Department: Graduate School of Business
Faculty Mentor: Shoshana Vasserman, Associate Professor of Economics, GSB
Supporting communities through industrial decline
When industries decline, governments sometimes step in to help businesses wind down. However, little is known about whether these interventions actually work. Ben is studying this in the EU, where for decades governments have paid farmers to pull up their vineyards in response to changes in demand for wine. In partnership with the French government and wine industry organizations, he will examine whether vine pulling payments go to the right farmers, whether they help or hurt the rural communities that depend on the wine industry, and what lessons they hold for other industries facing similar declines.