Belkis J. Cerrato Caceres
Clark University, Economics Department Cell Phone: Worcester, MA 01610 774-262-4629 [email protected]
EDUCATION Expected May 2014 Clark University Worcester, MA Ph.D. in Economics Dissertation: “Analyzing the Food Environment’s Impact in Neighboring Communities” Committee: Dr. Jacqueline Geoghegan, Dr. Wayne Gray, Dr. John Brown
Fields of Study: Environmental and Spatial Economics, Labor Economics, and Development
Spring 2011 Colleges of Worcester Consortium Worcester, MA Certificate in College Teaching Relevant Teaching Courses: Seminar in College Teaching, Learner Centered Assessment, Teaching with Diversity, Teaching with Technology, Teaching Colloquium
May 2010 Clark University Worcester, MA Master of Arts in Economics
May 2006 Smith College Northampton, MA Bachelor of Arts Concentration: Economics and Mathematics
Computer Skills: Microsoft Office, Stata, GeoDa, ArcGIS, SPSS Languages: Fluent in Spanish
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Clark University Worcester, MA Fall 2013 Instructor, Environmental Economics Fall 2009 - Spring 2012 Instructor, Economics and the World Economy
Spring 2011- Summer 2013 College of Professional and Continuing Education (COPACE) Clark University Worcester, MA Instructor, Pre-calculus and Calculus
Spring 2013 Assumption College Worcester, MA Instructor, Introduction to Microeconomics
Fall 2012 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Worcester, MA Instructor, Environmental Economics
Fall 2012 Worcester State University Worcester, MA Instructor, Introduction to Microeconomics Belkis J. Cerrato Caceres
Summer and Fall 2011 Victory Productions Worcester, MA Writer for online High-School Economics courses
Clark University Worcester, MA Spring 2008 Teaching Assistant, Economics and the World Economy Fall 2007 & 2008, Spring2009 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Statistics
Sept 2006- June 2007 Pinetree Christian School Tegucigalpa, Honduras Sixth Grade Mathematics Teacher
Fall 2005- Spring 2006 Smith College Northampton, MA Teaching Assistant, Calculus I and II, Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, and Basic Algebra in the Mathematics Department,
NON-ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE Sept. 2006-Nov 2006 Economic Consultant Sabanagrande, Honduras
Summer 2005 United Nations Volunteer Program Tegucigalpa, Honduras ‘Human Security in Honduras’ Intern
Summer 2004 Instituto de Prevision Militar (IPM) Tegucigalpa, Honduras Intern, Loan Repayment Department
RESEARCH AND RESEARCH INTERESTS “Understanding the Economic Determinants of Obesity in Mexico” (May 2010) Excess weight and obesity have become a rising health problem in many developing countries. In Mexico, obesity rose from 10 % in 1989 to 71% for women and 66% for men in 2008. The negative effects of obesity on labor productivity and health costs have led to increased interest in the study of the economic determinants of obesity. Northern states are more likely to display higher levels of obesity rates compared to central and southern states because of higher income levels, lower consumer prices, higher percentage of foreign direct investment, and similar consumption patterns as their counterparts in the southern region of the United States. The results presented in this paper show that two regions have a lower BMI compared to the northern region. These regions include the central and central western region. These results are robust even after controlling for monthly income, consumer price index, and weekly beef consumption.
“Effect of New Supermarket Developments on Property Values: A Case Study of Worcester’s Main South” (Current Research & Job Market Paper) In recent years, the identification of food deserts in several American neighborhoods along with rising evidence that increased supermarket access can help reduce the development of diet-related diseases motivated the Obama administration to propose a $400 million fund to expand the availability of healthy food in low income areas. Given the government’s current efforts in promoting the relocation and expansion of supermarkets to low income neighborhoods, this paper analyzes the effect of recent supermarket developments, driven more by market forces than explicit government policies, on the values of residential properties located across Worcester, Massachusetts. This information could then be used to help inform policy makers about the potential economic impacts of policies to expand grocery stores into food deserts, which are often lower income inner city neighborhoods. Using geo-coded housing sales data, a number of different neighborhoods around each new store opening were created. Hedonic models are developed and a difference in differences econometric Belkis J. Cerrato Caceres specification is used to test hypotheses concerning the impact of new grocery stores on housing values. Preliminary results suggest that prices of properties located within half a mile from a supermarket were between 1.9% and 7.8% below the value of similar properties located more than half a mile away from the store. In addition, the establishment of a supermarket had a positive and significant impact on house prices located within 400 to 800 meters from a supermarket.
AWARDS Summer 2011-2013 Research Assistantship Award, Clark University December 2011 Sheftel Award for Economics Graduate Student, Clark University 2010-2011 “Maurice Weinrobe Award”, National Association of Business Economists (NABE) Foundation, Washington D.C. 2008-2009 Best Graduate Teaching Assistant, Clark University 2007-2010 Teaching Assistantship, Clark University 2002-2006 Dean’s List, Smith College 2002-2006 Smith International Scholar Award, Smith College 2004-2005 First Group Scholars for outstanding GPA, Smith College
CONFERENCES
April 2013 Future of Food & Nutrition Conference Boston, MA Tufts University
June2013 Northeast Agricultural and Resource Ithaca, NY Economics Association (NAREA) Annual Meeting
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Spring 2011 SPLASH, Clark University Worcester, MA Instructor for high-school Economics course
Oct 2006- Sept 2007 Iglesia de Dios de Los Robles Tegucigalpa, Honduras Accountant for Project Mission of Mercy
Fall 2010 Claremont High School Worcester, MA Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) volunteer
updated October, 2013