Robert Nakosteen

Robert Nakosteen is a Visiting Professor of Statistics. He is also a Professor of Economics and Statistics at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. His research focuses on the econometrics of labor markets, especially the measurement of labor market outcomes following a major life decision (such as moving, marriage, or divorce). He has published in a variety of academic journals, including Economic Inquiry, the Journal of Regional Science, the Journal of Population Economics, and the Journal of Human Resources, among others. He is a frequent Visiting Researcher at the University of Umeå in Sweden, where he works with the extensive socio-economic and demographic data bases available there. His other research track is the area of national and state economic performance. He is the Executive Editor of MassBenchmarks, a quarterly review of economic news and commentary focused on the Massachusetts state economy. In addition to statistics, he teaches micro- and macroeconomics, and business forecasting.

Education

• PhD, University of Tennessee, 1978
• MA, University of Michigan, 1971
• BA, University of Colorado, 1970

Academic Appointments

• Department Chair, Operations & Information Management, Isenberg School of Management, UMass Amherst, September 2018-Present
• Full Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2007-present
• Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst, August 1985-2006
• Visiting Professor, The Fletcher School at Tufts University, 2007
• Lecturer, University of Tennessee, September 1979-June 1983

Research Interests

• Labor Market Outcomes
• The Massachusetts Economy
• Economic Indicators Analysis

Teaching Interests

• Micro and Macro Economics
• Statistics

Professional Experience

• Director, 1979-1985, Economic Forecasting and Analysis, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN
• Consultant, 1978-1979, Science Application Incorporated, Oak Ridge, TN
• Consultant, 1975-1978, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Recent Honors & Awards

University Distinguished Teaching Award, 2013

Selected Publications

“Latent Earning Capacity and the Race Marriage Gap,” Cogent Economics and Finance, Volume 7, June 2019 (with Michael Zimmer).

“Youth-age Characteristics as Precursors of Power Couple Formation and Location Choice”, Labour Economics, Vol. 52, 2018 (with Sofia Tano(first author),

Olle Westerland, and Michael Zimmer).“Incidence of Reported Disability among Men: Accounting for Self Selection”, Research in Economics and Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2018, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/rem(with Michael Zimmer).

“Marriage Dissolution Among American Men, 2003-2010: The Roles of Measured Earnings and Latent Selection,” Cogent Economics and Finance, Volume 5, June 2017 (with Michael Zimmer).

"All in the Family: Self Selection and Migration by Couples," Papers in Regional Science, Vol 93, No 1, March 2014 (with Kent Eliasson, Olle Westerlund, and Michael Zimmer).

"Twice Chosen: Spouse Matching and Earnings Among Women in First and Second Marriages", Social Science Journal, Vol. 50, No. 5, September 2013 (with Johanna Astrom, Olle Westerlund, and Michael A. Zimmer).

"Active Labor Market Programs and Regional Mobility of Labor: Evidence from the Swedish Recession, 1994 - 1995,"Contemporary Economic Policy, Vol. 30, Number 2, April 2012, with Olle Westerlund, and Michael Zimmer.