Contact Information
Address:
Northwest Economic Research Center
Portland State University
450P Urban Center
506 SW Mill St.
Portland, OR 97201
Email:
nerc@pdx.edu
Faculty & Staff
Dr. Thomas Potiowsky
Senior Advisor & Former Director
Former Chair, Department of Economics
Education
Ph.D. University of Colorado, Economics
M.A. University of Colorado, Economics
B.A. Ohio University, Economics
Experience & Interests
Dr. Potiowsky is the chair of the Economics Department at PSU and was the Co-Director of the Applied Economics Research Group. Tom was appointed as State Economist in 1999 through 2006 and again in 2008 through 2011. He brings years of experience taking complicated economic analysis and results, and turning it into a meaningful, understandable presentation for policymakers and stakeholders. He has also published many articles for trade magazines, articles for edited books, conference proceedings, and selections of conference paper presentations. Additionally, Dr. Potiowsky is a member of the American Economics Association. He also serves on the Board for the Oregon Council on Economic Education. Tom loves to take walks with his wife at the beach and wishes he could find time to golf and white-water kayak.
Email
potiowskyt@pdx.edu
Dr. Jenny Liu
Assistant Director
Education
Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, Agricultural and Resource Economics
M.S. University of California, Berkeley, Agricultural and Resource Economics
B.A. University of California, Berkeley, Economics
Experience & Interests
Professor Jenny Liu is an environmental and transportation economist with a focus on public policy, urban issues and social equity. Her research takes on a multidisciplinary approach with a deep foundation in microeconomic theory, econometric methods and environmental sustainability. Her primary research focus is on (i) linkages between transportation, economic development and sustainability; (ii) economic issues and impacts of public policy; and (iii) human capital investments.
Dr. Liu has conducted research on an Oregon state-level carbon tax, the Oregon electric vehicle industry, household residential location decisions and its effects on travel behavior, economic development impacts of transit oriented developments across the country, economic impacts of deconstruction versus demolitions and property value effects of the Oregon property tax system. In addition, Dr. Liu has worked on developing social media performance measures for public transit, and constructing a transportation cost index that can measure multimodal transportation performance on a regional scale.
Following up on her research on understanding the economic impacts of bike/pedestrian infrastructure such as the Portland Green Loop, she is currently working on research that examines the business impacts of street improvements for bicycle and pedestrian mobility across numerous cities using a variety of data sources and analytical approaches, and research to understand how to characterize urban greenway networks in the context of economic development. Dr. Liu is also working on understanding the environmental and economic impacts of an Oregon low carbon transportation fuel standard, and examining equity and environmental justice issues of a state-level greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program in Oregon.
Dr. Liu has served on the City of Portland’s Socially Responsible Investments Committee, and is a current member of the Steering Committee for blue carbon assessment of the Pacific Northwest funded by NOAA's NERRS (National Estuarine Research Reserve System) Science Collaborative. She is also an active member on the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committees on Transportation Economics (ABE20) and Transportation and Economic Development (ADD10).
Email
jenny.liu@pdx.edu
Peter Hulseman
Consultant
Education
M.S. Portland State University, Economics
B.A. Portland State University, Mathematics
Experience & Interests
Economic modeling, forecasting, housing, demographics, and impact analysis.
Email
hulseman@pdx.edu
Emma Brophy
Economist/Consultant
Education
M.S. Portland State University, Economics
B.S. Portland State University, Economics, Anthropology Minor
Experience & Interests
Emma specializes in qualitative and impact analysis, regional economics, and report writing, editing, and design. She is also an instructor for the Economics department at Portland State University. She enjoys cooking in her tiny kitchen, reading nonfiction, and long walks around her favorite city. She also plays violin, with some skill and a lot of enthusiasm.
Email
em5@pdx.edu
Interim Director
Dr. Hiro Ito, Chair, Department of Economics
http://web.pdx.edu/~ito/index.htm