Geri Mason
Associate Professor of Economics
Email: geri@spu.edu
Phone: 206-281-2709
Office: McKenna Hall 215
Education: Whitworth University, BA, 2002; University of Hawaii at Manoa, MA, 2006; University of Hawaii, PhD, 2010. At SPU since 2010.
Geri Mason completed her doctorate in economics in 2010, receiving several academic honors. Her fields of research interest include development economics and human resource economics. Dr. Mason's teaching experience includes both micro and macroeconomics, as well as health economics and development economics.
Before coming to SPU, Dr. Mason taught at her home institution, the University of Hawaii, and spent a year teaching at the University of Puget Sound, while completing her doctorate. Her research focuses on the economics of microfinance and development, encompassing current debates in microfinance. Articulating her passion for poverty and economic development, her research examines the group lending methodology and the potential impact of its introduction into a rural financial market. In addition, Dr. Mason explores the use of technology for financial capital accumulation in microfinance. Her research also encompasses the challenges and innovations surrounding microfinance in China, and the impact of the political economy of China on the Chinese microfinance industry. This interest in microfinance and economic development as a means for poverty alleviation stems from a passion to impact the poor in developing nations, and was strengthened by her travels in China.
Selected Publications
- "Individual Preferences Over Development Projects: Evidence From Microlending on Kiva." With Pierre Ly, VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 23 (4) (2012): 1036–1055.
- "Competition Between Microfinance NGOs: Evidence From Kiva." With Pierre Ly, World Development, 40 (3) (2012): 643–655.
- "Review of Nurul Islam’s Reducing Poverty in Rural Asia: Challenges and Opportunities for Microenterprises and Public Employment Schemes." New York: Haworth Press, 2006. With Jim Roumasset, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 57(2): 418–426. 2009.
Please view Dr. Mason's CV (PDF) for additional publications.
Social Media
Facebook: SPUProf GMason
Linkedin: geri@spu.edu
Twitter: @ProfGMason
Skype: geri.mason
Instagram: @profgmason