to the low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
KSE – Maksym Obrizan & UMass Amherst - Ina Ganguli
Entitled, “Violent Conflict and Academic Research Evidence from the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine” the project we will estimate the effects of the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine on scientists and their research. The study applies a difference-in-differences event study framework to quantify the war's effects on research productivity, mobility, and collaborations. Using publication data from the SCOPUS database, researchers have created a panel of authors affiliated with Ukrainian universities and research centers before and after the beginning of the intervention. The treatment group includes researchers from the heavily impacted regions of Donbas and Crimea in 2012-2013, just before the conflict began. Our control group are scientists from other regions of Ukraine at this time who were not directly affected by the conflict. By focusing on academics – key agents in the generation and diffusion of knowledge – findings offer a unique perspective on labor market disruptions induced by war. The results can be then scaled up to approximate the cost of the full-scale Russian aggression in 2022, data for which will become available only in a few years.
KSE - Larysa Tamilina & UMass Amherst – Wenting Ma
The research project, “The Recipes of Political Trust and Distrust for Ukraine: Defining and Explaining the Ukrainian Trust Syndrome” explores how conflicts generate severe shocks that destabilize political systems and undermine the legitimacy of governing regimes. The study examines the formation of political trust in disruptive environments such as Ukraine. Using qualitative comparative analysis of data from a representative sample of Ukrainians, the project demonstrates that individuals who hold democratic values tend to have higher levels of political trust. However, similar levels of trust can also be found among respondents with authoritarian values if they express high satisfaction with political institutions and perceive low levels of corruption among political leaders and officials. Furthermore, fostering social cohesion can help build trust in Ukraine’s pro-democratic institutions, even within a politically polarized society. These findings are used to identify policies to enhance political trust during conflicts.
KSE – Lina Zadorozhnia & UMass Amherst – Orhan Akisik
This research project “Financing the Wars: A Tax Dimension” explores the financial dimensions of military conflicts, focusing on the role of taxation in funding wars. It examines the impact of military expenditures on countries involved in conflicts, with a particular emphasis on Ukraine as a case study. Additionally, it aims to analyze changes in tax structures and buoyancy in conflict-affected countries. The project investigates the evolution of direct taxation, such as personal and corporate income taxes, during and after conflicts. Finally, it develops recommendations to increase tax capacity while highlighting the unique tax transformations that have occurred in Ukraine amidst the ongoing war.