Bio
I am a PhD Candidate in Environmental, Urban, and Applied Microeconomics at Michigan State University.
My research focuses on how mandatory flood risk disclosure laws for rental properties affect rental housing markets, rent prices, and sorting patterns.
My dissertation examines these dynamics in two U.S. states, Indiana and Texas, leveraging proprietary housing data, geospatial risk information, and natural experiments around policy implementation.
More broadly, I am interested in the growing reliance on rental housing, climate adaptation, and the role of real estate markets in shaping household exposure to natural hazards. My work explores how people respond to new information, the extent to which they value it, and how state and federal policies can both support adaptation and potentially reinforce existing inequities.
Curriculum Vitae (Updated September 2025)
Email: margetis@msu.edu
Phone: +1-330-631-5856
Office: Berkey 5J, 509 E Circle Dr, East Lansing, MI 48824 (Economics)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iris-margetis-492146149/
Publications
(with Anna Maria Santiago)
Published in MDPI Healthcare
Healthcare, 13(2), 194 (2025)
Abstract (click to expand): Background/Objectives: Although the extant literature has recognized the importance of neighborhood contexts for adolescent alcohol and tobacco use, less is known about the effects of exposure to neighborhood violence on the prevalence and timing of initiation across gender and race/ethnic groups. Methods: This secondary analysis of administrative and survey data from a natural experiment in Denver examines the influence of neighborhood contexts on the health and well-being of 1100 Latino/a and African American adolescents. Cox Proportional Hazard models were used to (1) estimate the effects of exposure to neighborhood violence on the prevalence and timing of adolescent alcohol and tobacco use initiation; (2) examine gender and race/ethnic variations in alcohol and tobacco use initiation after controlling for adolescent, caregiver, household, and other neighborhood characteristics; and (3) test for threshold effects. Results: Prevalence rates among all adolescents were 12.9% for alcohol use initiation and 13.7% for tobacco use initiation but were 14.6% and 17.3%, respectively, among adolescents exposed to higher levels of neighborhood violence. The average age of initiation was 16.1 and 15.6 years for alcohol and tobacco use, respectively, but 2–8 months earlier for adolescents exposed to higher levels of neighborhood violence. Heightened exposure to neighborhood violence increased the hazards of alcohol use initiation by 32% for all adolescents and 38% for adolescent males. The hazards of tobacco use initiation were 1.3 to 1.5 times higher for male, Latino/a, and African American adolescents. Exposure to neighborhood violence suggests threshold effects of diminishing returns on adolescent tobacco use initiation. Conclusions: Findings underscore the need to examine gender and race/ethnic group differences in adolescent alcohol and tobacco initiation, the multiple pathways to such use, and interventions aimed at reducing neighborhood violence.
Published in OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Kent State University, 2020
Abstract (click to expand): Electronic government, also known as e-government, refers to the use of information technology (IT) to advance the competence, effectiveness, intelligibility, and accountability of public governments (Kraemer and King 2006). Moreover, effective and efficient e-Gov is nowadays viewed as a necessity created by the increased and widespread use of ICT in the private sector. However, access to the internet and/or the technological infrastructure that e-government deployment warrants does not necessarily guarantee that the various governments will be willing to adopt e-government; and this is precisely what this thesis will seek to investigate. That is, the aim of this thesis is to identify the political, economic, and cultural determinants which seem to be important for the decision of a government to adopt e-government services. In doing so, a cross-national empirical study using Entity and Time Fixed Effects will be conducted, consisting of 215 country observations and covering the time period from 2003 to 2018. We argue that the size of a nation's shadow economy, as well as its levels of economic development, political instability, political polarization, corruption, connectivity, and levels of trust that a country's citizenry holds in its government, along with a nation's age demographics and political authority pattern, all play a significant role in a government's decision to adopt and invest in the deployment and development of e-government services. It is found that the factors that appear to promote adoption are a smaller shadow economy, greater democracy, less political polarization, greater trust in government, younger population and greater connectivity. Therefore, our results suggest that political reforms that would promote government transparency, more democratic institutions, as well as lower polarization, would lead to more e-government adoption. The main innovations of this thesis are that it is the only study, to the best of our knowledge, that seeks to understand what are the factors that drive governments to decide to implement e-government services, in contrast with the literature that has focused almost entirely on citizens' incentives for adoption, and in that we more comprehensively examined potential motivators by conducting a cross-national empirical study, which in turn contributed in filling a significant gap in the existing literature, granted that empirical studies were absent.
