Prior Dissertations

Electronic versions of all PhD dissertations, and some MS theses since 2007, are available at ScholarWorks at UMass Amherst. This site is a digital showcase of the research and scholarly output of members of the University of Massachusetts Amherst community. The ScholarWorks repository is administered by the UMass Amherst Libraries and serves as a permanent digital archive for these scholarly materials.

2021 PhD Recipients:

• Koh, Jung Hwan. Essays on Franchising in the Service Industry. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.
• Estay Montecinos, Manuel Enrique. Three Essays on Industrial Organization and Natural Resource Economics. Faculty Advisor: Debi Prasad Mohapatra.
• Quezada Escalona, Felipe. Three Essays on Collective Property Rights and Enforcement. Faculty Advisor: Nathan W. Chan.

2021 MS Recipients:

• Eli Miller. (Field Essay). Exploring the Economic Feasibility of Anaerobic Digestion in Wastewater Treatment: Progress in the Boston Harbor. Faculty Advisor: Matt Woerman.

2020 MS Recipients:

• Hostetter, Samuel. (Field Essay). Energy Generation and Its Effect on Wholesale Electricity Prices. Faculty Advisor: Bernard J. Morzuch.
• Reed, Josh. (Thesis). The Effect of Nutrition Labelling on Fast-Food Nutritional Content. Faculty Advisors: Emily Wang and Nathalie Lavoie.
• Udugama, Gayan. (Field Essay). Use of Hedonic Models to Value Urban Disamenities of Open Dumps. Faculty Advisor: Jamie Mullins.

2019 PhD Recipients:

• Fitzsimmons, Jill. Pro-Social Consumer and Firm Behavior in Imperfectly Competitive Regional Agricultural Markets. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.
• Kidwai, Abdul. Three Essays on Uncertainty in Social Dilemmas. Faculty Advisors: Angela de Oliveira and John Spraggon.
• Paudel, Jayash. Three Essays on Environmental and Agricultural Economics. Faculty Advisor: Christine Crago.

2019 MS Recipients:

• Adair, Nicholas. (Field Essay). Craft Beer and Large Breweries: What Makes Craft ‘Craft’? Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.
• Harris, Lily. (Field Essay). The Effect of Universally Available Public Healthcare on Preventive Care Utilization: Evidence From Medicare. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.

2018 PhD Recipients:

• Hellman, Kelly. Three Essays on the Empirical Estimation of Environmental Damages Through Market and Health Impacts. Faculty Advisor: Jamie Mullins.
• Mussio, Irene. Three Essays on Health, Risk and Behavior. Faculty Advisor: Angela de Oliveira.
• Wei, Hongli. Three Essays on Food Economics Studies. Faculty Advisor: Emily Wang.

2018 MS Recipients:

• Delfin-Auza, Maria. (Field Essay). The “Triangle of Lithium”: The Case of Cooperation between Chile and Bolivia. A game theory approach. Faculty Advisor: Sheila Mammen.
• Shepherd, Andrew. (Field Essay). Air pollution exposure in early childhood and the incidence of arthritic conditions later in life. Faculty Advisor: Jamie Mullins.

2017 PhD Recipients:

• De Geest, Lawrence. Three Essays on Defending Common-Pool Resources. Faculty Advisor: John K. Stranlund.
• Son, Insung. Three Essays on the Theory of Environmental Regulation: Hybrid Price and Quantity Policies and Regulation in the Presence of Co-Pollutants. Faculty Advisor: John K. Stranlund.

2017 MS Recipients:

• Cooper, Devin. (Field Essay). Dairy Farm Costs of Production. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.
• Cyr, Madeline. (Field Essay). Estimating 2012 Demand and Supply of Local Massachusetts Foods. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.
• Danilow, Alyssa. (Field Essay). Food Certification Industry Capacity and Ability to Comply with FSMA Final Rule on Accredited Third‐Party Certification. Faculty Advisor: Julie A. Caswell.
• Flood, Jennifer. (Field Essay). From diesel to wind: the reduction in air emissions from the switch from the Block Island Power Company to the Block Island Wind Farm. 
• Shrestha, Akhanda. (Field Essay). Univariate Methods to Load Forecasting. Faculty Advisor: Bernard J. Morzuch.
• Wasserman, Matthew. (Field Essay). Valuing a Public Bike Share Program in Brooklyn, NY. Faculty Advisor: Jamie Mullins.
• Zwane, Zama. (Field Essay). Forecasting Electricity Load for South Africa using ARIMA, Holt-Winters and State Space Models. Faculty Advisor: Bernard J. Morzuch.

