The School of Economic Sciences welcomed two new faculty members for fall semester 2020: applied econometrician Wesley Blundell and agricultural economist Jeffrey Luckstead.
Both will teach courses and conduct research this fall on issues of trade, health, and policy.
Wesley Blundell
Specializing in applied econometrics and environmental economics, Assistant Professor Blundell comes to WSU from California State University, East Bay, where he was an assistant professor since 2017. His research interests also include industrial organization and applied microeconomics. Blundell holds a 2017 doctorate in economics from the University of Arizona.
Blundell is conducting research on the health impacts of natural gas flaring. His past research on the topic was noted in an NBC News video on the flaring issue.
He will also be teaching econometrics to both undergraduate students and doctoral students in the School of Economic Sciences.
This August, Blundell published research in the American Economic Review on gains from dynamic enforcement of environmental regulations.
Jeffrey Luckstead
Assistant Professor Luckstead‘s research interests are in international economics and industrial organization, with an emphasis on agriculture, policy, immigration, and farm labor. A WSU alumnus, Luckstead received his 2013 economics doctorate from the School, and won the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association’s best dissertation award the same year. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the nearby University of Idaho, where he participated as a student athlete. Following his studies, he joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas, and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2018.
At WSU, Luckstead is currently researching the economic impact of COVID-19 and recent trade agreements on the processed food trade, as well as the political economy of immigration policies in agricultural labor.
He will teach the economics capstone class this year, and is planning a future doctoral course on international trade.