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Kevin Duncan

Professor of Economics

Kevin Duncan
Contact Info
Office:
Hasan School of Business (HSB) 252

Bio

Kevin Duncan, Ph. D. is a Professor of Economics at Colorado State University-Pueblo and has been a visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley. He teaches business and regional economics in the Hasan School of Business. Duncan has conducted applied research for the local chamber of commerce, the economic development corporation, businesses, non-profits, various state and local policy proposals, and labor unions. He has also examined the effect of prevailing wage laws on construction costs and productivity, construction worker poverty and reliance on public assistance, minority employment in the construction industry, and the economic impact of the wage policy. Duncan’s research has been used in 20 states to inform construction labor market policy. His research on prevailing wage laws has appeared in leading national and international peer-reviewed academic journals such as Construction Management and Economics (University of Reading, UK), Industrial and Labor Relations Review (Cornell University), and Industrial Relations (UC Berkeley). He received his Ph. D. in Economics from the University of Utah and his BA in Economics from the University of California, Riverside.

Duncan’s research methods include econometrics (STATA), economic impact analysis (IMPLAN and RIMS), and conjoint analysis (conjoint analysis provided by 1000minds).

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

“What Does the Research Tell Us about Prevailing Wage Laws” (with Russell Ormiston), Labor Studies Journal, 2018, DOI:10.1177/0160449X18766398.

“Prevailing Wages, Side-By-Side Bids, and School Construction Costs,” Labor Studies Journal, 2018, DOI:10.1177/0160449X17747396.

“The Release of Davis-Bacon Certified Payroll Records, Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act, and the Question of Competitive Harm to Contractors” (with Jeff Waddoups), Labor Law Journal (Fall 2016).

“Do Federal Davis-Bacon and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Regulations Affect Aggressive Bidding? Evidence from Highway Resurfacing Procurement Auctions.” Journal of Public Procurement, Issue 3, 2015.

“The Effect of Federal Davis-Bacon and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Regulations on Highway Maintenance Costs.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 68, No. 1, January 2015.

“Prevailing Wage Regulations and School Construction Costs in British Columbia” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus). Industrial Relations, Vol. 53, No. 4 (October 2014).

“Using the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition Method to Measure the Racial Bias in Achievement Tests” (with Jon Sandy), Review of Black Political Economy, Vol. 40, No. 2, 2013.

“Measuring Multiple Instructional Interventions” (with Karen Fowler), Business Education Innovation, Vol. 4, No. 2, December 2012.

“Using Stochastic Frontier Regression to Estimate the Construction Cost Inefficiency of Prevailing Wage Laws” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus), Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 19, No. 3, 2012

“Examining the Achievement Test Score Gap between Urban and Suburban Students” (with Jon Sandy), Education Economics, Vol. 18, No. 3, 2010.

“The Effects of Prevailing Wage Regulations on Construction Efficiency in British Columbia” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus), International Journal of Construction Education and Research, Vol5, No. 1, 2009.

“Explaining the Performance Gap between Public and Private School Students” (with Jon Sandy) Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2007.

“Prevailing Wage Legislation and Public School Construction Efficiency: A Stochastic Frontier Approach” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus). Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 24, June 2006.

“Merit Pay, COLAs, and the Return to Faculty Seniority” (with Mark Prus). Academy of Education Leadership Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2005.

“Gender Differences in Faculty Pay and Faculty Salary Compression” (with K. Burke, L. Krall and D. Spencer), The Social Science Journal, Vol. 42, No. 3, 2005.

“Faculty Productivity, Seniority and Salary Compression” (with Joel Maxcy, Lisi Krall and Mark Prus), Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Spring 2004).

“Job Search Strategies and Outcomes for Academic Economists: A Middle-Market View” (with Dirk Yandell and Kokila Doshi), Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 26, No. 3 (summer 2000).

“Incentives and the Work Decisions of Welfare Recipients,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 59, No. 3 (July 2000).

