As an applied microeconomist, my research seeks to better understand the challenges facing underserved communities in rural areas. By focusing on both classical and behavioral components of decision-making, my research helps make sense of observed behavior and guide the design of policies seeking to foster resilience in the face of economic and environmental uncertainty.
I believe that these questions are as relevant for my home community in Maine as for the communities in Mozambique and Nicaragua, where I have spent much of the previous ten years studying the effects of drought on smallholding farmers.
Research Interests
· Risk, Insurance, and Investment
· Food Security and Household Resilience
· Agricultural Value Chains
Peer-Reviewed Publications (Google Scholar Profile)
Under Review
Boucher, S. R., Carter, M. R., Flatnes, J. E., Lybbert, T. J., Malacarne, J. G., Marenya, P., & Paul, L. A. (NBER working paper, R&R). Bundling Genetic and Financial Technologies for More Resilient and Productive Small-scale Agriculture.
8) Alloush, Mo, Bloem, Jeffrey R., Malacarne, J.G. ( R&R) Social Protection Amid a Crisis: New Evidence From South Africa’s Older Person’s Grant.
7) Miller, L and Malacarne, J.G. (R&R) “What role can farmers markets play in the larger context of food access? Theory and evidence from Maine”.
6) Schattman, R. E., Malacarne, J.G., Mallory, E., & Goossen, C. P. (In review). Coping with water extremes in agriculture: Aligning farmer needs and advisor confidence, skills, and expertise.
5) Malacarne, J.G. (In review) “The Farmer and the Fates: Locus of Control and Investment in Rainfed Agriculture”.
4) Sarker, Prianka, Daley, Angela, & Malacarne, J.G. (in review) “The effects of a universal income transfer on food insecurity within households”.
3) Belarmino, E.H., Malacarne, J.G., Niles, M., McCarthy, A., Nowak, S., Merrill, S., Laurent, J., Schattman, R., Yerxa, K.. (In review). “Suboptimal diets identified among adults in two rural states during the COVID-19 pandemic”
2) Niles, M., McCarthy, A.C., Malacarne, J.G., Bliss, S., Belarmino, E.H., Laurent, J., Merrill, S., Nowak, S.A., Schattman, R. (In review). “Home food production associated with improved food security during the COVID-19 pandemic”
1) Kelemen, S., Schattman, R., Roesch-McNally, G., Basche, A., Rosenzweig, S., Malacarne, J.G. , Erich,S. (In review). “Agricultural ecosystem service marketplaces: Farmer perspectives on program efficacy and soil health management”
Working Papers, Policy Briefs and Industry Reports
Baily, Megan, Bell, Kathleen P., Crawley, Andrew, Gabe, Todd, Malacarne, J.G., Rubin, Jonathan. (2021). Economic Impacts of Investments in Food and Agricultural Processing Infrastructure in Maine.
Annis, S., Calderwood, L., Phanning, P., Ishaq, S., Malacarne, J., Zhang, Y. (2020) “2020 Wild Blueberry Research & Extension Reports”