Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., is a professor of economics, and the founder and director of the Business and Economics Polling Initiative (BEPI) in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University.

The Initiative provides a laboratory for students to learn all aspects of survey research process from data collection up to presentations at professional conferences. Through hands-on activities, BEPI offers students the opportunity to develop new skills that help them in their professional development. In addition, results of the polls are regularly featured in several leading media outlets such as the Sun Sentinel, Washington Post, MSNBC, Reuters and MarketWatch – giving significant exposure to FAU. Escaleras also serves in the South Florida Culture Platform Steering Committee and supervises graduate students’ research projects. In 2016, Dr. Escaleras received the FAU National Alumni Association Degree of Difference Award and was a finalist for the FAU Distinguished Teacher of the Year award.

Dr. Escalera's scholarship focuses on natural disasters and political economy and her research has been published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Public Economics, Canadian Journal of Economics, Public Choice and Southern Economics Journal. She teaches Macroeconomics and Money and Banking.

Dr. Escaleras earned her bachelor’s degree from Kentucky Wesleyan College, her master’s degree from the University of Florida and her Ph.D. in Economics from Florida International University. Prior to joining Florida Atlantic University, Dr. Escaleras was an Assistant Professor at College of Charleston.

Education

• PhD (2003) Economics, Florida International University
• MS (1996) Food and Resource Economics, University of Florida
• BA (1991) Business Administration, Kentucky Wesleyan College

• Development Economics, Economics of Public Policy, Macroeconomics, Political Economy