“Mixing Welfare and Work: Evidence from the PSID, 1980-1987.” (With Richard Chapman and Jerry Gray), Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 24, No. 1 (winter 1998).

“Gender Differences in the Relation between Education and Continued Earnings Growth On-The-Job,” American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Vol. 55, No. 4 (October 1996).

“Does Private Education Increase Earnings?” (with Jon Sandy), Eastern Economic Journal, Vol. 22, No. 3 (summer 1996).

“Racial Disparity in Earnings and Earnings Growth: The Case of Young Men,” Social Science Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3 (July 1994).

“Marital Status, Children and Women’s Labor Market Choices” (with Mark Prus and Jonathan Sandy), Journal of Socio-Economics, Vol. 22, No. 3 (Fall 1993).

“Starting Wages of Women in Female and Male Occupations: A Test of the Human
Capital Theory of Occupational Sex Segregation” (with Mark Prus), Social Science Journal, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Index Issue 1992).

“Atrophy Rates for Intermittent Employment for Married and Never-Married Women: A Test of the Human Capital Theory of Occupational Sex Segregation” (with Mark Prus), Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring 1992).

“The Vintage Schooling Hypothesis and Racial Differences in Earnings and On-The-Job Training: A Longitudinal Analysis,” The Review of Black Political
Economy, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Winter 1992)


Book Chapter:

“Prevailing Wage Laws and Construction Costs: Evidence from British Columbia’s Skills Development and Fair Wage Policy” (with Mark Prus) in The Economics of Prevailing Wage Laws, Azari-Rad, Hamid, Philips, Peter and Prus, Mark, eds. (Aldershot, G.B.: Ashgate, scheduled March 2005). 

Research Monographs:

“Economic, Fiscal and Social Impacts of Prevailing Wage in San Jose, California.” Contributor, Economic Policy Brief, January 2011.

“Moving LA Forward: Promoting Construction Careers at Metro.” Contributor. LAANE: A New Economy for All, January 2011.

“The Union Threat Effect in Construction: An Illustration with Data from Plumber and Pipefitter Union Locals” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus), Economics Discussion Papers, No. 0804, Department of Economics, University of Otago, New Zealand, 2008.

“Fair Wage Laws and Construction Costs in British Columbia” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus) Discussion Paper 01.11, Department of Economics, University of Western Australia, winter, 2001. 

Refereed Proceedings:

“Prevailing Wage Laws, Productivity and Construction Efficiency” (with Peter Philips and Mark Prus) CME25 Conference. Proceedings of the Inaugural Construction Management and Economics, “Past, Present, and Future” Conference. Edited by Will Hughes. 2008, pp 1411-1418. ISBN 978-0-415-46059-0 (3 vols.).

“Whither the Gap: An Examination of Racial Earnings Disparity” (with Jon Sandy). Proceedings of the Western Decision Science Institute, (April 2000) pp. 1334-1336.

Practitioner Journals:

“The Economic Benefits of Prevailing Wage Laws.” Prevailing Times, Spring 2012.

Research for Organizations:

“The Net Economic Impacts of California’s Major Climate Programs in the Inland Empire” (with B. Jones, E. Elkind, and M. Hanson). Submitted to the Center for Labor Research and Education, University of California, Berkeley and to Next 10, August 3, 2017.

“Building America with Prevailing Wage: The Davis-Bacon Act Delivers Good, Middle-Class Jobs, a Strong Economy, and the Best Value for U.S. Tax Payers” (with Peter Philips and Frank Manzo). Submitted to the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, April 14, 2017.

“The Economic, Fiscal, and Social Effects of Ohio’s Prevailing Wage Law” (with Frank Manzo). Submitted to Affiliated Construction Trades of Ohio, April 10, 2017.

“Prevailing Wage Laws: What Do We Know?” (with Russell Ormiston). Submitted to the Institute for Construction Economic Research, March 14, 2017.

