• Faculty Hires

April 28, 2020

The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) is pleased to welcome Dr. Matthew Reimer to our faculty as an Associate Professor. Matt’s appointment is joint with the Department of Environmental Science & Policy. Professor Reimer earned his Ph.D. in agricultural & resource economics from UC Davis and his B.A. in economics from the University of Calgary. He returns to ARE after spending seven years on the faculty at the University of Alaska, Anchorage where he was a member of the Institute of Social & Economic Research and the Department of Economics & Public Policy.

Reimer’s interest in economics arose from traveling abroad after high school. He wanted to gain a better understanding of the places he encountered and in particular to be able to explain the factors shaping the world. After taking an intermediate microeconomics course as an undergraduate he knew that the field of economics provided the framework needed to answer his questions. He chose to pursue a Ph.D. in agricultural & resource economics to help solve the social and environmental challenges that our growing and developing global population faces. Reimer says that a “Ph.D. in ag and resource economics gave me a lens through which I can make sense of the world and a set of tools that I can use to better understand these challenges.”

Reimer specializes in resource economics; specifically, his interests lie in the design and evaluation of public policies for natural resource management. Most of his research focuses on the management of marine resources and how institutions influence the interaction between human and natural systems. He explained that his interest in marine resource management stemmed from an experience as an undergraduate research assistant when he worked on a project that aimed to explain the phenomenon of “fishing down the food web.” Reimer noted that “after that, I knew that I wanted to study problems related to marine resources, but from an economic perspective. And of course, my interests further developed while I was a graduate student at Davis.”

Reimer is excited to be back at UC Davis and to join some of the best faculty in the world who study the topics that interest him the most. He said, “I had a wonderful experience at UC Davis as a graduate student, and I am really excited to contribute to the undergraduate and graduate programs as a faculty member.” He enjoys challenging students to think critically and takes satisfaction watching them develop over time as they gain a better understanding and ask thoughtful questions. This spring quarter, Dr. Reimer is teaching ARE/ESP 175, Natural Resources Economics, and in the future he will also teach ARE 202C Research Design for Applied Microeconomics and ARE 106 Econometric Theory.

When he isn’t teaching or working on research, Reimer enjoys spending time outside and loves to ski, bike, trail run, and climb.

Check out Matt’s faculty webpage here.

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