• Mitsova, Diana; Esnard, Ann-Margaret; Escaleras, Monica; Sapat, Alka; Besser, Lilah. (2025). Disparate household recovery outcomes in rural communities: a longitudinal analysis of Hurricane Michael's impact on the Florida Panhandle, Natural Hazards, 121, 11337-11369
• Lamadrid, Alberto; Escaleras, Monica; Mitsova, Diana; Esnard, Ann-Margaret; Sapat, Alka. (2025). Household evacuation decisions and relationship to infrastructure disruption using evidence from Hurricane Irma, Environment Systems and Decisions, 45(32)
• Sapat, Alka; Mitsova, Diana; Sweeting, Karen; Esnard, Ann-Margaret; Escaleras, Monica. (2023). Concurrent disasters: Perceived administrative burdens and household coping capacities, Public Administration Review, 83(5), 1202-1220
• Sapat, Alka; Mitsova, Diana; Esnard, Ann-Margaret; Escaleras, Monica; Sweeting, Karen. (2023). COVID-19, subjective resilience, adaptive, and coping capacities in hurricane-prone regions, International Journal of Mass Emergencies & Disasters, 41(2-3), 241-258
• Boudreaux, Christopher; Jha, A.; Escaleras, Monica. (2023). Natural disasters, entrepreneurship activity, and the moderating role of country governance, Small Business Economics, 60(4), 1483-1508
• Escaleras, Monica; Jha, Anand; Boudreaux, Christopher. (2022). Chapter 10: Assessing the impact of natural disasters on industry gross domestic product in the United States, Edward Elgar Publishing, 193-207
• Boudreaux, Christopher; Jha, A.; Escaleras, Monica. (2022). Weathering the storm: How foreign aid affects entrepreneurial activity following natural disasters, Entrepreneurship, Theory and Practice, 46(6), 1843-1868
• Mitsova, D.; Esnard, A.; Sapat, A.; Lamadrid, A.; Escaleras, Monica; Velarde-Perez, C.. (2021). Effects of Infrastructure Service Disruptions Following Hurricane Irma: A Multi-Level Analysis of Post-Disaster Recovery Outcomes, Natural Hazards Review, 22(1)
• Mitsova, D.; Escaleras, Monica; Esnard, A.; Sapat, A.; Lamadrid, A.. (2019). The Effects of Infrastructure Service Disruptions and Socio-Economic Vulnerability on Hurricane Recovery, Sustainability, 11(2), 516-532
• Escaleras, Monica; Dukhong, K.; Wagner, K.. (2019). You Are Who You Think You Are: Linked Fate and Vote Choices Among Latino Voters, Politics & Policy, 47, 909-930
• Boudreaux, Christopher; Escaleras, Monica; Skidmore, M.. (2019). Natural Disasters and Entrepreneurship Activity, Economics Letters, 182, 82-85
• Escaleras, Monica; Calcagno, Peter. (2018). Does Fiscal Decentralization Affect Infrastructure Quality? An Examination of U.S. States, Contemporary Economic Policy, 36(2), 410-422
• Escaleras, Monica; Chiang, Eric. (2017). Fiscal Decentralization and Institutional Quality on the Business Environment, Economics Letters, 159, 161-163
• Register, Charles; Escaleras, Monica. (2016). The High Cost of Low Quality Infrastructure when Natural Disaster Strikes , Journal of Developing Areas, 50(1), 103-122
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2016). Public Sector Corruption and Natural Hazards, Public Finance Review, 44(6), 746-768
• Escaleras, Monica; Kottaridi, Constantina. (2014). The Joint Effect of Macroeconomic Uncertainty, Sociopolitical Instability, and Public Provision on Private Investment, Journal of Developing Areas, 48, 227-251
• Escaleras, Monica; Calcagno, Peter; Shughart II, William. (2012). Corruption and Voter Participation: Evidence from the US States, Public Finance Review, 40, 789-815
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2012). Fiscal Decentralization and Natural Hazard Risks, Public Choice, 151(1), 165-183
• Anbarci, Nejat; Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2012). From Cholera Outbreaks to Pandemics: The Role of Poverty and Inequality, The American Economist, 57, 21-31
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2011). Natural Disasters and Foreign Direct Investment, Land Economics, 87(2), 346-363
• Escaleras, Monica; Lin, Shu; Register, Charles. (2010). Freedom of Information Acts and Public Sector Corrpution, Public Choice, 145(3), 435-460
• Escaleras, Monica; Calagno, Peter. (2009). Does the Gubernatorial Term Limit Type Affect State Government Expenditures?, Public Finance Review, 37(5), 572-595
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2009). Ethnic Tensions and Social Infrastructure, Applied Economics, 40, 1-13
• Anbarci, Nejat; Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2009). The Ill-effects of Public Sector Corruption in the Water and Sanitation Sector, Land Economics, 85(2), 363-377
• Anbarci, Nejat; Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2009). Traffic Fatalities: Does Income Inequality Create an Externality?, Canadian Journal of Economics, 42(1), 244-266
• Escaleras, Monica; Thomakos, Dimitrios. (2008). Exchange Rate Uncertainty, Sociopolitical Instability and Private Investment: Empirical Evidence from Latin America, Review of Development Economics, 12(2), 372-385
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2008). Mitigating Natural Disasters Through Collective Action: The Effectiveness of Tsunami Early Warnings, Southern Economic Journal, 74(4), 1017-1034
• Register, Charles; Escaleras, Monica. (2007). "The Peril of Weak Property Rights in the Face of Natural Disasters", Hazard and Disaster Researcher's Proceedings
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles. (2007). The Potentially Deadly Effect of Weak Property Rights from a Houshold Perspective, Proceedings of the natural Hazards and Disasters Research Meeting, Boulder, Colorado
• Escaleras, Monica; Anbarci, Nejat; Register, Charles. (2007). Public Sector Corruption and Major Earthquakes: A Potentially Deadly Interaction, Public Choice, 132(1), 209-230
• Calcagno, Peter; Escaleras, Monica. (2007). Party Alternation, Divided Government, and Fiscal Performance within US States, Economics of Governance, 8, 111-128
• Escaleras, Monica; Calcagno, Peter. (2007). Political Determinants of U.S. State Fiscal Performance: An Analysis of Party Alternation and Divided Government, Economics of Governance, 8, 111-128
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles; Anbarci, Nejat. (2006). Traffic Fatalities and Public Sector Corruption, Kyklos International Review for Social Sciences, 59(3), 327-344
• Escaleras, Monica; Register, Charles; Anbarci, Nejat. (2005). Earthquakes Fatalities: The Interaction of Nature and Political Economy, Journal of Public Economics, 89, 1907-1933