“The Economic Impact of Proposition 39: The California Clean Energy Jobs Act” (with Carol Zabin). A report by the UC Berkeley Don Vial Center on the Green Economy. Submitted to Sarah White, Deputy Director of Equity, Climate, and Jobs, California Workforce Development Board, State of California, February, 2, 201.

“The Economic Impacts of California’s Major Climate Programs on the San Joaquin Valley” (with Betony Jones). A report by the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law and UC Berkeley Don Vial Center on the Green Economy, January 19, 2017.

“The Economic, Fiscal, and Social Effects of Kentucky’s Prevailing Wage Law” (with Frank Manzo). Submitted to the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council, December 16, 2016.

“The Impact of Prevailing Wage Laws on Military Veterans: An Economic and Labor Market Analysis.” (with Frank Manzo and Robert Bruno). Submitted to VoteVets. org, May 10, 2016.

“The Impact of Prevailing Wage Laws on Military Veterans in Wisconsin: An Economic and Labor Market Analysis.” (with Frank Manzo and Robert Bruno). October 5, 2016.

“The Impact of Prevailing Wage Laws on Military Veterans in Minnesota: Applied Policy Brief.” (with Frank Manzo and Robert Bruno). October 5, 2016.

“The Wage Differential Method: Promising Construction Costs Savings with the Repeal or Weakening of Prevailing Wage Laws that Cannot be Delivered.” Submitted to the National Association for Fair Contracting. September 19, 2016.

“A Review of the Research on Prevailing Wage Regulations, School Construction Costs, and Construction Worker Training, Safety, and Reliance on Public Assistance,” Submitted Billy Powell, Business Manager, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 684, August 10, 2016.

“Prevailing Wage Requirements, Contractor Bid Behavior, and School Construction Costs in Maryland: Evidence from Side-By-Side Bids.” Submitted to Kimberly Glassman, Director, Foundation for Fair Contracting and David Lever, Executive Director, Public School Construction, May 4, 2016.

“The Impacts of New Mexico House Bills 110 & 200,” (With Alex Lanstsberg and Frank Manzo), Economic Policy Brief, January 2016.

“Towards the High Road in the New Hampshire Construction Industry: The Impact o f a State Prevailing Wage Law,” (with S. Herzenberg, A. Lantsberg, and F. Manzo. Keystone Research Center, January 20, 2016.

“The Economic, Fiscal, and Social Impacts of State Prevailing Wage Laws: Choosing Between the High Road and the Low Road in the Construction Industry” (with Alex Lantsberg and Frank Manzo). Submitted to the National Alliance for Fair Contracting, November 20, 2015.

“Review of “Calculating the Prevailing Wage in West Virginia” by Work Force West Virginia”. Report submitted to Lesly Messina, Director of Research, Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation, West Virginia, October 12, 2015.

“Research Outline for the Economic Impact of Amendment 3: 40% Local Hire on Davidson County Public Construction Projects.” Submitted to Kevin Reilly, International Representative, Laborer’s International Union of North America, July 7, 2105.

“The Cost of Repealing Michigan’s Prevailing Wage Policy: Impacts on Total Construction Costs and Economic Activity” (with Alex Lantsberg and Frank Manzo IV). Submitted to Smart Cities Prevail, Midwest Economic Policy Institute, and Illinois Economic Policy Institute June 15, 2015.

“How Weakening Wisconsin’s Prevailing Wage Policy Would Affect Public Construction Costs and Economic Activity” (with Alex Lantsberg). Submitted to Smart Cities Prevail, May 22, 2015. 

“An Evaluation of the Fiscal Note-Revised for the Component of the Capital Bill-Prevailing Wages.” Submitted to the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, House of Representatives, State of Vermont, March 26, 2015.

“Limitations with the use of Occupational Employment Statistics in the Determination of Prevailing Wages in Vermont.” Submitted to the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, House of Representatives, State of Vermont, March 25, 2015.

