Briefly
Laura Paul is a research agricultural economist in the Rural Economy Branch of the Resource and Rural Economics Division at USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS). Laura is an applied microeconomist, working in the areas of regional and environmental economics as they relate to rural communities in the United States. Her current research focuses on the resilience of U.S. rural communities in the context of variation in the natural environment.
Background
Laura joined the ERS in 2022. Prior to joining the ERS, Laura was a postdoctoral researcher with the Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-environmental Research (CBEAR) at the University of Delaware.
Education
Ph.D., agricultural and resource economics, University of California, Davis (2019)
M.S., agricultural and resource economics, University of California, Davis (2017)
M.A., economics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (2013)
A.B., economics, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio (2011)
Professional Affiliations
Regional Science Association International, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, Northeast Agricultural and Resource Economics Association
Selected Publications
Paul, L., McGranaghan, C., Siders, A., Dineva, P., Palm-Forster, L.H., & Messer, K. (2024). Addressing coordination problems in residential buyouts: Experimental evidence for managed retreat in the face of climate change-related threats. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 226.
Boucher, S.M., Carter, J., Flatnes, T., Lybbert, J., Malacarne, P., Marenya & Paul, L. (2024). Bundling genetic and financial technologies for more resilient and productive small-scale agriculture. The Economic Journal, 134(662), 2321–2350.
Wallander, S., Paul, L., Ferraro, P., Messer, K., & Iovanna, R. (2023). Informational nudges in conservation auctions: A field experiment with U.S. farmers. Food Policy, 120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102504
Dineva, P., McGranaghan, C., Messer, K., Palm-Forster, L., Paul, L., & Siders, A. (2022). Promoting spatial coordination in flood buyouts in the United States: Four strategies and four challenges from the economics of land preservation literature. Natural Hazards Review, 24(1).
Malacarne, J., Paul, L. (2022). Do the benefits of improved management practices to nutritional outcomes "dry up" in the presence of drought? Evidence from East Africa. Food Policy, 113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2022.102332
Parsons, G., Paul, L., & Messer, K. (2021). Demand for an environmental public good in the time of COVID-19: A statewide water quality referendum. Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, 13(1).
Paul, L. (2020). Heterogeneous and conditional returns from DT maize for farmers in Southern Africa. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 48(5):1224-1248.
Weigel, C., Paul, L., Ferraro, P., & Messer, K. (2020). Challenges in recruiting U.S. famers for policy‐relevant economic field experiments. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 43(2).