Benjamin Linkow
2828 Connecticut Ave. NW Apt. 701
Washington DC 20008
benlinks@yahoo.com
(608)-469-0111
EDUCATION
Ph.D., 2008, Agricultural and Applied Economics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dissertation Title: “Three Essays on the Dynamics of Informal Institutional Change in Sub-Saharan Africa”
Advisor: Prof. Michael R. Carter
BA Cum Laude, 1997, Economics and Political Science
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS
Development Economics, Applied Microeconomics, Institutional Economics
Sub-Saharan Africa, Land Tenure and Property Rights, Microeconomic Implications of HIV/AIDS,
Informal Contracting and Institutions, Social Capital and Development
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Assistant Professor, Economics and International Studies, Miami University of Ohio (8/2008-present)
Visiting Scholar and Consultant, Property Rights and Land Policy, Millennium Challenge
Corporation (10/2005-present)
Contributed to development of Land Rights and Access country eligibility indicator, conducted reviews of
national land policies for numerous candidate country governments, led Property Rights and Land Policy
due diligence of Namibia Compact proposal, participated in due diligence, monitoring and evaluation
design, and implementation of Mali Compact.
Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000-2005)
Worked with faculty members on research outputs, and data analysis and management. Authored case
studies of property rights regimes in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, managed a large dataset
on Canadian food consumption using SAS, conducted research on asymmetric price transmission and
market power in U.S. fluid milk markets.
Consultant to Associated Press (2004-2005)
Carried out study of evolving state and local tax burden on Wisconsin businesses from 1980-2004 using
established methodology for estimating business profits and state and local taxes payments for feature
newspaper article entitled “Business Profits Outpace Tax Bill.”
Consultant to World Council of Credit Unions (2004)
Carried out data analysis and co-authored report for a household survey concerning the design of new
credit products as an HIV/AIDS intervention in Rwanda.
Research Intern and Consultant to United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Economic and
Social Policy Division - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (1999-2000)
Assisted staff in research tasks including data compilation and presentation and write-ups for the Economic
and Social Policy Division’s flagship publication, the Economic Report on Africa 2001. Developed and
compiled indicators of economic sustainability and policy stance for African economies, and provided
interpretation of data and write-ups for the Economic Report on Africa 2002.
COUNTRIES OF WORK EXPERIENCE
Ethiopia, Mali, Kenya, Namibia
PRESENTATIONS
5th Annual Midwest International Economic Development Conference, May 2008: “Formal and Informal
Inheritance Practices and Women’s Control Over Land in Rural Kenya”
University of Wisconsin-Madison Development Economics Workshop, November 2007: “Induced
Insecurity? Inheritance Practices, Intrahousehold Power Relations, and Investment Decisions in Rural
Kenya”
World Bank Workshop, June 2006: “The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Review of Cross-Country
Land Tenure Property Rights Indicators”
University of Wisconsin-Madison Applied Economics Workshop, March 2004: “Asymmetric Price
Transmission in U.S. Fluid Milk Markets- the Role of Spatial and Market Concentration,” working paper
co-authored with Brian W. Gould and Kyle Stiegert