Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science

Meri Davlasheridze

Associate Professor
Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science

E-mail: davlashm@tamu.edu

Phone: +1 (409) 741.4338

Fax: +1 (409) 740.4429

Ocean and Coastal Studies Bldg., Office 362

Google Scholars Page

Learn more about Meri Davlasheridze

Get To Know Meri Davlasheridze

What in your life drew you to your current field of study?

As an individual and professional I had always had a strong desire to contribute to emerging global issues. Climate change and its catastrophic consequences were an obvious choice given my general interest in human-environment interaction. It was my passion for global commons that drew me to study the socioeconomic consequences of catastrophes such as hurricanes, floods and surge events and how they could shape our lives and economies. My interest in the topic was reaffirmed after I had my daughter born amidst the hurricane Harvey. This personal experience made me realize the challenges we as humans face at many fronts when confronted by catastrophic natural events.

What do you hope your students gain from studying or working with you?

There is no simple answer for problems that arise at the nexus of human and natural systems. Subsequently, it is impossible to fit such a complex relationship in a single and even so, a simple model. Nonetheless, models are important and provide a defensible means for decision making related to resource use and management.

What are you passionate about in your personal life?

I am passionate about my family and friends, and love spending quality time with them. I love playing music and singing. I also enjoy good cinema and reading books.

Publications

Goetz, S. J., Davlasheridze, M., & Han, Y. (2014). County-Level Determinants of Mental Health, 2002–2008. Social Indicators Research, 1-14. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0792-6

Fan, Q. and Davlasheridze, M. (2016). Flood Risk, Flood Mitigation, and Location Choice: Evaluating the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System. Risk Analysis. doi: 10.1111/risa.12505

Goetz, S. J., & Davlasheridze, M. (2016). State-Level Cooperative Extension Spending and Farmer Exits. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, ppw007. doi: 10.1093/aepp/ppw007

Davlasheridze, M, Fisher-Vanden, K and Klaiber, HA. (2017). “The effects of adaptation measures on hurricane induced property losses: Which FEMA investments have the highest returns?” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 81: 93-114. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.09.005

Davlasheridze, M. and Q. Fan. 2017. “Household Adjustments to Hurricane Katrina.” The Review to Regional Studies 47(1): 93-112.

Davlasheridze, M. and P.C. Geylani. 2017. “Small Business Vulnerability to Floods and the Effects of Disaster Loans.” Small Business Economics 49(4): 1-24. DOI: 10.1007/s11187-017-9859-5

Davlasheridze, M., Goetz, S. J., & Han, Y. “Mental Health and Economic Growth in U.S. Counties.” The Review to Regional Studies. (Forthcoming).

Davlasheridze, M. and Q. Miao. “Flood Insurance and Federal Disaster Aid.” Land Economics. (Forthcoming)

Presentations

November 2016: Davlasheridze, M. and Q. Miao. “Does Federal Disaster Assistance Affect Private Protection Behavior: An Empirical Analysis of Household Purchase of Flood Insurance.” Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), Annual Meeting, Washington DC.

August, 2016: Davlasheridze, M.* and Q. Miao. “Does Federal Disaster Assistance Affect Private Protection Behavior: An Empirical Analysis of Household Purchase of Flood Insurance.” Selected Paper Presentation. Camp Resources XXIII Workshop. The Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy, North Caroline State University. Wrightsville Beach, NC.

November, 2015: Davlasheridze, M.* and P.C. Geylani. “The Effects of SBA Disaster Loans on Small Business Survival.” Panel Paper. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), Annual Meeting, Miami, FL.

November, 2014: Davlasheridze, M., K. Fisher-Vanden and A.H. Klaiber, “The effects of adaptation measures on hurricane induced property losses.” Panel Paper. Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM.

August, 2014: Fan, Q., and M. Davlasheridze. “Evaluating Cost-Effectiveness of Flood Mitigation Policies”. Selected Paper Presentation. Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

June 2014: Fan, Q., and M. Davlasheridze. “Evaluating Cost-Effectiveness of Flood Mitigation Policies”. Contributed Sessions Paper Presentation. The World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists (WCERE), Istanbul, Turkey.

Grants and Fellowships

January 2017 - December 2018: Texas General Land Office; Co-PI. “Evaluating the Effects of a Coastal Spine: National-Level Economic ripples and Effects on Flood Insurance”. ($1,594,189.00– Total Award). PI: Wesley Highfield.

March 2017 - November 2017: Texas General Land Office; Co-PI. “Identifying the future costs of floods in the Houston-Galveston Area." ($168,627.00 – Total Award). PI: Wesley Highfield.

September 2015 - September 2020: The National Science Foundation’s PIRE (Programs in International Research and Education); Co-PI. “Coastal Flood Risk Reduction Program: Integrated, multi-scale approaches for understanding how to reduce vulnerability to damaging events”. The National Science Foundation’s PIRE (Programs in International Research and Education). ($3.6M – Total Award). PI: Samuel Brody.

May 2013 - August 2015: University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB); Co-PI. Surge Protection for the Galveston Bay Region – Advancing the Ike Dike Concept to Protect the University of Texas Medical Branch and Its Associated communities. ($250,000 – Total Award). PI: William Merrell.