MIKHAIL I. MELNIK Department of Commerce PO BOX 2201 Niagara University, NY 14109-2201 (404) 216-9622; (716) 286-8311 mmelnik@niagara.edu
Education
Ph.D. Georgia State University: Economics, August 2003.
Dissertation Title: “Issues in the Economics of e-Commerce” Committee Chairman: Professor James Alm
M.A. Boston University: Economics, January 1998
B.S. Georgia State University: Economics and Physics, August 1995, Summa Cum Laude. Areas of Concentration Public Finance Applied Microeconomics Industrial Organization Professional Experience
2006-Present Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Commerce, Niagara University, Niagara University, NY
2007-2010
Summer terms Visiting Faculty, Department of Economics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
2005-2006 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
2004-2005 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Economics and Finance, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA
2003-2004 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
1999-2003 Instructor, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
2001-2003 Research Specialist/Forecaster, Economic Forecasting Center, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
2000-2001 Adjunct Professor, DeVry Institute of Technology, Decatur, GA. 2000-2001 Instructor, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA.
1999 Grader for MBA economics courses, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
1998-1999 Research Assistant, Russian Fiscal Reform Project, sponsored by the World Bank and the USAID. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
1997-98 Research Assistant, Department of Economics, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
1995-96 Teaching Assistant, Boston University, Boston, MA.
1993-95 Physics Laboratory Instructor, Georgia State University. Atlanta, GA.
Consulting Experience:
Senior Scientist – Consultant. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Marine Base,
Indian Head, MD
National Association of Purchasing Managers – Buffalo Chapter, 2007 – present
Bloomberg News Corp. Member of the panel of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.com.
2008 - present
Buffalo News. 2007 - present
Teaching Experience Introduction to Economics Principles of Microeconomics Principles of Macroeconomics Global Economy Intermediate Microeconomics Intermediate Macroeconomics International Finance International Development Managerial Economics (MBA)International Economics (Ph.D./MA)
Statistics (MBA)
Advanced Quantitative Methods (MBA) Published Research:
“Does a Seller’s eCommerce Reputation Really Matter? Evidence from eBay Auctions,” (with James Alm). Journal of Industrial Economics. Volume L, No. 3, pp. 337-350, September 2002
“Sales Taxes and the Decision to Purchase Online”, (with James Alm). Public Finance Review. Volume 33, No. 2, pp. 184-212, March 2005.
“Taxing the ‘Family’ in the Individual Income Tax,” (with James Alm). Public Finance and Management. Volume 5, No 1, pp. 67-109, March 2005.
“Reputation, Information Signals, and Willingness to Pay for Heterogeneous Goods in Online Auctions”, (with James Alm). Southern Economic Journal. Volume 72, No. 2. pp. 171-194, October 2005.
“Insertion Fees and their Role on eBay,” Economics of Networks Abstracts, published by SSRN and Networks, Electronic Commerce and Telecommunications Institute. Working Paper Series, Volume 4, No 52, August 22, 2007.
“The Choice of Opening Prices on eBay”, (with James Alm and Yongsheng Xu), The Manchester School, Volume 77, Issue 4, pp. 411-429, June 2009.
“Determinants and Effectiveness of Advertising on eBay” (with Paul Richardson), The
BRC Journal of Advances in Business, February 2010
“The Impact of Shipping Charges in Online Auctions: Evidence From Electronics Auctions on eBay” (with Paul Richardson), The BRC Academy Journal of Business, February 2010.
“Surface defects and their role in the shock sensitivity of cyclotrimethylene-trinitramine” (with Victor Bellitto, US Department of Defense), Applied Surface Science, Vol 256, issue 11, March 2010.
“Do eBay Sellers Comply with State Sales Taxes?” (with James Alm), National Tax Journal, 63(2), pp. 215-236, June 2010.
“Does it Pay to Promote on eBay?” (with Paul Richardson and Dan Tompkins), Journal of Promotion Management, forthcoming.
“How Seller and Product Characteristics Impact Promotion on eBay” (with Paul Richardson and Dan Tompkins), Journal of Promotion Management, forthcoming.
“Predicting the Shock Sensitivity of Cyclotrimethylene-Trinitramine” (with Victor Bellitto, Daniel Sorensen, Joseph Chang, US Department of Defense), Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, forthcoming.
Work in Progress:
“Social Homogeneity and Socialism: An International Comparison” “The Economics of eBay, (with Paul Richardson, NU)
“Canadian dollar and its impact on the economy of Western New York” (with William Peek, NU).
“eBay Commerce Impact on User Tax Collection” (with James Alm)
Conference Participation and Presentations
“Does a Seller’s eCommerce Reputation Really Matter? Evidence from eBay Auctions” (with James Alm), presented Southern Economic Association meetings, November 2001, Tampa, FL
Invited participant, First Interdisciplinary Symposium on Online Reputation Mechanisms, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, April 2003, Boston, MA.
Invited discussant, Alternative Methods of Taxing Individuals, sponsored by International Policy Studies, Georgia State University, June 7-9, 2006, Stone Mountain, GA.
“The Choice of Opening Prices on eBay” (with James Alm and Yongsheng Xu), presented at the Southern Economic Association meetings, November 2006, Charleston, SC
“Insertion Fees and their Role on eBay”, presented at the Southern Economic Association meetings, November 2007, New Orleans, LA
“Insertion Fees and their Role on eBay,” presented at the 2008 Business Research Consortium of Western New York, Niagara University, NY.
Invited Panel Member, “Crisis and You”, a forum hosted by Georgia Institute of Technology, October 20, 2008, Atlanta, GA.
Invited speaker at The Buffalo Niagara Professional Alliance annual meeting, April 8, 2009, Williamsville, NY.
“Surface Defects and their Role in the Initiation Behavior of RDX” (with Victor Bellitto), presented at the 37th Annual Conference on Thermal Analysis and Applications,
September 20-23, 2009, Lubbock, TX.
Invited speaker, National Association of Purchasing Management – Buffalo, December 9, 2009, Buffalo, NY.
Professional Service
Reviewer
• Prentice Hall, Economics for Managers, 2nd
edition, by Paul Farnham, 2008
• Thomson Higher Education Publishing, Economics for Management, R. J. Michaels, 2004
• Worth Publishers, Public Finance, Jonathan Gruber, 2004 (in print) • South-Western Publishers, a division of Thompson Learning, Principles
of Macroeconomics, Gottheil, F., 4th edition. 2002 • Addison-Wesley publishers. 2002
Referee
• Economic Inquiry, 2002
• Public Finance and Review, 2004-2006 • Ekonomia, 2005
• Review of Industrial Organization, 2005 • Southern Economic Journal 2005 • The Manchester School, 2006-2007 • Journal of Cultural Economics, 2007 • Fiscal Studies, 2007
• Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 2009 • Applied Economics, 2010
• Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 2010 News Citations
• The Buffalo News (numerous citations, 2008 - Present) • The Atlanta Journal of Constitution (August 2008) • Forbes.com (July, 2010)
Honors and Awards
2008 Summer Research Grant, Niagara University
The 2003 Excellence in Teaching Economics Award, April 2003, GSU
The Theodore C. Bayden Excellence in Teaching Economics Award, April 2002, GSU Willie May Cathcart Scholarship, 1995, GSU
Sigma Pi Sigma Languages
German – basic level Russian – native Computer Skills
