CAITLIN N. MCKILLOP. Department of Economics Phone (Cell):

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1 CAITLIN N. MCKILLOP Department of Economics Phone (Cell): West Campbell Road Homepage: Richardson, TX EDUCATION Ph.D. Economics,, Richardson, TX Expected May 2015 B.A. Economics and Business, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY May 2005 RESEARCH INTERESTS Primary: Applied Microeconomics, Behavioral Economics Secondary: Health Economics, Applied Spatial Econometrics DISSERTATION Title: "An Examination of the Social and Geographic Determinants of Individual Decision-Making" Committee: Tammy Leonard (Chair), Kurt Beron (Co-Chair), Sherry Li, Rodney Andrews, University of Texas at Dallas; Jasmin A. Tiro, University of Texas Southwestern PUBLICATIONS Leonard, T., C. McKillop, J. Carson, K. Shuval. "Neighborhood Effects on Food Consumption." Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Vol. 51, August 2014: McKillop, Caitlin and Leonard, Tammy North Texas Food Bank Member Agency Survey, FY2012 Report, North Texas Food Bank Hunger Center. REFEREED ABSTRACTS McKillop, C. N., Leonard, T., Pruitt, S. L., Sanders, J., & Tiro, J. A "Influence of Geographic Peers: Spatial Modeling of Adolescent HPV Vaccine Uptake in a Safety-Net Population." Annals of Behavioral Medicine (Vol. 47: pp. S250-S250). SPRINGER. WORKING PAPERS 1. "Vaccination as an Impure Public Good: HPV Vaccine Uptake in an Underinsured Population" (Job Market Paper) Abstract: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is widely available in the US and could significantly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. However, uneven HPV vaccine adoption may actually widen existing cervical cancer disparities, particularly for low-income, ethnic minority populations who are both most at risk for cervical cancer and least likely to become vaccinated. This paper extends the traditional public goods framework for analyzing vaccine uptake by considering vaccination as an impure public good, and estimates the relationship between vaccination decisions and the average neighborhood vaccine provision level at the time parents are making vaccine decisions for their adolescent daughters. Since HPV is sexually transmitted, it is likely that significant social pressure exists both for and against vaccination. From this perspective, complementarities in the public and private benefits of vaccination may be hypothesized as a result of social considerations. This paper conducts a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled intervention trial (RCT) to promote HPV vaccination for an at-risk female population with low uptake, and finds evidence that points to positive substitution effects in vaccination decisions. These results have potentially important implications for evaluation of vaccination programs and policy implementation, and for future empirical work utilizing spatial methods in health outcomes. 1

2 2. "The Effect of Noncognitive Skills and Neighborhood Perceptions on Health Status in a Low-Income Minority Population" Abstract: There is mounting empirical evidence for an association between neighborhood context and disparities in health outcomes in both economics and public health research. Poor health has often been found to be related to poor conditions, particularly among residents of low SES neighborhoods. Recent theoretical work in economics has also begun to address the relationship between noncognitive skills and well-being, including a suggested role for individual traits and preferences in traditional health production models. To examine how individual noncognitive skills and neighborhood perceptions combine to influence health status, this paper extends the suggested health production framework by including an additional measure for neighborhood effects. Cognitive skills such as education levels have been shown to influence the efficiency of health production, and it has been argued that non-cognitive skills, such as future orientation and self-efficacy, may have the same effect. This paper analyzes data collected from a study designed to address the impact of neighborhood change on residents of a low-income minority neighborhood, and produces evidence that points to an independent and significant effect of both noncognitive skills and neighborhood perceptions in health outcomes. These results have important implications for public health policy design and implementation, as well as for future empirical work addressing the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and the health status of residents. WORK IN PROGRESS 1. "High School Friendships, Criminal Activity and Drug Use in Emerging Adulthood: Assessing Peer Effects on Crime from a Dynamic Perspective Utilizing Data from the Add Health Study" Abstract: Peer effects have received considerable attention from economists in recent years, and the ability to leverage these effects provides ample opportunities for improving social welfare. However, considerable difficulties exist in disentangling true peer effects from other confounding factors, and these issues are further compounded without access to well-defined social network data. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health study, this paper aims to estimate peer effects in criminal activity and illegal drug use from a dynamic perspective, first by analyzing the influence of friends during adolescence, and then by examining whether and to what extent high school peers play a role in future criminal behavior. Several problems inherent in the social interactions literature will be confronted. This study will utilize an extended SAR model which incorporates both endogenous and contextual effects and will exploit the richness of the data collected in the Add Health study by including an extensive set of variables to address the problem of confounding effects introduced by shared environmental factors. Further, social effects will be analyzed using a robust network structure with direct peer-to-peer connections based on actual friendship nominations, and concerns regarding endogeneity of friendship formation will be addressed by exploiting the longitudinal nature of the data. 2. "Social Pressure in HPV Vaccine Uptake: An Evaluation of Parental Perceptions and Attitudes" 3. "Influence of Parental Involvement and Monitoring on Child Achievement Over Time" RESEARCH EXPERIENCE Research Assistant to Dr. Jasmin A. Tiro and Dr. Sandi Pruitt, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Simmons Cancer Center, 2012-present Conducted a secondary analysis of RCT intervention data to evaluate the role of neighborhood vaccination rates in individual vaccine decisions Obtained additional training in clinical research design and analysis Participated in regular geospatial group meetings comprised of researchers from UT Dallas and UT Southwestern interested in projects utilizing spatial methods to examine economic and public health outcomes using patient EMR data from the Parkland Health and Hospital System 2