2016 MS Recipients:

• Dauphinais, Samuel. (Field Essay). A Review of Rebate Policy and Solar PV Adoption: An Analysis of the Benefits and Costs in the Northeastern United States.  Faculty Advisor: Christine Crago.
• Hunter, Elizabeth. (Thesis). MOTIVATING HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSERVATION USING FEEDBACK AND SOCIAL NUDGES: A FIELD EXPERIMENT.  Faculty Advisor: Christine Crago.
• Koegler, Eric. (Thesis). COMMERCIAL SOLAR TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN THE UNITED STATES:  EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON EFFECTS OF STATE POLICIES.  Faculty Advisor: Christine Crago.
• Lynch, Kathryn E. (Thesis). Examining Two Sides of Food System Challenges: A Case Study of the Potential Impacts of the Food Safety Modernization Act on U.S. Produce Growers and a Descriptive Analysis of the International Food Certification Industry.  Faculty Advisor: Julie A. Caswell.
• Pizzi, Michael. (Field Essay). WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL: ELIMINATING HYPOTHETICAL BIAS. 
• Van Orden, Mark. (Field Essay). Calorie Labeling and Consumer Decision Making at Fast-Food Restaurants. Faculty Advisor: Nathalie Lavoie.

2015 MS Recipients:

• Berman, Zachary. (Field Essay). REFERENCE PRICE TRENDS IN THE NEW ENGLAND WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MARKET. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.
• Besse, Tyler. (Field Essay). TEAM BASED LEARNING IN STATISTICS: AN EDUCATION PRODUCTION FUNCTION.  Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.
• Pradhan, Tejesh. (Thesis). HUMAN CAPITAL, EMPLOYMENT AND SUBJECTIVE-OBJECTIVE POVERTY: A MICRO CASE STUDY OF NEPAL.  Faculty Advisor: Sheila Mammen.

2014 PhD Recipients:

• Burns, Christopher. THREE ESSAYS ON ESTIMATION OF APPLIED ECONOMIC MODELS IN FISHERIES. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.
• Colantuoni, Francesca. EMPIRICAL STUDIES ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SODA TAXES TO CURB OBESITY. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.

2014 MS Recipients:

• Chernyakhovskiy, Ilya. (Thesis). SOLAR PV ADOPTION IN THE UNITED STATES: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF STATE POLICY EFFECTIVENESS. Faculty Advisor: Christine Crago.
• Colarusso, Samantha. (Field Essay). THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATION CAPACITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FSMA IMPORT RULE. Faculty Advisor: Julie A. Caswell
• Morin, Nicole B. (Field Essay). CONSUMER WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR CERTIFIED BEE FRIENDLY BLUEBERRIES. Faculty Advisor: Thomas H. Stevens.
• Wang, Xi. (Field Essay). EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING NEW PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE IN THE READY-TO-EAT CEREAL INDUSTRY. Faculty Advisor: Emily Wang.

2013 PhD Recipient:

• Zirogiannis, Nikolaos. DYNAMIC FACTOR ANALYSIS FOR PANEL DATA: A GENERALIZED MODEL. Faculty Advisor: John K. Stranlund.

