Hello! I'm Vasu

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of British Columbia in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

I completed my PhD in July 2021 under the supervision of Dr. Corey Lang at the University of Rhode Island in the Environmental and Natural Resource Economics department.

I am an applied economist, with a strong background and research interests in Environmental Economics, including non-market valuation using both revealed and stated preference methods, and causal inference techniques.

Vasundhara Gaur

Postdoctoral Researcher

Phone:

672-515-4475

Email:

vasundharagaur@uri.edu

vasu.gaur@ubc.ca

Address:

336B, MacMillan Building

2357 Main Mall,

Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z4

IN THE NEWS

Study: Solar projects driving down home values in R.I. suburbs

providencejournal.com

CELS graduate student’s childhood experiences compel her to help solve Rhode Island solar conflicts

URI CELS - Big Thinker Series

URI researchers prepare for survey on solar siting preferences

Westerly Sun

EDUCATION

2016-2021

PhD

ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS

University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Dissertation focused on solar energy siting issues and the public's preferences for solar energy attributes.

2013-2015

Master's Degree

ECONOMICS (specialization in Environment and Natural Resource Economics)

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) School of Advanced Sciences, New Delhi, India

Master's dissertation focused on the determinants of electricity theft in 28 major Indian states.

2010-2013

Bachelor's Degree

(HONS) ECONOMICS

Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

EXPERIENCE

2021-Present

Postdoctoral Researcher

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Working on the local and global impacts of genetically modified (GM) crop adoption on agricultural expansion and deforestation.

2019-2021

Research Assistant to Corey Lang

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Helped write funded USDA-NIFA proposal on solar energy siting conflicts; implemented hedonic valuation study; designed, implemented, and analyzed choice experiment survey, including leading focus groups.

2017-2019

Research Assistant to Simona Trandafir

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Tasked to design and implement a survey to understand tourists’ recreational choices in the presence of United States’ first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. Survey designed and disseminated through Qualtrics.

Fall 2017

Research Assistant to Annette Bourbonniere

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Recruited to conduct focus groups for the purpose of reviewing and discussing questions for an experiment to be used in further research that examines the barriers to employment for persons with spinal cord injuries.

Fall 2017

Sole Instructor

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

Instructor: Mathematics for Economists

Sole instructor of first-year graduate-level introductory mathematics course.

RESEARCH

RESARCH

PUBLICATIONS

Gaur, V., Howard, G., Lang, C., Quainoo, R. (2022), “When Energy Issues are Land Use Issues: Estimating Preferences for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Siting”. Land Economics

Trandafir, S., Gaur, V., Behanan, P., Uchida, E., Lang, C., and Miao, H. (2020). How Are Tourists Affected By Offshore Wind Turbines? A Case Study Of The First US Offshore Wind Farm. Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, 7(1), 1.

Gaur, V., and Gupta, E. (2016). The determinants of Electricity Theft: An Empirical Analysis of Indian States. Energy Policy, 93, 127-136.

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Gaur, V., Lang, C., “House of the Rising Sun: The Effect of Utility-Scale Solar Arrays on Housing Prices”

(revise and resubmit - Energy Economics journal).

Dong, L., Gaur, V., Lang, C., “Property Value Impacts of Onshore Wind Energy in New England: Redux” (revise and resubmit - Energy Policy journal).

Quainoo, R., Howard, G., Gaur, V., Lang, C., “Model Choice and Framing Effects: Do Discrete Choice Modeling Decisions Affect Loss Aversion Estimates?”. (revise and resubmit - Environmental and Resource Economics journal)

Gaur, V., Howard, G., Lang, C., Quainoo, R., “Are the loudest voices in the room different? Testing preferences for engaged versus random samples”.

Gaur, V., Noack, F., Souza-Rodriguez, E., “Impact of New Crop Technologies on Local and Global Agricultural Expansion and Deforestation”.

Lang, C., Gaur, V., Erlacher, S., and Pearson-Merkowitz, S., “Is it NIMBYism or Land Use Priorities that Drive Utility-Scale Solar Siting Preferences? Evidence from a Municipal Referendum”.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Gaur, V., Noack, F., and Souza-Rodriguez, E., (2023), “Local and Global Impacts of Genetically Modified (GM) Crop Adoption” in Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Summer Conference, June 2023 (forthcoming).

Gaur, V., Howard, G., Lang, C., Quainoo, R., “When Energy Issues are Land Use Issues: Estimating Preferences for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Siting” in Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Summer Conference, June 2022.

Gaur, V., Lang, C., “Property Value Impacts of Commercial - Scale Solar Energy in Massachusetts and Rhode Island”

- in Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association (NAREA) Annual Meeting, June 15, 2020

- in Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Virtual Summer Conference, June 4, 2020

Gaur, V., and Choudhary, U., “Examining the Potential for Greener Power Generation at Sites with Inefficient Existing Capacity” in International Conference on Managing Critical Resources: Food, Energy and Water, Centre for Development and Environment Policy (CDEP), IIM Kolkata, April 10, 2015.

AWARDS AND HONORS

AWARDS

Greg Lessne Award for Excellence

University of Rhode Island, 2021

Awarded to the outstanding Environmental and Natural Resource Economics student who has studied the role of markets, marketing, or non-market valuation.

Graduate School Dean's Fellowship

University of Rhode Island, 2020

Competitive fellowship awarded by the university (based on faculty recommendations) to three graduate students with the most academic promise.

Thomas Weaver Award

University of Rhode Island, 2019

Recognized by faculty and peers as the Environmental and Natural Resource Economics graduate student that demonstrates high academic achievement and contributes to fellowship within the academic community