Michael Betz

Michael Betz is an associate professor in the Department of Human Sciences and an FCS state specialist at The Ohio State University. Professor Betz’s research focuses on how local economic conditions impact a wide range of individual, family, and community wellbeing indicators and is particularly interested in the differences between rural and urban areas. He is currently investigating questions examining the connection between local economic factors and the opioid crisis and engaged in research on the economic and social impacts of natural resource extraction on the communities in which it occurs. He has published in journals such as Energy Economics, The American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Rural Studies, Papers in Regional Science, and International Regional Science Review. He has received funding for his research from the United States Department of Argiculture (USDA), the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Agency (SAMHSA), the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, and The Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science, the Ohio Department of Health, and The Ohio State University Institute for Population Research. He is currently the president for the USDA multi-state research project NE1749: Enhancing Rural Economic Opportunities, Community Resilience, and Entrepreneurship.

• PhD Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University (2011)
• B.A. International Studies, The Ohio State University (2005)

• Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (September 2013-present)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (April 2011-August 2013)
• Adjunct Professor, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH (August 2011-May 2012)
• Graduate Research Assistant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (August 2010-March 2011)
• Adjunct Professor, Columbus State Community College, Columbus, OH (March 2010-June 2010)
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (August 2006-June 2010)

1. Preventing Opioid Misuse and Abuse in Rural Ohio through Enhanced Family and Community Education and Training. Role: Principal Investigator; Amount: $ 1,080,219; Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency; Duration: September 30, 2018-September 30, 2020
2. Stagnant wages and drug deaths: Investigating the role of local labor markets on opioid overdoses. Role: Principle Investigator; Amount: $ 46,435; Sponsor: Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Station; Duration: March 1, 2018-December 31, 2018
3. Shale energy development: A boom or bust for rural families and their communities? Role: Principal Investigator; Amount: $499,859; Sponsor: United States Department of Agriculture; Duration: April 1, 2018-March 31, 2021
4. Analysis of the Ohio Violent Death Reporting System (OVDRS). Role: Co-Investigator; Amount: $40,000; Sponsor: Ohio Department of Health; Duration: January, 2018-August, 2018
5. Industry-specific job loss and opioid death. Role: Co-Principal Investigator; Amount: $40,000; Sponsor: National Institutes of Health via The Ohio State University Institute for Population Research; Duration: June 1, 2017-June 1, 2018
6. Demographic and Family Change in Shale Communities. Role: Principal Investigator; Amount: $$29,479; Sponsor: National Institutes of Health via The Ohio State University Institute for Population Research (P2CHD058484); Duration: June 1, 2015-June 1, 2016
7. Coal Mining and Poverty in Appalachia. Role: Co-Principal Investigator; Amount: $30,000; Sponsor: Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science; Duration: June 1, 2014-June 1, 2017

1. Betz, M. R., & Jones, L. E. (2018). "Wage and employment growth in America’s drug epidemic: Is all growth created equal?" American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 100(5), 1357-1374.
2. Tsvetkova, A., Partridge, M., & Betz, M. (2018). "Self-employment effects on regional growth: A bigger bang for a buck?" Small Business Economics, 1-19.
3. Betz, Michael and Anastasia Snyder. (2017). “Coal and family through the boom and bust: A look at the coal Industry's impact on marriage and divorce.” Rural Studies. 56:207-218.
4. Tsvetkova, Alexandra, Mark D. Partridge, Michael R. Betz. (2017). "Entrepreneurial and wage and salary employment response to economic conditions across the rural-urban continuum."  The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 671(2):83-102.
5. Campbell, Joseph, Linda Lobao, and Michael R. Betz. (2017) “Collaborative Counties: Questioning the role of civil society.” Economic Development Quarterly. 31(3):228-243.
6. Lobao, Linda, Minyu Zhou, Mark D. Partridge, and Michael R. Betz. (2016). “Poverty, place and coal employment across Appalachia and the United States in a new economic era.” Rural Sociology. 81(3): 343-386.
7. Betz, Michael R., Mark D. Partridge, Michael Farren, and Linda M. Lobao. (2016). “Coal mining, economic development, and the natural resources curse.”  Energy Economics. 50: 105-116. 
8. Betz, Michael R., Mark D. Partridge and Belal Fallah. (2015). “Smart cities and attracting knowledge workers: Which cities attract highly-educated workers in the 21st century?” Papers in Regional Science. 95(4): 819-941. 
9. Betz, Michael R. and Mark D. Partridge (2013). “Country road take me home—Migration patterns in Appalachian America and place based policy.” International Regional Science Review. 36(3): 267-295. 
10. Partridge, Mark, Michael Betz, and Linda Lobao. (2013). “Natural resource curse and poverty in Appalachian America.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 95(2): 449-456.
11. Betz, Michael R., Mark D. Partridge, David S. Kraybill, and Linda Lobao. (2012) “Why do localities provide economic development incentives: Geographic competition, political constituencies, and government capacity.” Growth and Change. (43): 361-391.

