Maria Porter

Assistant Professor, Political Economy and Moral Science
Associate Professor, Agricultural & Resource Economics (courtesy)
Maria Porter 2025

Social Sciences 213

Documents

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science at the University of Arizona. My research involves work in applied microeconomics, trust, social preferences, risk and time preferences, impact evaluation, and intra-household resource allocation. I use a variety of research methods, including randomized control trials, laboratory experiments, and survey data analysis. I am currently involved in research projects in Burkina Faso, China, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and the U.S.  I have published in top economics and interdisciplinary journals, including: The Economic Journal, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Economic Psychology, and the Journal of Development Studies. I have also taught courses in intermediate microeconomics, household and development economics, behavioral and experimental economics, and econometrics. I completed my PhD in Economics at the University of Chicago.
 

Publications

Maredia, M., Nakasone, E., Porter, M., Nordhagen, S., Caputo, V., Djimeu, E.W., Jones, A., Mbuya, M.N.N., Ortega, D., Toure, D., and Tschirley, D. 2024. “Using novel multi-method evaluation approaches to understand complex food system interventions: Insights from a supply chain intervention intended to improve nutrition.” Current Developments in Nutrition 8(6): 103776.

Nakasone, E., Porter, M., Jones, A., Maredia, M., and Tschirley, D. 2024. “A mixed methods assessment of technical and financial assistance to small- and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya´s food sector.” Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 46(2): 435-455.

Maredia, M., Porter, M., Caputo, V., Nakasone, E., and Ortega, D. 2024. "Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya." Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 46(2): 414-434. [Maredia and Porter equally share the senior authorship]

Caputo, V., Kaminski, D., and Porter, M. 2023. “Dairy workers’ preferences for compensatory benefits: A field experiment with U.S. immigrants and students.” Journal of the
Agricultural and Applied Economics Association 2(2): 198–214.

Farris, J., Porter, M., Jin, S., and Maredia, M. 2023. “Growing Pains: Season-Specific In-Utero Rainfall Shocks Impact Child Growth in Rural Rwanda.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 71(2): 793-818. [Farris is 1st author, Porter is 2nd author, Jin and Maredia are equal 3rd authors]

Kassas, B., Palma, M., and Porter, M. 2022. “Happy to Take Some Risk: Estimating the Effect of Induced Emotions on Risk Preferences.” Journal of Economic Psychology 91.

Wang, Y., Porter, M. and Jin, S. 2020. “The impact of health insurance on healthcare service use and costs: evidence from rural China.” China Agricultural Economic Review 13(2):418-435. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-06-2020-0148. [Porter is corresponding author and 2nd author]

Teaching

Undergraduate:
Behavioral and Experimental Economics for PPEL (University of Arizona, 2021)
Economics of the Family, Gender, and Inequality (University of Arizona, 2021, 2022, 2023,
2024)
Fundamentals of Economics for PPEL (University of Arizona, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Capstone seminar for PPEL on: Using Experimental Methods to Understand Social Preferences
(University of Arizona, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Capitalism and Socialism (University of Arizona 2024)
Economics of Decision Making: Managerial Economics for the Agri-Food System (Michigan
State University, 2017, 2019, 2020)
Development Economics (University of Oxford, 2012)
Elements of Economic Analysis II (University of Chicago, 2005)
Graduate:
Economics of the Family, Gender, and Inequality (University of Arizona, 2022, 2023)
Fundamentals of Economics for PPEL (University of Arizona, 2023)
Introductory Econometrics (Michigan State University, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Advanced Topics in Agricultural Development Economics (Michigan State University, 2017)
Development Economics (University of Oxford, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)

Degree(s)

  • Ph.D. Economics, University of Chicago
  • M.A. Economics, University of Chicago
  • B.A. Mathematical Economics and International Relations, Brown University