Turner Business Interview: Fady Mansour

Turner Business recently touched base with Fady Mansour, an assistant professor of economics in the Turner College, to discuss his current research endeavors.

 

TB: First, congratulations on the news of your receipt of tenure and promotion to associate professor.

 

FM:  Thank you so much.  I am grateful for all of the help and support I have received from my Turner College colleagues and others in the previous years.

 

TB: What are you working on currently?

 

FM: I am currently working on a project with Uma Sridharan and Lydia Ray of the Turner College analyzing individuals’ use of cryptocurrency for compensation and spending decisions.  We surveyed 225 respondents to identify factors influencing individual choice to accept digital currency as compensation and/or to use digital currency for payments.  Retailers seek to improve customer satisfaction and one way to do that is to give customers the option to pay in their currency of choice. A better understanding of customer demographics and the demographic factors influencing consumer choice of cryptocurrency should help retailers in deciding whether or not to offer customers the option to pay for goods and services in cryptocurrency.

 

TB: What did you find on the compensation end of the spectrum?

 

FM: Something similar.  Employers seek to recruit and retain talented employees, and both the amount and method of compensation impacts employee satisfaction.  If employees prefer to be compensated in cryptocurrency, then by structuring employee compensation packages to include cryptocurrency payments – of course being consistent with the regulatory framework – employers can increase employee satisfaction. 

 

TB: What else are you looking into?

 

FM: I have another ongoing study with Nour Kattih of Middle Tennessee State University examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, healthcare utilization, and healthcare spending.  For this one we utilize data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and employ propensity score matching techniques to analyze differences in healthcare outcomes between individuals affected by the pandemic and those who are not.   

TB: What did you find?

 

FM: Our findings indicate that the pandemic led to a significant reduction in the intensity of office, outpatient, and emergency room visits and a corresponding decline in healthcare spending.  In contrast, we observe no statistical evidence that inpatient hospital stays were affected.  We also find a significant reduction in mental health status, especially for uninsured individuals.  On the other hand, we find improvement in quality of life for most individuals, except for individuals with a high school diploma or less, the uninsured, and the poor.  We think that the findings highlight disparities during the pandemic and the need for increased efforts to promote health equity. 

 

Mansour holds a doctorate degree in economics from Middle Tennessee State University.  He joined the Turner College’s economics faculty in August of 2017, after serving on the economics faculty at Black Hills State University.  Prior to joining CSU, his research appeared in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues and Australian Journal of Labour Economics.  Since joining CSU, his research has appeared in Applied Economics, Empirical Economics, Journal of Insurance Issues, Journal of Economics and Finance and Healthcare.  Lastly, Mansour was the 2022 winner of the Turner College’s Excellence in Service Award.