Biography
I am an applied economist studying the interaction between policy, agriculture, and the environment. My research focuses on how market-based and public agricultural policy in the United States and the Brazilian Amazon influence farmer behavior. I use this lens to study indirect policy effects on the environment, including deforestation, GHG emissions, and water quality. I approach these questions by combining econometric methods, big data, extensive field work, and collaboration with interdisciplinary partners in the US and Brazil.
Research Interests
- Agricultural economics
- Environmental economics
- Policy impacts
- Water quality
- Deforestation
Education
- Ph.D. Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2020
- Msc. Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2016
- BS Economics and Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014
Additional Campus Affiliations
Gardner Agricultural Policy Fellow, Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Recent Publications
Skidmore, M. E., Sims, K. M., & Gibbs, H. K. (2023). Agricultural intensification and childhood cancer in Brazil. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(45), Article e2306003120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2306003120
Skidmore, M., Andarge, T., & Foltz, J. (2023). Effectiveness of local regulations on nonpoint source pollution: Evidence from Wisconsin dairy farms. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 105(5), 1333-1364. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12388
Skidmore, M. E. (2023). Outsourcing the dry season: Cattle ranchers' responses to weather shocks in the Brazilian Amazon. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 105(2), 409-433. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12333
Skidmore, M. E., Sims, K. M., Rausch, L. L., & Gibbs, H. K. (2022). Sustainable intensification in the Brazilian cattle industry: The role for reduced slaughter age. Environmental Research Letters, 17(6), Article 064026. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac6f70
Moffette, F., Skidmore, M., & Gibbs, H. K. (2021). Environmental policies that shape productivity: Evidence from cattle ranching in the Amazon. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 109, Article 102490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102490