About Rob Wassmer

Rob Wassmer has served as a professor in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at California State University, Sacramento (Sac State), for 30+ years.  He served as the chairperson of this department for 14 years.  Between 2009 and 2021, Wassmer also directed the Sac State Master of Science Program in Urban Land Development (MSULD). Professor Wassmer is also a founder and was a core faculty member in the College of Education's Doctorate in Education Leadership Program (EdD).  Rob teaches master's and doctoral-level courses in public policy related to microeconomics, urban economics, state and local public finance, education, benefit/cost analysis, and statistical regression analysis.  He has supervised nearly 200 master's degree culminating projects at Sac State.

Professor Wassmer earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan (1983), a Master of Arts in Economics from Binghamton University in New York (1985), and a Ph.D. in Economics from Michigan State University (1989).  Before moving to Sacramento in 1995, Professor Wassmer held the position of assistant professor in economics and research associate with the College of Urban, Labor, and Metropolitan Affairs at Wayne State University in Detroit.  In 2001, he received the Sacramento State President's Award for Research and Creative Activity.  Later, in 2011, Dr. Wassmer received Sac State's top award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement.

Wassmer's research on a wide range of public policy topics has appeared in academic journals such as Environmental Health Insights, Journal of Urban Affairs, Economic Development Quarterly, Cityscape, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Housing Policy Debate, Economics of Education Review, Urban Studies, Public Finance Review, Public Choice, Public Budgeting and Finance, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Housing Economics, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and the Journal of Urban Economics. The Community College Review, Educational Policy, National Tax Journal, and the Economics of Education Review have all published his research related to education policy. Wassmer has authored books with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research and Blackwell. He has contributed chapters to books published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Urban Institute, and the Brookings Institution. In 2017, Professor Wassmer contributed two chapters to the textbook Applied Policy Research: Concepts and Cases. He has had the opportunity to serve as a reviewer for nearly 100 different academic journals, book publishers, policy centers, and other organizations, many of which he has reviewed for multiple times. Rob has advised groups such as the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Urban Land Institute, National Education Association, City of Los Angeles on Business Tax Reform, California Futures Network, Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Sacramento American Lung Association, Senator Darryl Steinberg, California Department of Conservation, and various California Legislative Committees. Since 2013, he has served as an associate editor of the academic journal Economic Development Quarterly. His current research focuses on the causes, consequences, and potential policy solutions to California's housing affordability crisis. 

Professor Rob Wassmer describes his passion for research and graduate student teaching on You Tube

Research

VITAE » View

Google Scholar Site » View

Academic Journal Referee Profile » View

California State University, Sacramento, ACADEMIA Profile » View

Economic Development Quarterly (associate editor) » View

Sacramento State SCHOLARS » View

Education

Ph.D.
Michigan State University
Economics
Dissertation: Taxes, Property Tax Abatement, Expenditure, and the Composition of the Property Tax Base in a Metropolitan Area

M.A.
Binghamton University
Economics

B.S.
Oakland University
Economics

Courses Taught

PPA 207—Quantitative Methods in Public Policy and Administration
Syllabus

PPA 220A—Applied Economic Analysis I
Syllabus

PPA 220B—Applied Economic Analysis II
Syllabus

PPA 251—Urban Problems, Economics, and Public Policy
Syllabus

PPA 500—Culminating Experience
Syllabus

EDD 602—Policy and Practice for Educational Leaders I
Syllabus