The Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research brings together researchers throughout Saint Louis University who share a common interest in applied economic research.
These two maps of the St. Louis area depict cellphone geolocation "pings" on Labor
Day in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, cell phone locations and, by default, people were concentrated
in a number of recreational locations throughout the area. In contrast, 2020's map
shows that people were more dispersed throughout residential areas, and only congregating
in a few locations.
The Center is part of the SLU Research Institute, and reports to an advisory board consisting of the Deans of the Chaifetz School of Business, the School of Education, and the College for Public Health and Social Justice. The Center was established in fall 2018 following a generous gift from Dr. Jeanne and Mr. Rex Sinquefield.
Mission
The mission of the Center is to advance rigorous research on economic growth and social welfare that can inform public policy. Our research interest is urban economic development, with St. Louis as our laboratory. Center staff and affiliated researchers work on a broad range of applied economic research topics including taxation, education, health, regulation, entrepreneurship, and technology policy. We take the “applied” in our title seriously. To that end, we invest in developing large and rich databases on schools, neighborhoods, employment and workforce development for the state and the St. Louis metro area that form the foundation for our applied research.
The work of the Center promotes Jesuit values. Our mission is to use the tools of modern applied microeconomics to help create economic opportunity for all residents of St. Louis by promoting excellence in applied economic and social policy research.
Research
The Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research (SCAER) brings together researchers from a variety of fields to engage in transformative economic research. Below are the works supported by SCAER.
- Jonathan Presler - Who's Affecting Who? Obesity Peer Effects in NYC Public Schools (2022)
- Darrin DeChane, Takako Nomi & Mike Podgursky - High School Preparation and Post-Secondary Educational Attainment: An Analysis of Race and Gender Differences for a Cohort of Missouri Public High School Students (2022)
- Jeffrey Cross, Guangli Zhang - Paying for Integers (2022)
- Dillon Fuchsman - Understanding how COVID-19 has Changed Teachers’ Chances of Remaining in the Classroom (2022)
- Dillon Fuchsman - Teachers’ Knowledge and Preparedness for Retirement: Results from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey (2021)
- Jonathan Presler - What Makes a Classmate a Peer? Examining Which Peers Matter in NYC Elementary Schools (2021)
- Guangli Zhang - The Effect of Unemployment Benefit Pay Frequency on UI Claimants' Job Search Behaviors (2021)
- Jonathan Presler - You Are Who You Eat With: Academic Peer Effects from School Lunch Lines (2021)
- Michael Podgursky - Teacher Pension Enhancements and Staffing in an Urban School District (2021)
- Enbal Shacham, Steve Scroggins - Geospatial Health in the Context of Privilege and Cost: Determining Characteristic Based on Travel to Leisure and Protest Locations During COVID-19 Mitigation (2020)
- Dillon Fuchsman - Teachers’ Willingness to Pay for Retirement Benefits: A National Stated Preferences Experiment (2020)
- Enbal Shacham, Steve Scroggins - Prevalence of Occupation Associated with Increased Mobility During COVID-19 Pandemic (2020)
- Dillon Fuchsman - Testing, Teacher Turnover and the Distribution of Teachers Across Grades and Schools (2020)
- High and Low-Skilled Employment "Hot Spots" in St. Louis
- How Much Are Public School Teachers Willing to Pay for Retirement Benefits?
- Teacher Knowledge and Preparedness for Retirement: Results from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey
- From High School to the Workforce: Current Challenges, Opportunities, and Initiatives to Close Education Gaps in Missouri