News and Events

Phil Watson SRSA

Philip Watson, represented the University of Idaho and the Alward Institute for Collaborative Science, at the 58th annual Southern Regional Science Association (SRSA) meeting in Arlington, VA.  Phil presented a paper on a new way of investigating why regional wage discrepancies arise. While there are countless reasons for why average wages vary by region, a fundamental deductive distinction can be made between regions that are concentrated in higher than average paying sectors (i.e. an above average paying industry mix) and regions that pay above the national average wages for their respective industry mix. Therefore, two disparate regions may have the same average wage for two very different reasons; region 1 may have a relatively low paying industry mix, but they pay above average wages for those relatively low paying sectors and region 2 may have an industry mix that is concentrated in relatively high paying sectors, however those sectors in the region pay below the national average for the respective sector. Even though the two hypothetical regions may have the same overall average wage, the underlying structure of the region’s economies are likely very different. Similarly, a region’s low average wage could arise from these two very disparate structural problems to varying degrees. Furthermore, the policy prescriptions for the economic development of a given region are likely very different for regions which possess a relatively low paying industry mix than for region’s with a relatively high paying mix of industries, but for which the wages paid in the region are below national average wages for that region.

Auber Photo  Auber- Advances in Economic Impact Analysis session was chaired by Greg Alward representing the
  Alward Institute and University of Idaho – Greg presented Estimating Sales Tax Impacts with Input-     
  Output Models and Building Open Source Regional Social Accounting.  Stanislaw Rzeznik represented
  the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and presented BEA’s RIMSII Regionalization   
  Methods.   

  Greg is pictured here at the 2018 AUBER conference with Dr.Brian Lewandowski who represented the     
  University of Colorado. Brian serves on the Alward Institute Scientific Advisory Council and the AUBER         
  Board of Directors.

SAF - Greg Alward, Greg Latta, and others represented the University of Idaho regarding Forest Policy and Science-Management discussing interactions in cutting-edge forest science with practical application, case studies showcasing best practices, adaptive management examples from forest practitioners, on-the-ground workshops in broad interest areas, and forest management in the Pacific Northwest.

2018 MCRSA

MCRSA – Congratulations to David Kay, the President of MCRSA

Greg Alward represented the University of Idaho & the Alward Institute and David Kay represented     
the Alward Institute & Wells Fargo Bank, and at the 49th Mid-Continent Regional Science Association 
meeting in Kansas City, Missouri June 6-8, 2018.  Greg Alward presented his paper " Building Better 
Social  Accounts for Agriculture and Natural Resource Contribution Studies ", and David Kay 
presented “Estimating Sales Tax Impacts with Regional I‐O Models” by Brian Lewandowski, 
University of Colorado (also serves on the Alward Institute Scientific Advisory Board), Gregory S.  
Alward, University of Idaho & Alward Institute, R. Garth Taylor, University of Idaho, and David Kay, Wells Fargo Bank & Alward Institute. Andrew Schreiber, US Environmental Protection Agency and 
Research Associate of the Alward Institute presented “blueNOTE: National Open source Tools for 
General Equilibrium Analysis”.

WFE Western Forest Economists (WFE) - Dr. Greg Alward represented the University of Idaho at the Western
 Forest Economists (WFE).The WFE meeting brought together scholars and professionals to discuss topics
 related to forests and natural resources in the West. The conference included a mix of research presentations, 
 perspectives from both private and public sector.     

 

 

IMG 4462 2Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference (PNREC) – Tacoma, WA – May 22-25, 2018. 

Greg Alward and Philip Watson representing the University of Idaho attended and presented. 

 

Agricultural  Applied Economics Association -  Washington, D.C.  2018.  Winfree, J. and Philip Watson represented the University of Idaho (is a member of the Alward Institute Board of Directors and leads the Scientific Advisory Board) presented  Buy Local and Social Interactions.

Western Agriculture Economics Association - Anchorage, Alaska  2018.   Maas, A. and Philip Watson represented the University of Idaho  and presented Distributing Wealth to the Wealthy: A Parking Story.

Philip Watson, represented the University of Idaho, at the 57th annual Southern Regional Science Association (SCRSA) meeting in Philadelphia, PA March 15-17, 2018.  He presented High Paying Sectors or Above Average Wages: What Matters More in Regional Wage Disparities.

NARSC 2017 Annual Meeting

 

The 64tth Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International  (NARSC) was held  June 7-9, 2017 at the Maumee Bay State Park Lodge located on the shore of Lake Erie, just outside of Toledo, Ohio.   Greg Alward represented the Alward Institute and presented: 
Regional Economic Accounting Methods to Dis-Aggregate Sections of the Canadian 2013 Input-Output Accounts, Greg Alward, Alward Institute for Collaborative Science, and Madanmohan Ghosh, Canada.
 
NARSC  - Philip Watson, representing the University of Idaho presented  Good Job, Bad Job: Decomposing regional wage differences into within and across sector components at the 2017 North American Regional Science Association meetings, Vancouver, British Columbia.  He additionally presented a paper by  -  Conroy, T. and P. Watson. Betting on the Over/Under: Education and Entrepreneurship.
 
To learn more about NARSC, please follow the "read more" link below. 
 

Western Forest Economists (WFE) - May 31 - June 1, 2017, Colorado State University, Lory Student Center, Fort Collins, Colorado
 
 
Dr. Greg Alward and Dr. Philip Watson represented the University of Idaho and presenting at the Western Forest Economists (WFE).  WFE is a non-profit group that welcomes membership from any interested party. For the last 50 years, WFE meets for a three-day conference that focuses on forest economics.  The conference is a great opportunity to discuss current research, issues, and trends.  The WFE’s informal meeting format encourages discussion and interchange.  Presentations on Regional Economic Performance:  Data and Methods were given by: Dr. Greg Alward, University of Idaho, “Designing a State Level SAM to Address Agriculture and Natural Resource Issues”, Dr. Tim Nadreau, Washington State University, “Disaggregating the BEA Input-Output Accounts” and Dr. Phil Watson, University of Idaho, “High Paying Sectors or Above Average Wages: What Matters More in Regional Wage Discrepancies” .