Professor Robert W. Wassmer, Ph.D, Professor
Professor Robert W. Wassmer, Ph.D
Contact Information
Robert W. Wassmer, Ph.D
Professor
Courses That I Teach
- 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
Presentations & Publications
- Pandemic Learning Loss in California’s School Districts: A Critical Examination of Local Control Funding and Accountability Plans I Presentation at the National Tax Association Conference. Wassmer, R. I 2024 » View
- A Proposed Empirical Investigation into the Role of NIMBYism on the Lack of Affordable Housing in California Cities I Presentation to Proposal Workshop on NIMBYism and the Future of Housing Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University I Wassmer, R. I 2024 » View
- Past Structural Racism and Present Home Prices: A regression study to detect the consequences of the redlining practices of the Federal Homeowner Loan Corporation I Sacramento Economics Roundtable Presentation. Wassmer, R. I 2023 » View
- Evidence that a Greater Presence of Latinx Faculty or Administrators Raise the Completion Rates of Community College Students. Wassmer, R., Galloway, M. | 2021 » View
- The Ethics and Consequences of California’s Local Government Restrictions on Housing | 16th Annual Fall Ethics Symposium: Ethics and the City. Wassmer, R. | 2021 » View
- Rent Control and its Implications to the Real Estate Industry | Think Tank Series Wassmer, R. | 2018 » View
1) Selected publications—see vitae for a complete publication list
» View Dr. Wassmer's full Scholarship Profile
2) Particulates Matter: The Influence of Cummultaive Local Air Pollution on Sixth-Grade Aacdemic Achievement
Wassmer, R. Turgeon, M. | Environmental Health Insights, 2024
» View Article | » View Online
3) What Matters for Improving the Success Rates of Different Cohorts of Community College Students?
Wassmer, R. Galloway, M. | Community College Review, 2023
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4) Past Structural Racism and Present Home Prices
Wassmer, R. I Journal of Urban Affairs, Online, January 2023
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5) Evidence that a Greater Presence of Latinx Faculty or Administrators Raises the Completion Rates of Various Cohorts of Community College Students
Wassmer, R. Galloway, M. | Educational Policy, April 2022
» View Article | » View Online
6) Do Higher Land Costs for New Single-Family Housing Inhibit Economic Activity in U.S. Metropolitan Areas?
Wassmer, R. | Economic Development Quarterly, 35(4), 2021, pp. 325-337
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7) The Influence of Regulation on Residential Land Prices in United States Metropolitan Areas
Wassmer, R., Williams, J. | Symposium on Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing, 2021, Cityscape, 23(1), 2021, pp. 9-36
» View Article
8) The Effects of Property Tax Abatements on School District Property Tax Bases and Rates
Kenyon, D., Wassmer, R., Langley, A., Paquin, B. | Economic Development Quarterly, 34(3), 2020, pp. 227-241
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9) The Value of Proximity to a Vacation Home Rental in a Resort Community
Wassmer, R. | Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2019 (e-version)
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10) Does the Likely Demographics of Affordable Housing [Encourage] NIMBYism?
Wassmer, R. | Housing Policy Debate, 29(2), 2019, pp. 374-79
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11) The Health Insurance and Life Satisfaction Connection
Tran, N., Wassmer, R., Lascher, T. | Journal of Happiness Studies 18(2), 2016, pp. 409-426
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12) The Importance of Both Supply and Demand to Policymaking Designed to Alter Preschool Attendance
Wassmer, R. | California Journal of Politics and Policy 8(4), 2016
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13) Suggestions for the Needed Standardization of Studies on the Economic Impact of Professional Sports
Wassmer, R., Ong, R., Propheter, G. | Economic Development Quarterly 30(3), 2016, pp. 252-266
» View Article | » View Online
14) The Impact of Learning Time on Academic Achievement
Jez, S-J., Wassmer, R | Education and Urban Society 47(3), 2015, 284-306
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15) Causes of Urban Sprawl in the United States: Auto Reliance as Compared to Natural Evolution, Flight from Blight, and Local Revenue Reliance
Wassmer, R. | Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 27, 2008, pp. 536-555
» View Article | » View Online
16) Effect of Racial/Ethnic Composition on Transfer Rates in Community Colleges: Implications for Policy and Practice
Wassmer, R., Moore, C., Shulock, N. | Research in Higher Education 45, 2004, pp. 539-60
» View Article
Research Interests
Background
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
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Education
Michigan State University - Ph.D., Economics
Dissertation: Taxes, Property Tax Abatement, Expenditure, and the Composition of the Property Tax Base in a Metropolitan Area
Binghamton University - M.A., Economics
Oakland University - B.S., Economics