Dr. Sandro Steinbach

Principal Investigator

Research Areas: International Economics, Health and Environmental Economics

Education: Doctor Science ETH Zurich, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich, Switzerland), 2018

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Sandro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. Sandro earned his BS degrees from Humboldt University of Berlin and his MS degrees from Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of California, Davis. He completed his doctoral studies in Economics with the Center for Economic Research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. Sandro is interested in international economics with a focus on agricultural and food trade. He also conducts research at the intersection between health and environmental economics.

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Click here for Google Scholar and here for his resume.

Dr. Armen Khederlarian

Postdoctoral Scholar in International Economics and Data Science

Research Areas: International Economics, Development, and Macroeconomics

Education: Ph.D. Economics, University of Rochester, 2021

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My research emphasizes the dynamic aspect of international trade and its implications for analyzing trade patterns and the welfare effects of trade policy. Because most quantitative trade models are static, they abstract from the rich, dynamic nature of real-world trade activities. Firms are forward-looking in the models I use when deciding their imports as they face various non-tariff barriers and hold inventories. My research finds that incorporating the dynamics of such models into the empirical analysis of trade policies can significantly alter commonly accepted results and provide helpful information to understand trade patterns.

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Click here for Google Scholar, here for his resume, and here for his webpage.

Dr. Mingyang Li

Postdoctoral Scholar in International Economics and Productivity Analysis

Research Areas: Production Economics, International Economics, and Development Economics

Education: Ph.D. Economics, State University of New York at Binghamton, 2021

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Mingyang received his Ph.D. in Economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He also holds an M.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in Management from Nanjing University. Mingyang's research mainly focuses on applied microeconomics in the context of international economics and productivity analysis. He is particularly interested in semi/nonparametric estimation methods as well as topics including manufacturing, subsidies, and institutions.

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Click here for Google Scholar, here for his resume, and here for his webpage.

Soojung Ahn

Doctoral Researcher

Research Area: International Development and Trade

Education: M.S. Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, 2019

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Soojung is a third-year doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. She joined Dr. Steinbach’s research group in Summer 2020. She is currently working on a paper investigating the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural trade. Her dissertation research focuses on the intersection between international development and agricultural trade. Soojung plans to be on the academic job market in 2023.

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Click here for her resume.

Sijia (Sonia) Chen

Doctoral Researcher

Research Area: Health and Environmental Economics

Education: M.S. Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2018 

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Sijia is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on the economics of the environment, public policy, and human health. Sijia studies issues in empirical microeconomics, such as environmental (natural disasters) and social matters associated with maternal and infant health both mentally and physically. She develops a comprehensive view of the external factors and the economic costs on the health of vulnerable populations (women, newborns, and children). Sijia is also involved in international trade research as she is working on how duties affect global bilateral trade. Sijia will be on the job market in 2023.

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Click here for her resume.

Dongin (Eric) Kim

Doctoral Researcher

Research Areas: International Economics, Policy Evaluation, and Applied Econometrics 

Education: M.Sc. Management Engineering, KAIST, 2013

Dongin is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on the impact of international trade and investment policies on economic outcomes. Under the guidance of Dr. Steinbach, he developed a novel dataset on foreign direct investment to distinguish between vertical and horizontal investment activities. He has presented several working papers at international conferences. His independent research is supported by a USDA-NIFA-EWD award for 2021-2024. This research measures the impact of global trade shocks on U.S. agriculture.

Click here for his resume.

Adam Patterson

Doctoral Researcher

Research Areas: Applied Economics, Data Science

Education: M.S. Quantitative Economics, University of Connecticut, 2020

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Adam is a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. Adam is currently in the process of completing an M.S. in Data Science from Central Connecticut State University. He completed his M.S. in Quantitative Economics (2020) and B.A. in Economics (2018) from the University of Connecticut. Adam is interested in exploring the potential applications of Machine Learning within Environmental and Health Economics. He finds research fulfillment through participation in cutting-edge econometric methodologies. Adam hopes to be active in the Economic Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence community.

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Click here for his resume.

Xiting Zhuang

Doctoral Researcher

Research interests: International Economics, Applied Econometrics, and Causal Policy Evaluation 

Education: M.S. Quantitative Economics, Fuzhou University, 2017  

Xiting is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. His research interests lie at the intersection of international trade, environmental policy, and economics of social problems. His previous research focused on the impact on carbon emissions of China’s current socio-economic transitions. He joined Professor Steinbach’s research group in Fall 2018. He developed a particular interest in understanding the environmental impacts of trade policies, with a specific focus on Chinese environmental trade policies. Xiting’s work also assesses the implications of international trade policies and the policy impacts of various economic, social, and political issues.

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Click here for his resume.

• Dr. Xi He (2019-2020), Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University (current position)