More publications and citations

1. Session Paper, "Shale boom, drug bust? Did the oil and gas boom dampen or exacerbate the opioid epidemic in rural American communities?”, 64th Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI, San Antonio, TX, November, 2018
2. Session Paper, “Wage and employment growth in America’s drug epidemic: Is all growth created equal?”, Annual Meetings of the Population Association of America, Denver, CO, April, 2018
3. Session Paper, “Wage and employment growth in America’s drug epidemic: Is all growth created equal?”, 57th Annual Meetings of the Southern Regional Science Association, Philadelphia, PA, March, 2018
4. Invited Paper Session, “Employment and wage growth in the American drug crisis: Is all growth created equal?”, Annual Meetings of the Allied Social Sciences Association, January 2018
5. Session Paper, “Entrepreneurial and Wage and Salary Employment Response to Economic Conditions Across the Rural-Urban Continuum”, Annual Meetings of the Western Regional Science Association, Santa Fe, NM, United States, February 2017
6. Session Paper, "Collaborative Counties: Questioning the Role of Civil Society." Presented at Midwest Public Affairs Conference, Columbus, Ohio, United States, June 2016
7. Session Paper, "Coal and Family through the Boom and Bust: A Look at the Coal Industry's Impact on Marriage and Fertility." Presented at 55th Meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association, Washington, District of Columbia, United States, March 2016
8. Session Paper, "Coal Mining Employment and its Relationship to Income Inequality: Appalachia and the United States, 1990-2010." Presented at Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Annual Conference 2016, Phoenix, Arizona, United States, February 2016
9. Session Paper, “Producing Energy, Protecting Food: The Impact of Shale Energy Development on Food Access in Rural Communities.” Presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association, March 2015
10. Session Paper, “Producing Energy, Protecting Food: The Impact of Shale Energy Development on Food Access in Rural Communities.” Presented at the 61st Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI, Washington, D.C., November 2014.
11. Session Paper, “Inequality and Poverty across the United States: Assessing Economic Disparities across Counties in the Pre- and Post-Recession Periods.” Presented at The 61st Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI, Washington, D.C., November 2014.
12. Seminar Presentation, “The winners and losers of coal mining in Appalachia: An instrumental variables investigation.” Presented at The Ohio State University Department of Human Sciences Consumer Sciences Seminar, September, 2014.
13. Session Paper, “The winners and losers of coal mining in Appalachia: An instrumental variables investigation.” Presented at The 60th Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI, Atlanta, GA, November 2013.
14. Session Paper, “The Chicken-Egg of Knowledge Workers and Advanced Technology Industries.”  Presented at The 59th Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI, Ottawa, ON, November 2012.
15. Seminar Presentation, “Natural Resource Curse and Poverty in Appalachian America.” Presented at The Appalachian Research Initiative on Environmental Research Area 6 Meeting, May 2012.
16. Session Paper, “Country Road Take Me Home—Migration Patterns in Appalachian America and Place Based Policy.”  Presented at The 2012 Annual Meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association, March 2012.
17. Session Paper, “Why Do Localities Provide Economic Development Incentives: Geographic Competition, Political Constituencies, and Government Capacity.”  Presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Southern Regional Science Association, March 2012.
18. Session Paper, “Why Do Localities Provide Economic Development Incentives: Geographic Competition, Political Constituencies, and Government Capacity.”  Presented at the 58th Annual North American Meetings of the RSAI, Miami, FL, November 2011.