Dear Colleagues,

The Price School shares with each of your schools a commitment to influence public policy, decision-making and society with sound data and research.  In recognition of these crucial endeavors, w e are pleased to highlight the winners of the Price School’s recent Faculty High Impact Research Award and the Junior Faculty Investigator Award . 

The Faculty High Impact Research Award recognizes Price faculty research that address issues at the top of the national policy agenda. 

Rolling back fuel economy standards is not a good idea : Professor Antonio Bento, lead author in a study published in Science , illustrated how the Trump Administration’s justification for a rollback of fuel economy standards had fundamental flaws. The study received tremendous national media attention and many groups – even automakers – have called for the proposed rollback not to move forward.

A single letter can reduce fatal opioid overdoses:  Professor Jason Doctor evaluated the effectiveness of informing prescribing physicians when their patients die from opioid overdoses. The study was published in Science and the practice has since been adopted by Los Angeles County, followed by Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the state of Massachusetts, with more cities considering adoption in the near future.

The Junior Faculty Investigator Award recognizes junior faculty or new investigators who demonstrate excellence in pursuing their research agenda and influencing their fields. 

Tax incentives for charitable contributions affect the fiscal health of nonprofits:  Looking at the impact of tax incentives on a subset of charities, Assistant Professor Nicolas Duquette found, for example, that raising the cost of philanthropy by just 1 percent dropped charitable donations by 4 percent. He has briefed U.S. Senators, Congressional staffers and tax policy think tanks on his findings. Learn more.

A fundamental question in urban economics is quantifying the productive advantages of big cities : Assistant Professor Jorge De la Roca examines, for example, whether cities make people more productive or if city-goers simply have different qualities. Interest in his work has led to new collaborations with the World Bank, and researchers in the United Kingdom and Norway.  Learn more.

We are proud of the work that all Price faculty produce and the influence it has, and we are especially proud of the excellent pursuits of our junior faculty. We would like to acknowledge the other Junior Faculty Award nominees, below, who are addressing health policy , urban policy , and environmental policy issues .

Assistant Professor Alice Chen, Health Policy:  Relationships Between Health Care and Labor Markets.

Research Assistant Professor Jonathan Eyer, Environmental Policy : Adapting to Climate Change Through Learning.

Research Assistant Professor Jovanna Rosen, Urban Policy : Rent Burden and Housing Support Networks Among Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Communities in Southern California.

Now in our ninth decade, the Price School remains On a Mission to improve the quality of life for people and their communities, here and aboard – and our research remains a critical component in fulfilling that goal. 

Sincerely,

Dean Jack H. Knott

Dr. Neeraj Sood