Month: August 2023

Assistant Professors Alipio Ferreira and Prasanthi Ramakrishnan join Economics Department faculty

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Prasanthi Ramakrishnan

Ramakrishnan is a labor economist, with research interests at the intersection of Household Economics, Health Economics and Entrepreneurship. She focuses on different types of inequality in the labor market, either by gender or by race, and aims to understand the mechanisms causing these inequalities using cutting-edge microeconometric methods. Her research agenda explores the importance of incorporating education, marriage, and decisions within the household in analyzing changes to the social security system, a system that treats married and single households differently.  Her agenda also studies differences in gender and race amongst entrepreneurs and to understand policy prescriptions to boost entrepreneurship, as well as incentives to take up health insurance amongst the poor and rich. Read more

Alipio Ferreira

Before joining SMU, Ferreira worked as an environmental consultant in the Finance Department of the São Paulo, Brazil State Government, and as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Abul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Toulouse School of Economics, a Master’s degree from Tilburg University, and a Bachelor’s degree from São Paulo School of Economics. Alipio’s research is focused on law enforcement issues in public finance and environmental regulation in developing countries. He is currently studying policies to increase the efficiency of environmental enforcement practices, with the goal of reducing illegal deforestation and improving environmental quality. Read more

Manan Helps Support the Youth!!!

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Manan, an alumni of SMU Economics PhD program and now an Associate Professor at Department of Nutrition and Health Care Management at Beaver College of Health Sciences, Appalachian State University is making big strides supporting the youth. Her contribution supports youth mental health by assisting in getting a 4-year research grant approved through National Institutes of Health (NIH), towards the study of “Impacts of Social Determinants of Health and COVID-19 Pandemic Factors on Suicide Risk among Youth.” This grant doesn’t only provide a team of experts, but also helps funds 4 undergraduates and 1 graduate student per year. This is amazing!!!!

Grant Overview:

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth in the US. The proposed research is relevant to public health because it will integrate real-time data on suicide risks among youth with national data on social determinants of health and COVID-19 burdens. This will determine how suicide risks among youth has changed throughout the pandemic, how these changes vary by different sociodemographic groups, and how social determinants of health and COVID-19 impacts suicide risks. This research is particularly needed considering the pandemic’s impact on youth mental health and recent advisories from the US Surgeon General that highlight the need for a better understanding of the impact of the pandemic on youth

Congratulations Manan! Keep making a difference and making your SMU family proud!