GAVIN ROBERTS

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS & CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

Gavin Roberts

CONTACT

PHONE: (801) 648-9535

EMAIL: gavinroberts@weber.edu

WEB:  www.gavinedwardroberts.com

OFFICE: WB 232

ABOUT

Gavin Roberts joined the WSU faculty in 2017 and is an associate professor of economics in the Goddard School of Business & Economics. He has served as the chair of the Department of Economics since July of 2022.

Gavin holds a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Metropolitan State University of Denver, and earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wyoming. Currently, Gavin teaches courses in microeconomics and statistics. Motivated by his previous career as an energy analyst, a large part of Gavin's research agenda focuses on energy economics including current projects that involve studying the interconnectedness between crude-oil and natural-gas markets. He is also interested in microeconomics more broadly, and enjoys applying experiments to study individuals' economic behavior.

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Economics - University of Wyoming, 2017

BA, Economics and mathematics - Metropolitan State University, Denver

HOBBIES

Gavin enjoys a wide variety of outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking and backpacking. He also loves to cook with his wife Kerry, and play with their daughter Lucy in his free time.

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

  1. How price-gouging regulation undermined COVID-19 mitigation: county-level evidence of unintended consequences. Public Choice, 196. July 2023. With Rik Chakraborti.
  2. Other people's money: preferences for equality in groups. European Journal of Political Economy, 73. June 2022. With Joy Buchanan.
  3. Learning to hoard: the effects of preexisting and surprise price-gouging regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Consumer Policy, 44. August 2021. With Rik Chakraborti.
  4. Anti-price gouging laws, shortages, and COVID-19: big data insights from consumer searches. Journal of Private Enterprise. Winter 2020. With Rik Chakraborti.
  5. Drill-bit parity: supply-side links in oil and gas markets. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 7(4). July 2020. With Benjamin Gilbert.
  6. Global emissions from crude oil: The effect of oil deposit heterogeneity. Energy Policy, 132. September 2019. With Edward Barbier and Klaas van ‘t Veld.
  7. Revisiting the drivers of natural gas prices. International Journal for Re-Views in Empirical Economics, 3. February 2019.
  8. Social capital and the voluntary provision of public goods. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 77, 196-208. December 2018. With Rik Chakraborti, Matt Maloney, and Jason Shogren.
  9. Price elasticity of supply and productivity: an analysis of natural gas wells in Wyoming. Energy Journal, 39(SI). 2018. With Charles F. Mason.
  10. Should all of Europe share a currency? A multi-country analysis. The Journal of World Economic Review, 6, 55-74. 2011. With Kishore Kulkarni and Juan Dempere.

NON-PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

  1. Book Chapter: Private and Public Economic Impacts of Fracking in Wyoming. In When Fracking Comes to Town: Governance, Planning, and Economic Impacts of the US Shale Boom. Cornell University Press, 2021. With Sandeep Kumar Rangaraju.
  2. Editorial: Rush to Anti-Gouging Laws Fueled COVID Surge. Tribune News Service. Published in Minneapolis Star Tribune on 03/04/2021 among other periodicals. 
  3. The cost of lawsuit abuse: an economic analysis of Louisiana's coastal litigation. Pelican Institute Report, October 2019. 
  4. Quantitative analysis shows natural gas projects’ benefits outweigh costs. Oil & Gas Journal, December 2017. With Joel Zipp.
  5. Book Review: The Price of Oil. Economic History Association: EH.net, September 2017.

PRESENTATIONS

  1. How price-gouging regulation undermined COVID-19 mitigation: evidence of unintended consequences. Annual Meeting of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, 04/2021 Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  2. How price-gouging regulation undermined COVID-19 mitigation: evidence of unintended consequences. Invited presentation at Creighton University, 02/2021, Virtual.
  3. The Positive Economics of Climate Change. Climate Change and Culture Shift Seminar Series at Weber State University, 11/2020, Ogden, UT.
  4. Other people’s money: preferences for equality in groups. 2020 Utah Experimental Economics Conference, 05/2020, Logan, UT.
  5. Rotary-rig parity: The drilling rate augmented relationship between oil and gas prices. 37th USAEE/IAEE North American Conference, 11/2019, Denver, CO.
  6. Drill-bit parity: supply-side links in oil and gas markets. 36th USAEE/IAEE North American Conference, 09/2018, Washington, DC.
  7. The endogenous risk of avalanches. Western Economic Association International 93rd Annual Conference, 06/2018, Vancouver, BC.
  8. The beginning of the end of the age of oil. 6th Symposium on Environment and Energy Finance Issues, 05/2018, Paris, France.
  9. A piece for justice? Willingness to pay for equality. 55th Annual Meetings of the Public Choice Society, 03/2018, Charleston, SC.
  10. Kirznerian oilmen. The American Institute of Economic Research, 08/2017, Great Barrington, MA.
  11. Drill-bit parity: The increasing importance of supply-side links in oil and gas markets. AERE Sessions of the 2016 Meetings of the Southern Economics Association, 11/2016, Washington, D.C.
  12. Drill-bit parity: The increasing importance of supply-side links in oil and gas markets. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics Seminar, Colorado State University, 11/2016, Fort Collins, CO.
  13. The beginning of the end of the age of oil. NCSU Camp Resources, 08/2016, Wilmington, NC.
  14. Texas tea or swamp gas: A supply-side link in oil and gas markets. {New title: Drill-bit parity: The increasing importance of supply-side links in oil and gas markets.} AERE Summer Conference, 07/2016, Breckenridge, CO. 
  15. Drill-bit hydrocarbons: Recent history and thoughts about the future. 2016 Wyoming Energy Summit, 05/2016, Cheyenne, WY.
  16. Social and the voluntary provision of public goods. Annual Meeting of the Public Choice Society, 03/2016, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  17. Decline curves in natural gas production: implications of new technologies. UW Economics and Finance Dept. Graduate Student Group, 11/2015, Laramie, WY.
  18. Supply-side cointegration of natural gas and oil prices.  (Research sketch).  Front Range Energy Camp, 05/2015, Boulder, CO.
  19. The vigilante game.  The Association of Private Enterprise Education Annual Meeting, 04/2015, Cancun, Mexico.
  20. The vigilante game.  Annual Meeting of the Public Choice Society, 03/2015, San Antonio, TX.
  21. Oil market dynamics incorporating geological decline. UW Economics and Finance Dept. Graduate Student Group, 02/2015, Laramie, WY.
  22. Optimizing Storage Injections and Withdrawals. Platts Webinar, 06/2012, Evergreen, CO.

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

  1. Dr. Brian Davis Presidential Teaching Excellence Award, Weber State University, 2021
  2. Alston Excellence in Teaching Award, Goddard School of Business & Economics, Weber State University, 2020
  3. Crystal Crest Master Teacher Award Finalist, Weber State University, 2019.