2013 MS Recipients:

• Denny, Matthew. (Field Essay). GIVING TOO MUCH: THE ROLE OF BELIEFS IN THRESHHOLD PUBLIC GODS GAMES. Faculty Advisor: John Spraggon.
• Farland, Jonathan T. (Thesis). ZONAL AND REGIONAL LOAD FORECASTING IN THE NEW ENGLAND WHOLSEALE ELECTRICITY MARKET: A SEMIPARAMETRIC REGRESSION APPROACH. Faculty Advisor: Bernard J. Morzuch.
• Gatautis, David J. (Field Essay). ECONOMIC VALUE OF NATIVE BEE POLLINATION TO CONSUMERS: BLUEBERRIES IN THE U.S. Faculty Advisor: Thomas H. Stevens.
• Goggins, Andrew. (Thesis). ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ECONOMICALLY DISPATCHABLE WIND RESOURCES ON THE NEW ENGLAND WHOLESALE ELECTRICITY MARKET. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.
• Magno, Rodolfo. (Field Essay). ENVIRONMENTAL AND FINANCIAL COST SAVINGS FROM GREEN CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY IN THE AMAZON BASIN: A CASE STUDY. Faculty Advisor: Thomas H. Stevens.
• Podkowka, Christopher (Field Essay). ENDOGENOUS FIXED COSTS AND MARKET STRUCTURE. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.

2012 MS Recipients:

• Griffin, Michael (Field Essay). FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROVISION OF UNCOMPENSATED CARE BY GENERAL HOSPITALS IN PENNSYLVANIA. Faculty Advisor: Sheila Mammen.
• Tuttle, Sarah (Field Essay). DETERMINANTS OF PHYSICIAN SUPPLY IN MASSACHUSETTS AFTER THE PASSAGE OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE. Faculty Advisor: Sheila Mammen.
• Vergara Sobarzo, Lucia Andrea (Thesis). INVESTIGATING THE ABILITY OF PRO-SOCIAL EMOTIONS TO ENHANCE COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR. Faculty Advisor: John Spraggon.
• Walsh, Joseph (Field Essay). ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTION METHODS FOR LANDSCAPE TREES: COMPARING GROWTH AND WHOLESALE VALUE ACROSS TREATMENTS. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.

2011 PhD Recipients:

• Timmons, David Selkirk. THE POTENTIAL SUPPLY OF CELLULOSIC BIOMASS ENERGY CROPS IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.
• Viteri, Cesar Mejia. PRICING AND PRESERVING UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS: THE CASE OF THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. Faculty Advisor: Sylvia Brandt.

2011 MS Recipients:

• Boyle, Robert J. (Field Essay). A SURVEY OF DECISION THEORY IN ECONOMICS. Faculty Advisor: L. Joe Moffitt.
• Brassard, Olivia M. (Field Essay). FACTORS INFLUENCING WOOD BIOMASS ENERGY PRODUCTION IN MASSACHUSETTS – A LITERATURE REVIEW AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF MASSACHUSETTS LANDOWNER SURVEY DATA. Faculty Advisor: Thomas H. Stevens.
• Casaceli, Jaclyn (Field Essay). MODELS OF VERTICAL DIFFERENTIATION AND THEIR USE IN THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS LITERATURE. Faculty Advisor: Nathalie Lavoie.
• Iacono, Stacy (Field Essay). THE ECONOMICS OF FARMLAND AND OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION IN THE US. Faculty Advisor: Thomas H. Stevens.
• Janjua, Bilal (Field Essay). STATE-LEVEL ADVERTISING RESTRICTIONS AND THEIR EFFECT ON DEMAND IN THE U.S. BEER MARKET. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.
• Magnoni, Scott (Field Essay). CHOICE ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. Faculty Advisor: Thomas H. Stevens.
• Tiwary, Ruchita (Thesis). DETERMINANTS OF TAX PASS-THROUGH RATES: A STUDY OF THE U.S. BEER INDUSTRY. Faculty Advisor: Christian Rojas.
• Valluri, Swetha (Thesis). DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH CARE USE AMONG RURAL, LOW-INCOME MOTHERS AND CHILDREN: A SIMULTANEOUS SYSTEMS APPROACH TO NEGATIVE BINOMIAL REGRESSION MODELING. Faculty Advisor: Sheila Mammen.
• Weiss, Mitchell B. (Field Essay). ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF CORN AS A GREENHOUSE FUEL. Faculty Advisor: Daniel A. Lass.