With Youssef Benzarti, assistant professor, Department of Economics
1. He’s a self-described “tax geek.” Benzarti researches the relationship between government, businesses, and consumers, exploring how and why the raising and lowering of taxes by governments affect companies who sell things and the consumers who purchase them. “Most of the research I do is about taxes,” he explains. “In that interaction, the government taxes people or businesses (firms) and I look at how the businesses might respond to those taxes. Will the firms increase their prices? Will they pass the increased taxes on to their consumers by raising prices? If the taxes are reduced, will they just increase profits and not change their prices?”
2. He speaks French and Arabic. Benzarti, a native of Tunisia and Morocco, got his undergraduate degree in France and holds a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. His first trip to the United States was when he moved to attend graduate school. He calls the experience “shockingly nice.”
3. He loves California. After completing his doctorate, Benzarti spent two years doing research at UCLA. Having experienced living in two major West Coast cities, he appreciates the small-town charm of Santa Barbara, especially the fact that he gets to spend time outside of work with colleagues on a regular basis. There is one thing he misses about the Bay Area: the fog. “I grew up in countries where summer was excruciatingly hot, and so to have a cool summer was something I really enjoyed,” he says.
4. He prefers the mountains. Though he understands the love the ocean gets, Benzarti, an avid hiker, loves the mountains and has wasted no time discovering some favorite trails in Santa Barbara and the Santa Ynez Valley.
5. He roasts his own coffee. Benzarti swears that you can roast your own coffee beans in a popcorn maker, and does so regularly. He says: “I think it’s outrageous that we pay $20 for a bag of craft coffee when you can make pretty good coffee yourself.” When not drinking his own handmade brew, he prefers Handlebar Coffee Roasters.
News Date:
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
February 27, 2019 - 11:21am