A team of five BHEC members (Ethan Kahn, Madeline Pioli, Courtney Reynolds, Mitchell Tappan, and Victoria Williams) immersed themselves in a unique research experience this semester to better understand economics and Delaware’s oyster industry.

The project, led by advisors Dr. Julianna Butler and Dr. Jens Schubert, was sparked by a change in the State of Delaware’s oyster acreage regulation in early 2017. Under the new law, the oyster market could potentially grow dramatically in DE. Delaware Sea Grant, who funded the project, requested an economic forecast report for the oyster industry, which investigates projected sales, employment, and environmental impacts. And they chose BHEC to write the report!

The student group collected and organized relevant data, executed analysis, and compiled studies on consumer willingness-to-pay and related environmental issues. Each week, the team pieced together their individual results to create a larger picture of Delaware’s oyster industry, including relevant stakeholders, disease history, and future projections. The report can be found on the Center for Experimental and Applied Economics website: https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/departments/applied-economics-and-statistics/affiliated-centers/ceae/ceae-research/oyster-research/.