Working Papers
The Effects of a Mandatory Flood Risk Disclosure Law on Rent Prices and Residential Sorting in Texas
First Chapter of my Dissertation
Job Market Paper, 2025
Abstract (click to expand): Seven U.S. states have enacted mandatory flood risk disclosure laws requiring landlords to inform prospective tenants when properties lie within high-risk flood zones. These policies aim to improve market efficiency and protect vulnerable renters by correcting information asymmetries that obscure environmental risk. This paper provides the first empirical evaluation of such a law in the rental housing market, focusing on Texas's statewide disclosure mandate, which took effect on January 1, 2022. The law requires landlords to disclose (i) whether a property is located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain and (ii) whether it has flooded in the past five years. Leveraging a novel dataset linking over 350,000 geocoded rental listings (2019-2024) to detailed flood hazard maps and neighborhood demographics, I examine how rents and local sociodemographic composition changed after the law took effect. Across all specifications, the law did not reprice flood risk into rents, but complementary analyses reveal systematic demographic shifts: high-risk areas saw slower growth in educational attainment and renter concentration at the ZIP level and became older, less Hispanic, and less residentially stable at the county level. These patterns suggest that the law reshaped who bears flood risk rather than how it is priced, concentrating exposure among households with fewer resources to adapt or relocate and potentially reinforcing the very inequities it was intended to reduce.
Renting in the Floodplain: Flood Risk Disclosure and Rental Prices in Allen County, Indiana
Second Chapter of my Dissertation
Dissertation, 2025
Abstract (click to expand): In an attempt to increase salience on natural hazard risks, seven states in the United States have passed mandatory flood risk disclosure laws for rental properties. This paper examines such a law, which was passed statewide in Indiana in 2009. Using proprietary data on rent prices in Allen County, Indiana from 2005 to 2011, and combining it with FEMA’s 2009 floodplain maps, I estimate a difference-in-differences model to analyze pricing effects for units located inside versus outside Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs). I find that, on average, rent prices increased by 1.9% for properties located within an SFHA after the ordinance was passed, with the largest increase occurring in 2009 (2.6%). Further, for units with a greater than 50% probability of being in a high-risk flood zone, rents increased by as much as $21. Single-family rentals in these zones saw rent spikes of 4.6% and 4.5% in 2009 and 2010, respectively, equivalent to approximately $29. Non-single-family rentals in moderately high-risk areas (10–20%) experienced a rent decrease of about $16.50. While these results appear contrary to economic theory, where one might expect disclosed flood risk to reduce demand and lower prices, the lack of enforcement and possible information asymmetry may contribute to the observed increases. Due to data granularity limitations, these findings should be interpreted as suggestive rather than causal.
Exacting a Pound of Flesh: Neighborhood Environments and Childhood Obesity
(with Anna Maria Santiago)
Draft available upon request
Submission-Ready Draft
Abstract (click to expand): Using data from a natural experiment in Denver for approximately 760 low-income Latino and African American children, this study examines the relationships between neighborhood environmental characteristics and the prevalence and onset of childhood food insecurity and obesity. Probit estimation was used to examine the effects of neighborhood environments on the childhood diagnosis of obesity and the average marginal effects were also obtained for all specifications. Approximately half of our sample children experienced food insecurity; 1 in 20 were diagnosed as obese. Findings suggest a strong link between food insecurity and the diagnosis of obesity during childhood, particularly for Latino children. The implications of these findings for neighborhood-based health initiatives are discussed.
