Department News

Faculty News

Here is information about what our faculty have recently published or conferences they attended where they presented their research.

gender disparities in employment outcomes

Dr. Grace Arnold recently presented new research titled "Gender Differences in Labor Outcomes: Evidence from Executives at Publicly Traded Companies" at the IX Annual Conference of Società Italiana di Economia dello Sviluppo (SITES). The conference was held in collaboration with the Global Labor Organization at the University of Naples Parthenope, Italy. She also chaired a session titled "Gender 1" in which both her paper and two other papers were presented by other economists. This international event took place from September 11-13, 2024, and focused on critical themes of social inclusion, migration, and global inequalities. The conference brought together development and labor economists from around the world to discuss policies for sustaining inclusive growth and reducing global disparities.

Dr. Arnold’s paper explored gender differences in labor outcomes for CEOs and CFOs at publicly traded companies following managerial oversights. Using financial restatements as a proxy for errors, the research revealed that female executives are more likely to experience turnover and face greater reductions in non-cash compensation compared to their male counterparts. These findings contribute significantly to our understanding of gender dynamics in executive roles and highlight the need for further investigation into workplace equity at the highest levels of corporate leadership.

Gender, racial and ethnic background considerations in physician selection

Faculty members Dr. Rajiv Sharma and Dr. Sarah Tinkler published a paper in the August 2024 issue of The Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization which is a top field journal in economics. The article is titled "Identity and access: Gender-based preferences and physician availability in primary care." In collaboration with colleagues Brigham Walker, Janna Wisniewski and Jillian Torres from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, they investigated whether the gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds of physicians mattered to patients seeking primary care appointments. Experimental data from a survey of US respondents showed that female patients of all races significantly prefer female over male doctors by a very large margin, while male patients showed no such preferences based on gender. A separate field experiment (“secret shopper” study) which used gender, racially and ethnically distinctive names found that female physicians tend to have busier schedules and patients must wait longer to see them than their male counterparts. Additionally, female doctors' offices prioritize some female patients over male patients by offering earlier appointments, but this favoritism doesn't apply evenly across racial groups. Hispanic female patients were offered fewer appointments than Hispanic males, and Black female patients were more likely to be told that the doctor wasn't accepting new patients.

The study concluded that female doctors are highly sought after by women, but that access to female physicians is shaped by both race and gender. This research helps to inform the discussion on ensuring that the physician labor supply is able to meet the demands of a diverse patient population.nderstanding of gender dynamics in executive roles and highlight the need for further investigation into workplace equity at the highest levels of corporate leadership.

Faculty Participation in the AEA Annual Meeting

The American Economic Association held its Annual Meetings in San Francisco in January 2025 and faculty members Rajiv Sharma and Sarah Tinkler had two papers accepted for presentation. One paper, “The Diversity Impacts of Removing Standardized Testing Requirements in College Admissions” which Professors Sharma and Tinkler coauthored with Brigham Walker, Niamh Brennan, and Ander Siebert, all of Tulane University, looked at the role of changes to standardized testing requirements during the pandemic on admissions to elite colleges. Another paper, “Access to Primary Care Physicians for Lesbian and Gay Patients,” was coauthored with Brigham Walker, Tulane University and Julianna Mazziotti, Oregon Health & Science University. This paper reported results from a field experiment which looked at the availability of primary care services for purported patients identified as either straight, lesbian or gay.

Sarah Tinkler at a podium presenting paper with PowerPoint slide to her right

When Credit Markets Froze: New Research on the Fed's Pandemic Response

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, corporate America faced a crisis -- companies suddenly couldn't borrow the money they needed to keep their businesses running. The Federal Reserve stepped in with unprecedented support, but did it work? Professor Grace Arnold and co-authors Takeshi Nishikawa and Meredith E. Rhodes tackled this question in their recent article published in Journal of Financial Research.

By examining how companies borrowed money during the pandemic, they uncovered a fascinating pattern: the Fed's actions created a kind of "domino effect" in corporate borrowing. Companies with strong credit ratings (the usual suspects in the debt markets) jumped back in first. Most notably, the research revealed that companies with lower (but still investment-grade) ratings, particularly those rated A and BBB, showed the biggest increase in borrowing activity. The improved market conditions even extended to select firms just below investment grade.

The research revealed that the Fed's intervention did more than just unfreeze the markets -- it fundamentally changed how different types of companies could access credit, especially for short-term borrowing. This meant that not only did the giants of corporate America benefit, but also the companies just hanging onto their investment-grade status found a lifeline during a critical time.

Faculty member publishes environmental economics textbook

Professor Randy Bluffstone, PSU environmental economist and faculty member, has published a textbook titled Environmental Economics and Ecosystem Services which was published this February by Routledge/Taylor & Francis. It is a rigorous yet accessible introduction to environmental economics. It uses ecosystem services as the organizing framework and includes examples from around the world. Designed for readers with no prior economics knowledge, the book uses a conversational style to explore the connections between society and the environment and how economics can help solve important environmental issues.

Professor Bluffstone saw the need for a textbook like this for his EC 332U Economics of Environmental Issues course. This course attracts students from across PSU and from a variety of majors. Many of these students have little or no background in economics, but are eager to learn how economic principles could address environmental challenges. Based on 30 years of working on environmental issues worldwide, he knew the power of economics in solving these problems and wanted to make that knowledge accessible to students and others. The writing process took nearly a decade and during that time, he shared parts of the book as teaching materials. His students provided valuable feedback that helped improve the work and several students ultimately contributed to the research.

Professor Bluffstone hopes that college instructors, students, and anyone interested in the relationship between economics and the environment will find the book helpful in understanding, addressing, and solving many of today’s environmental challenges that face the world. To learn more, visit the Environmental Economics and Ecosystem Services website.

Beyond the Vapor: Surprising Effects of Washington's E-Cigarette Regulations

A recent study by Professors Riju Joshi and Grace Arnold explores the impact of Washington State’s 2016 e-cigarette regulations which are among the first comprehensive vaping laws in the United States. These regulations required retailers to obtain licenses and mandated the inclusion of warning labels on vaping products.

But did this policy impact smoking and vaping behaviors among the public?

Using data from large-scale health surveys, the researchers discovered that rather than pushing people back to traditional cigarettes as some feared, the regulations had some unexpected effects:

There was a reduction in e-cigarette use among certain age groups.
There was also a reduction in consumption of traditional cigarettes!
- Adults aged 30-49 were approximately 7% less likely to smoke cigarettes
- Adults aged 50-64 were about 7% less likely to smoke on a daily basis

This challenges the conventional wisdom that regulating e-cigarettes would simply drive users back to traditional cigarettes. The study suggests that thoughtfully designed regulations might be able to reduce both vaping and smoking simultaneously.

The research is a reminder that public health policy is rarely straightforward and, in fact, its outcomes can be surprisingly positive in unexpected ways.