Graduate Research Assistant: UCED & Extension

(2019 to present)

Much of my work done as a graduate research assistant involved working with the University of Nevada Reno’s Extension office and University Center for Economic Development (UCED). Here I worked with Professor Tom Harris researching pertinent issues to the Nevadan Economy with state government institutions such as GOED and educational organizations such as CCEA.

Some projects resulting from this work include:

1) Performed COVID pandemic economic impact analysis. Specifically, CARES act funds and PPP loan program information was matched with the corresponding NAICS industry classification. Then using Implan software, the aggregated loan amounts to each industry were analyzed as impact events to determine their direct, indirect, and insuced impacts to the Nevadan economy.

2) Published technical reports comparing Payment in Lieu of Taxes (P.I.L.T.) monies received by Western States found here:
Extension: PILT report. The abridged technical report for public consumption is part of a greater body of analysis of PILT revenue streams for GOED

Also, the pdf: Download paper here

3) Utilized an improved cow-calf Nevada ranching model to account for drought conditions as well as decreased forage permits allotted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A linear programming (LP) model using GAMS was employed to optimize net profits over a 50 year production horizon and determine the shadow values associated with combinations of discrete decreases in water and BLM land allotments.