“Problems with using Occupational Employment Statistics in the Determination of Prevailing Wage Rates.” Submitted to Lesly Messina, Research Director, Affiliated Construction Trades, West Virginia, March 18, 2015.

“A Quantitative Bid Scoring Method for the City of Lincoln, Nebraska.” Submitted to Steve Simpson, President, Lincoln Building Trades, Lincoln Nebraska, March 16, 2015. 

“Building the Golden State: The Economic Impacts of California’s Prevailing Wage Policy.” (with Alex Lantsberg). Project completed for SmartCitiesPrevail.org, March 2015. 

“An Analysis of House Bill 1073: Proposed Legislation to Alter Prevailing Wages in the State of Washington.” Submitted to Billy R. Wallace, Jr., Political & Legislative Director, Washington & Northern Idaho District Council of Laborers, February 18, 2015.

“Survey of the Research on Changes in Prevailing Wage Rates and Total Construction Costs: Implications for the Proposed Capital Bill.” Submitted to the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions, House of Representatives, State of Vermont, February 16, 2015

“Does the Release of Davis-Bacon Certified Payrolls Cause Competitive Harm to Contractors?” (with Jeff Waddoups). Submitted to Torres Consulting and Law Group, August 31, 2014.

“Economic Impact Study of Colorado State University-Pueblo Sports on the Economy of Pueblo County” (with Aspen Fryberger, undergrad student, and Michael Wakefield). Submitted to Jo Folda, Athletic Director, CSU-Pueblo April 9, 2014.

“Economic Impact of the Proposed CSU-Pueblo Budget Cuts for Fiscal Year 2015 on the Pueblo County Economy.” Submitted to CSU-Pueblo Faculty Senate Presidents Susan Calhoun-Stuber and Margie Massey, December 2013.

“The Economic Impact of Local Nonprofits on the Pueblo County Economy” (with three undergraduate students). Submitted to Doris Kester, Executive Director, Southern Colorado Community Foundation, March 2012. 

“Construction Issues Related to Pueblo’s New Judicial Building Project: Analysis of Houston Construction Bids and the Economic Impact of Buying and Hiring Local.” Submitted to Jeff Chostner, Pueblo County Commissioner, District 3 and Neal Hall, Business Manager, Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council, November 2011.

“An Analysis of Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Requirements: Evidence from Highway Resurfacing Projects in Colorado.” Submitted to Gustaf Bieber, Engineering Estimates and Market Analysis Unit of Contracts and Marketing Branch, Colorado Department of Transportation and State Representative John Soper, Colorado District 34, June 2011.

“An Illustration of the Impact on the Santa Clara County Economy of Repealing the Prevailing Wage Policy of the City of San Jose.” Submitted to Working Partnerships, USA, January 2011.

“An Economic Impact Study and Industry Cluster Analysis: Bio-Pharma’s Impact on California’s Local and State Economies.” With Peter Philips. Submitted to the California Bio-Pharma Labor Management Association, October 2010.

“Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Impact on the Local and State Economies.” Submitted to the Governing Board, Colorado State University System, July 2010.

“Economic Consequences of Building the Black Hills Energy Power Plant in Pueblo County with a Project Labor Agreement.” Submitted to the Pueblo
City Council, June 2010.

“Review of RLB| Rider Levett Bucknall Report. Project Labor Agreements- Denver Update. For the Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.”
Review requested by and submitted to U.S. Congressman Ed Perlmutter, 7th District and Neal Hall, Business Manager, Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council Colorado, May, 2010. 

“An Illustration of the Economic Impact of Amendment 61 on the Pueblo and El Paso County Economies.” Submitted to Action 22, April 2010.

“A Conjoint Analysis of the CSU-Pueblo MBA Program: Student Rankings of AACSB Accreditation, Tuition and other Selected Program Characteristics” (with nine MBA students). Submitted to Sue Hanks, Interim Dean and Lia Sisson, MBA Director, Hasan School of Business, CSU-Pueblo, April 2010.