3 Research Assistant to Dr. Tammy Leonard and Dr. James Murdoch, Economics Department, University of Texas at Dallas, 2011-present Co-authored a paper analyzing the influence of proximity to different types of food sources and dietary intake of neighbors on the dietary intake of residents Performed data analysis for an agency survey conducted by the North Texas Food Bank Research Assistance provided on project "Publicly Driven Investment, Neighborhood Change, and Household Behavior" funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under guidance of Dr. Tammy Leonard and Dr. James Murdoch, Economics Department,, Translated written self-reported survey answers into a standardized spreadsheet format and created codebooks to connect variables across several waves of longitudinal data Assisted in the cleaning and organization of raw data into a database for subsequent analysis, including some statistical software coding using Stata 12 Organized participant IDs and geocoded locations and evaluated discrepancies to create a master list of repeat survey takers across two waves of cross-sectional data TEACHING EXPERIENCE Courses Taught Introduction to Social Statistics with Lab, - Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014 Core curriculum undergraduate course for all Economic, Political and Policy Sciences majors Principles of Macroeconomics, - Summer 2011 Undergraduate course for Economics and Business majors Teaching Assistant Experience and Tutoring Economics Lab Tutor, - Fall 2012, Spring 2013 Public Sector Economics, Undergraduate upper-level course - Spring 2012 Principles of Microeconomics, Undergraduate course - Spring 2012 Econometrics, Undergraduate upper-level course - Fall 2011 Structural Equation Modeling, Graduate-level course - Spring 2011 Econometrics, Undergraduate upper-level course - Fall 2010 Economics Tutor, Skidmore College, CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS April 2014 November 2013 October 2012 May 2012 "Influence of Geographic Peers: Spatial Modeling of Adolescent HPV Vaccine Uptake in a Safety-Net Population," poster presented at Society of Behavioral Medicine 35th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA "The Role of Spatial Interaction in Modeling Adolescent HPV Vaccination Behavior for a Low-Income Minority Population," paper presented at North American Regional Science Conference, Atlanta, GA Neighborhood, paper presented at North American Regional Science Conference, Ottawa, Canada Neighborhood, poster presented at International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting, Austin, TX 3

4 FORUMS AND WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS October 2013 April 2013 December 2012 September 2012 "Influence of Geographic Peers: Spatial Modeling of Adolescent HPV Vaccine Uptake in a Safety-Net Population," paper presented at Brown Bag Seminars, "Fair Park: An Investigation of Neighborhood Change," project presented at Close to Home: Poverty in Dallas Event for Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society, University of Dallas at Texas Neighborhood, paper presented at Neighbors, Community and Well-Being Policy Forum, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Dallas, TX "Nutrition, Food Access, and Social Behavior in a Low-Income Minority Neighborhood," presented Brown Bag Seminars, RESEARCH SUPPORT AND GRANTS Request Approved for Add Health Restricted Use Data Access Request ID (Primary request approved for initial period of three years, beginning May 2014, option to renew yearly after May 2017) This study was undertaken with the following aims: (1) address model specification issues through the use of well-defined social network data; (2) examine the influence of high school peers on the choices of individuals during adolescence; (3) determine whether and to what extent high school peers play a role in future decisions; (4) investigate whether behavior is related to factors at both the individual level (such as low self-control) and group level (such as deviant peer association). Role: Primary Research Analyst North Texas Food Bank OSP ID (7/1/2011-7/31/2012) The goal of this proposal was to assist the NTFB in developing a regional center (the Hunger Center) to better understand food insecurity and the behaviors of low-income families. The NTFB developed a quarterly member agency survey to collect data on the population of food pantry clients and whether the supply needs of agencies were being met. As a research assistant, I created a comprehensive report of data collected over the first four quarters, including summary statistics and food item transaction activity of participating agencies, as well as various indicators for agencies' needs and available resources for providing particular food items. NSF/SES (10/ /2011) Publicly Driven Investment, Neighborhood Change and Household Behavior The goal of this project was to analyze the impact of neighborhood change on residents of a low-income minority neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. I provided research assistance on a study evaluating the dual role of the social and physical neighborhood environment as they relate to eating behaviors of residents in this Dallas neighborhood. Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT PP ) The main goal of this randomized trial was to analyze the effect of two intervention strategies, a mailed HPV vaccine specific brochure and telephone recalls/reminders, on adolescent female HPV vaccination for an at-risk population in Dallas, Texas. I conducted a secondary analysis of this RCT data using applied spatial econometric theory and analyses to understand and quantify potential neighborhood-level effects related to vaccine uptake, and evaluated whether observed associations among neighbors' vaccine decisions may result from social mechanisms. 4

5 ACADEMIC HONORS Received Kain Fellowship Award from Faculty Committee for Academic Excellence, University of Texas at Dallas, Fall 2012 Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) Scholarship Nominee, Fall 2012 Placed Out of Econometrics Qualifier Exam, Fall 2011 Passed Microtheory Qualifier Exam with Distinction, Spring 2011 Awarded Yearly Graduate Studies Scholarship, Acceptance into Economics Ph.D. program, University of Texas at Dallas, 2010-present MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS Member, American Economic Association, 2011-present Member, Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, 2011-present Honorary Member Saratoga Business Association, SKILLS Statistical Software GIS Software Matlab, Stata, XLSTAT, Mathematica, MS Excel ArcMap, ArcGIS Network Analyst Training Workshop for Teaching Effectiveness, attended Summer 2011 REFERENCES 1. Dr. Tammy Leonard (Co-Chair) 3. Dr. Kurt Beron (Co-Chair) University of Dallas 1845 E. Northgate Drive 800 W. Campbell Road (GR 31) Irving, TX Richardson, TX Dr. Jim Murdoch 4. Dr. Jasmin A. Tiro University of Texas Southwestern 800 W. Campbell Drive (GR 31) 5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Richardson, TX Dallas, TX