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 the fall of 2018 following a generous gift from Dr. Jeanne and Mr. Rex Sinquefield.
Mission
The center's mission 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.
- Darrin DeChane, Takako Nomi, and Michael Podgursky - College and Career Ready: How Well Does 8th Grade MAP Performance Predict Secondary Educational Attainment?
- Takako Nomi, Michael Podgursky, and Darrin DeChane - High School Preparation and Post-Secondary Educational Attainment: An Analysis of Racial/Ethnic and Gender Differences for Missouri Public High School Students
- Angela Cools, Carlos Esparza, S.J., and Jiwon Park - Resilience of Faith: Post-Covid Religious Trends and the Effect of Ecclesiastical Policy in the United States (2024)
- Dillon Fuchsman, David Hengerer, Jonathan Moody and Anthony Radazzo - The Actuarial Sources of the Rise in Unfunded Liabilities in America's Defined Benefit Plans in the 21st Century (2023)
- Jonathan Presler - Who's Affecting Who? Obesity Peer Effects in NYC Public Schools (2022)
- Darrin DeChane, Takako Nomi and 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)
- Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research Working Paper Series Archive via SSRN (2020-2024)
- The Effect of the NGA-W Move on Residential and Commercial Property Prices in St. Louis (PDF)
- High and Low-Skilled Employment "Hot Spots" in St. Louis (PDF)
- How Much Are Public School Teachers Willing to Pay for Retirement Benefits? (PDF)
- Teacher Knowledge and Preparedness for Retirement: Results from a Nationally Representative Teacher Survey (PDF)
- From High School to the Workforce: Current Challenges, Opportunities, and Initiatives to Close Education Gaps in Missouri (PDF)