Michael Donihue

Education

Ph.D. University of Michigan, 1989 (Economics)
M.A. University of Michigan, 1983 (Applied Economics)
B.A. Colby College, 1979 (Economics)

Personal Information

Work Experience
Herbert E. Wadsworth Professor of Economics, Colby College, 2014-present
Director, Colby Laboratory for Economic Studies
Professor of Economics, Colby College, 2007-2014
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Dean of Faculty, 2008-2011
Associate Professor of Economics, Colby College, 1996-2007
Assistant Professor of Economics, Colby College, 1989-1996
Visiting Scholar, Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2004-2005
Senior Economist, Council of Economic Advisers, Washington, D.C., 1994-1995
Dana Fellow, Yale University, 1992

Maine Health Access Foundation, Grants Committee member, 2012 – 2016
Maine Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, 1992-2009
CEME Model Comparison Seminar, 1985-1994, 1995-1998 (chair)

Current Research

Colby Laboratory for Economics Studies collaborative research workshop engaging students and faculty with community stakeholders and policy makers to provide objective analysis, information and educational outreach on contemporary issues.

Agenda for 2021-2022: Coast to Cow to Consumer Project; Blue Milk supply chain analysis; Understanding Milk Prices; Coastal Community Indicators project; Economics of Maine’s Recreational Marijuana Industry; An Artificial Intelligence Approach to forecasting the U.S. economy; Updates for the Statistical Abstract for the Greater Waterville Area.

Agenda for 2020-2021: Updates for the Statistical Abstract for the Greater Waterville Area; “Blue Milk supply chain analysis, part of the Accelerating Methane Suppression for Dairy Cows project with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences; Maine’s Tree Growth Properties; The Opioid Crisis in Maine, a study of Maine’s EMS experience; An econometric study of the housing market in Waterville; The Economic Impact of COVID-19 pandemic in Maine.

Agenda for 2019-2020: Updates for the Statistical Abstract for the Greater Waterville Area; “Thinking About Carbon in Maine” policy brief for the Maine Climate Council; “Accelerating Methane Suppression for Dairy Cows: Discovering Potential Methane Mitigation, Animal Health Benefits, Economic Hurdles, and Outreach Opportunities to Improve Adoption of Algae-Feed” in collaboration with Bigelow Laboratories for Ocean Sciences; Program evaluation of Maine’s distribution of naloxone with a focus on EMS first responders.

Lobsters to Dollars

From Sojourner to Settler – The economic contributions of the im/migrant population in Milbridge, ME.

Publications

Google Scholar Profile

“A Case Study of the Economic Impact of Seasonal Visitors to a Lake Watershed Environment,” (with S. T. M. Dissanayake and L. O’Keeffe), Athens Journal of Tourism, Vol. 2, No. 2, June 2015, pp. 81-91.

“The Economic Impact of Shale Gas Development: A Natural Experiment along the New York and Pennsylvania Border” (with B. Cosgrove, D. LaFave, and S. T. M. Dissanayake), Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, August 2015.

“The Consumer Bankruptcy Fee Study: Final Report” (with Lois Lupica and Bodie Colwell), American Bankruptcy Institute, 2011.

Decomposing Consumer Wealth Effects: Evidence on the Role of Real Estate Assets Following the Wealth Cycle of 1990-2002 (with Andriy Avramenko '04), The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics: 2007, Vol. 7: Issue 1 (Topics), Article 25.

"An Analysis of Attendance at Major League Baseball Spring Training Games" (with David W. Findlay and Peter Newberry '03). Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 8, 2007.

"What's An Oscar Worth?" (with R.A. Nelson, D.M. Waldman, and C. Wheaton '92) Economic Inquiry, Vol. 39, 2001.

"The Troika Process: Economic Models and Macroeconomic Policy in the USA," (with John Kitchen) in Empirical Models and Policy Making: Interaction and Institutions, Frank A.G. den Butter and Mary S. Morgan, eds., Routledge Publishers, London, 2000.

"Do Faculty Salaries Rise With Job Seniority?" (with D.A. Barbezat) Economic Letters, Vol. 58, February 1998.

"Teaching Economic Forecasting to Undergraduates," The Journal of Economic Education, Vol. 26, Spring 1995.