Further elevating the USC Price School of Public Policy’s scholarly profile, more than a dozen Price faculty and doctoral students took part in the Western Regional Science Association’s 54th annual meeting, held Feb. 15-18 in Tucson, Ariz.

Founded in 1961, WRSA is an international multidisciplinary group of university scholars and government and private-sector practitioners dedicated to the scientific analysis of regions.

USC Price professors Genevieve Giuliano, senior associate dean and director of the METRANS Transportation Center, and Eric Heikkila, director of international initiatives, currently serve on the WRSA Board of Directors.

At the recent conference, USC Price participants chaired sessions and served both as presenters and discussants.

Post-doctoral scholar Fynnwin Prager , faculty Dan Wei , and faculty Adam Z. Rose  presented, National and regional economic consequences of an influenza outbreak in the United States.                                                            

Doctoral student Thom Malone presented, There goes the neighborhood: Does tipping exist amongst income groups?

Faculty Eric Heikkila  presented, China, the U.S. and climate change.    

Doctoral student Mylinh Huang  presented, Multi-criteria analysis in climate change adaptation decision making: A conceptual framework for Can Tho city in Vietnam.     

Faculty Genevieve Giuliano  and doctoral students Sanggyun Kang  and Quan Yuan  presented, Using proxies to describe the metropolitan freight landscape.   

Doctoral student Eunok Im   presented, The effects of inter-local collaboration on local economic performance: Investigation of Korean cases.

Doctoral student Eun Jin Shin   presented, Exploring causal effects of living in an ethic enclave on immigrants’ commuting mode choices.

Emeritus faculty Peter Gordon   presented, Does the relative importance of tacit knowledge explain occupational variations in propensities to work at home?

Doctoral student Thom Malone and faculty Christian Redfearn   presented, Tipping under the microscope.

Recent PhD graduate Yuting Hou   presented, Traffic congestion, accessibility to employment and housing prices: A study of single family housing market in Los Angeles County.

In addition, PhD student Thom Malone was first runner up for the 29th Charles M. Tiebout Prize.