Erik grew up in Minnesota and earned a BS in Economics from the University of Minnesota in 2015, with minors in History, Spanish, and Mathematics. While in undergrad, he studied abroad in Argentina and Spain and worked as an intake interviewer for asylum seekers with The Advocates for Human Rights, a local nonprofit. In 2016, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in Development Economics at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) in São Paulo, Brazil. He has worked on development projects in Nepal, Kenya, and Malawi, and was a visiting researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 2019. Erik is currently a PhD Candidate in Agricultural and Applied Economics, with a research focus on natural resource governance, industrial policy, and oil booms in Brazil.
Studying: Development and Resource Economics
Faculty Advisor: Ian Coxhead
Awards & Honors: Early Excellence in Teaching Award, UW Madison, 2020 IRIS Graduate Student Summer Fieldwork Award, UW Madison, 2019 University Fellowship, UW Madison, 2017 & 2020 Technical Training Grant, São Paulo Research Association (FAPESP), 2017 Fulbright Research Fellowship to Brazil, 2016 Best Undergraduate Thesis, Minnesota Economic Association, 2015 National Merit Scholar, 2011 Publications: Katovich, Erik S. and Alexandre Gori Maia, The Relation Between Labor Productivity and Wages in Brazil: A Sectoral Analysis. Nova Economia, Vol. 28, No. 1, pg. 7-38 (2018). Smith, Pamela J. and Erik S. Katovich. Are GMO Policies Trade Related”? Empirical Analysis of Latin America. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol. 39, No. 2, pg. 286-312 (2017).