“A Tuition Sensitivity Study for CSU-Pueblo: Estimates from Regression and Conjoint Analysis” (with 5 MBA students). Submitted to VPs of Finance and Administration, Enrollment Management, and Director of Finance, CSU-Pueblo, April, 2010.

“The Economic Impact of a Thirty Percent Local Hire Requirement for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Construction Projects.” Submitted to Jackie Cornejo, Research and Policy Analyst, LAANE (LA A New Economy for Everyone), February, 2010.

“The Cost of Out-of-State Construction Workers” (with Peter Philips), Submitted to the Hawaii House Finance Committee, Hawaii State Legislature, in support of HB 2736, Relating to Public Procurement. Submitted February 2010.

“The Economic Impact of the Installation and Operation of Wind Energy Towers On the Huerfano County Economy” (with undergraduate Z. Singh). Submitted
to John Galusha, County Administrator, Huerfano County, Colorado, January, 2010.

“The Economic Impact of CSU-Pueblo International Students on the Local Economy” (with 4 undergraduate students). Submitted to Heidi Laino, Assistant
Director and NSE Coordinator, Center of International Studies, January, 2010.

“Pueblo Motor Sports Park Economic Impact” (with CSU-Pueblo undergraduates) submitted to Chuck Wingfield, Owner, December 2005 (updated 2006).

“Economic Impact of Colorado State Fair Off-Season Events” (with Jay Goodman). Submitted to the Colorado State Fair Authority, December 2004.

“Economic Impact of Colorado State University-Pueblo on Pueblo’s Economy” (with Jay Goodman). Presented to Ronald Applbaum, President, CSU-P, November 2004.

“Colorado State Fair Economic Impact Study” (with Jay Goodman), submitted to the Colorado State Fair Authority, December 2003. 

“The Economic Impact of Local Nonprofits on the Pueblo Economy” (with J. Goodman), Presented to the Pueblo County Board of Commissioners and to the Pueblo City Council, March 2003.

“Opportunity for Expansion in Local Real Estate” (supervised undergraduate course project) Submitted to Tom Healy, Jones Healy Real Estate, fall 2003.

“Trade Area Analysis of Pueblo, CO”. Update presented to the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, March, 2001. Original presented June, 1997 (co-authored with USC undergraduate students). Summarized in the Pueblo Chieftain, May 29, 2002.

“An Assessment of Pueblo’s Ability to Attract Primary Employers” (with Dave Seley and Melanie Cecil, USC MBA students). Submitted to the 2010 Commission of Pueblo, Colorado, May 2000.

“The Economic Impact of the University of Southern Colorado on the Pueblo Economy” (with Melanie Cecil, MBA student). Presented to the Provost, USC, January, 1999.

“Area Wage Survey”. Presented to Andrew Cornelius, Director of Personnel, Pueblo Bank and Trust, July, 1998.

“Tourist Conversion Analysis for Pueblo, CO”. Presented to the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, August, 1997 (with Professor Charles Zeis and Jason Trussler, MBA student).

“An Analysis of the Hotel and Lodging Industry in Pueblo, CO”. Presented to Todd Pasquin of Southgate Properties in June, 1997 (with Carmenita Lopez, Economics major, USC).

“The Economic Impact of QualMed on the Pueblo Economy”. Presented to Malik and Seeme Hasan, June 1996.

“Forecast of Blazer Electric Sales” (with Steve Borchert, USC undergrad). Presented to Mike Blazer, September 1996.

“Demand Estimate for American Medical Response of Pueblo” (Supervised project involving six USC MBA students). Presented to Doug Jones, AMR fall, 1996.

“Regional Economic Impact: Analysis of the 1992 America's Cup Races in San Diego”. Co-authored with other members of the Economic Research Group of the University of San Diego. Presented to the America's Cup Organizing Committee, May 1990.

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