Individual, Family and Neighborhood Antecedents of Childhood Homelessness for Low-Income Latino and African American Youth in the United States: The Case of Denver
(with Anna Maria Santiago)
Draft available upon request
Submission-Ready Draft
Abstract (click to expand): Each year, an estimated 1.3 to 1.7 million children and youth in the United States experience homelessness. Negative outcomes associated with these episodes of homelessness include exposure to violence, substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, poor mental health, and poor educational outcomes. To date, however, relatively little is known about the factors preceding such episodes since most of the extant literature has focused on nonrandom samples of youth after they are out on the streets. Using data from the Denver Child Study for 712 low-income Latino and African American children and youth between the ages of 2 and 18, we examine the influence of individual, family, and neighborhood factors on homelessness during childhood. The study addresses the following questions: (1) What are the risk and protective factors associated with episodes of homelessness during childhood?; and (2) Are there gender and ethnic differences in both exposure as well as the antecedents of homelessness? Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) was used to estimate the timing of exposure, as well as to test the robustness of results across ethnicity and gender. Study findings suggest that 8% of the children and youth in the study had experienced one or more episodes of homelessness after moving into subsidized housing; the average age at time of the first episode was at 8.4 years old. However, the prevalence of homelessness was higher for African American (10%) than Latino (7%) youth. For both Latino and African American youth, episodes of homelessness were delayed for youth residing with more affluent families, in households that were headed by older caregivers, or for children experiencing moves that are more frequent. The risk of experiencing homelessness was also delayed for youth who resided in neighborhoods with higher fractions of residents who had greater occupational prestige and, surprisingly higher levels of social vulnerability. Other protective factors included having a high school diploma and residing in larger families for Latino youth. For African American youth, neighborhood protective factors included living in neighborhoods with higher fractions of housing units built before 1940, as well as higher fractions of foreign-born residents. Unexpectedly, delays in episodes of homelessness also occurred for African American youth residing in neighborhoods with more problems or social disorder. Lastly, episodes of homelessness occurred later for African American children living in neighborhoods with higher social capital.
Work in Progress
Markets for Wetlands: Distributional Impacts and Equity Concerns under Different WOTUS Definitions
(with Sam Tucker)
The Influence of Residential Instability, Housing and Neighborhood Quality on Mitigating Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) during Adolescence
(with Anna Maria Santiago)
Research
My research experience spans topics in environmental and development economics, neighborhood dynamics, poverty, and forced migration. Across these roles, I have supported faculty and supervisors alike through data cleaning, analysis, and visualization of results for presentations and publications using Stata, R, and ArcGIS Pro, often working with large administrative datasets and spatial data.
Research Experience
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Research Assistant, Dr. Anna Maria Santiago, Michigan State University, 2022–present
Conduct data analysis and spatial modeling on poverty, neighborhood effects, and low-income homeownership using Stata, R, and ArcGIS Pro. Contributed to one published article and several co-authored manuscripts under review, while also gaining experience with large-scale national housing datasets.
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Research Assistant, Dr. Prabhat Barnwal, Michigan State University, Summer 2022
Supported projects in development and environmental economics. Cleaned and analyzed large-scale administrative datasets (10M+ observations) and developed efficient, reproducible workflows in Stata and R.
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Intern, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Middle East North Africa (MENA) Bureau, Geneva, Switzerland, Spring 2017
Analyzed budgetary data for UNHCR’s North Africa operations (2013–2017). Managed and responded to individual queries from displaced individuals in the MENA region and developed a proposal to streamline UNHCR’s response process.
Teaching
Teaching is one of the most meaningful parts of my academic life. I love helping students engage with complex ideas, develop confidence in their own thinking, and see the relevance of economics in the world around them.
Certificate in College Teaching
- Completed interdisciplinary pedagogy training through MSU’s Graduate School program.
- Designed and implemented a mentored teaching project (FAST Fellowship) exploring how cooperative learning and generative AI can strengthen analytical reasoning in economics education.
- Developed a student-centered, evidence-based teaching philosophy that emphasizes inclusivity, relatability, and critical thinking.
Teaching Experience
- Teaching Assistant, EC 302: Intermediate Microeconomics, Michigan State University, Spring 2021
- Teaching Assistant / Guest Lecturer, EC 202: Introduction to Macroeconomics, Michigan State University, Fall 2021
- Teaching Assistant, EC 301: Intermediate Microeconomics, Michigan State University, 2019–2020 (2 semesters)
Teaching Interests
Student Support Roles
- Tutor, Varsity Tutors, 2020–2022
- Lead Learning Assistant, TRIO Student Support Services, Kent State University, 2018–2020
- Learning Assistant, TRIO Student Support Services, Kent State University, 2016
Personal
I was born in the United States and grew up in Greece, which sparked my love for cultures, languages, and stories early on. I’m an avid reader and traveler, and I’m happiest when exploring new places, meeting new people, and learning how others live and think. I’m also a huge movie fan and quite possibly the biggest foodie you’ll ever meet — I truly believe you can’t understand a place without understanding its food culture.
I love swimming, and being by the water brings me the deepest sense of peace. Whether it’s the sea, a lake, or a quiet river, I always feel most at home near the water.
Website: I am grateful to Gautam Rao for sharing the code that powers this website. You can find it at his GitHub repository.
