Michael Kotrous

Michael is a PhD student in the Department of Economics at the University of Georgia. He is also an assistant with the James C. Bonbright Center for the Study of Regulation at the University of Georgia.

• BA, Economics and Journalism–Advertising, Creighton University, 2015

• Broadband Economics, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Technology & Innovation

Working Papers:

• “The FCC’s High-Cost Programs, Rural Broadband Penetration & Rural Broadband Service Quality” with Brent Skorup, December 2020 (presented at TPRC48: The 48th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy)
• “Production By Age and Sex: 2019 Estimates for the United States” with James Broughel, in progress

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

• “Broadband Speeds in Fibered US Markets: An Empirical Analysis” with James Bailey, 2021, Journal of Information Policy 11(2021): 478-522.
• “The Benefits of Coronavirus Suppression: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Response to the First Wave of COVID-19 in the United States” with James Broughel, 2021, PLOS ONE 16(6): e0252729.

Policy Papers:

• “Narrowing the Rural Digital Divide with Consumer Vouchers” with Brent Skorup, Mercatus Center Policy Brief, October 2020
• “Rural Broadband Deployment in Florida: Recommendations for Reform” with Brent Skorup, The Journal of the James Madison Institute 64, Fall 2021 

Datasets/Code:

• form477-panels, assemble a panel of FCC Form 477 U.S. fixed broadband and Census/ACS demographic data from Dec. 2014 – Dec. 2019
• daedalus, convert National Transportation Safety Board eADMS tables on aviation accidents to research-friendly formats

• tfr-data, web scraping tool for collecting FAA Temporary Flight Restrictions data

• Assistant, James C. Bonbright Center for the Study of Regulation at the University of Georgia, 2021–present
• Bastiat Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, 2021–2022
• Werner-Robertson Research Fellow, Institute for Economic Inquiry, Creighton University, 2014–2015
• Winner, Carl Menger Essay Contest, Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, 2015
• Omicron Delta Epsilon, Creighton University, 2015