Dr. Eric Houk earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at Colorado State University. He received his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Idaho and his B.S. in Economics from Frostburg State University. His primary areas of expertise include Resource and Environmental Economics along with Agricultural Production Economics.

Dr. Houk’s research primarily focuses upon issues relating to efficient water resource allocation. Specifically, he has examined the economic and hydrologic effects of water transfers from agriculture to instream flows for endangered species. He has examined the effects of irrigation induced waterlogging and soil salinization on agricultural production. In these multidisciplinary settings, Dr. Houk developed complex economic models that were used in conjunction with hydrologic models to estimate the impacts of various water policies. In addition, he has also examined residential water use and how household’s respond to water conservation efforts.

Dr. Houk teaches Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Contemporary Economic Issues, Economics of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Economics, and Intermediate Microeconomics. Dr. Houk has received several teaching awards. He was awarded Graduate Student Teaching awards from Colorado State University and the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) association. More recently, he received Junior Faculty awards from the College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU Stanislaus. In addition, he received the “Elizabeth Anne B. Papageorge Faculty Development Award" in 2008. This University-wide award recognizes outstanding achievement by a junior faculty member at CSU Stanislaus.

Dr. Houk is the advisor for Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE), the International Honor Society in Economics. The purpose of the organization is to promote and acknowledge excellence in the field of economics and to unite students and faculty who have a specific interest in economics.