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The high cost of low quality infrastructure when natural disasters strike

Public sector corruption and natural hazards

Fiscal decentralization and institutional quality on the business environment

Does Fiscal Decentralization Affect Infrastructure Quality? An Examination Of US States

The Effects of Infrastructure Service Disruptions and Socio-Economic Vulnerability on Hurricane Recovery

Florida Atlantic University was founded in 1961, in Boca Raton on an 850-acre site located near the Atlantic Ocean. The campus is conveniently located halfway between Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale and offers a broad range of academic programs, activities, and services.

The Boca Raton campus provides an exciting and supportive learning environment for students. The Student Union hosts student activities and meetings. In addition, its 2,500-seat Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium enables students to enjoy performances ranging from rock bands to the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. The campus supports two cafeterias and has an attractive array of accommodations for its residential students. The Boca Raton campus is also home to FAU's Division I Intercollegiate Athletics program and facilities. Its recreation complex includes an aquatic center, gymnasium, tennis courts, wellness center, track, and a variety of fields for club and intramural sports competition.

The five-story S.E. Wimberly Library houses a large collection of monographs, serials, and other academic resources. Computer labs, study lounges, a media center, and tutoring services also provide valuable academic support for students. The Boca Raton campus hosts art exhibits, theatre productions, and concerts in its two galleries and theatre. Visiting performers and speakers add to the artistic and intellectual vibrancy of the campus.

Florida Atlantic University

Monica Escaleras is an associate professor of economics and is 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, Escaleras received the FAU National Alumni Association Degree of Difference Award and was a finalist for the FAU Distinguished Teacher of the Year award.

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.

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, Escaleras was an assistant professor at The College of Charleston.

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$2.8 Trillion Hispanic Market: Why CEOs Must Recommit To Inclusion

All in all, Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index dropped from 85.7 to 81.24 since the start of the year, according to the Florida Atlantic University survey conducted from April 1 to June 30, 2025.

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As households face increasing prices for goods and talk of new tariffs, Hispanic optimism in the economy waned in the first quarter of 2025, according to a poll from the Business Economic and Polling Initiative at Florida Atlantic University.

Associate Professor and Director of the Business and Economics Polling Initiative

  As households face increasing prices for goods and talk of new tariffs, Hispanic optimism in the economy waned in the first quarter of 2025, according to a poll from the Business Economic and Polling Initiative at Florida Atlantic University.  The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HSCI) decreased to 85.7 in the first quarter of 2025, down from 89.6 in the fourth quarter of 2024.

When compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, there was a decrease in optimism in four out of five questions used to generate the HCSI.

Looking at the year ahead, 53% of Hispanics said they expect the country to experience good business conditions, a decline from 61% in the prior quarter; and 64% of Hispanics indicated they will be better off over the next year, down from 70% in the last quarter of 2024.

  In terms of the long-run economic outlook of the country, Hispanics are less optimistic in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 (52% vs. 58%).

Only 51% of Hispanics think it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, compared to 52% in the last quarter of 2024.

Only one question had an increase in confidence: 63% of Hispanics said they are better off financially than a year ago, which is 8 percentage points (55%) higher than the last quarter of 2024.

 “Sentiment softened in four of the five questions this quarter,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., chair and director of BEPI. “Persistently high borrowing costs and everyday price pressures – together with talk of new tariffs and a possible recession – are weighing on household outlooks. These headwinds are keeping many Hispanic families cautious about the economic outlook in the United States.” The poll is based on a sample of 542 Hispanic adults over 18 years old. The survey was administered using both landlines via Interactive Voice Response data collection and online data collection using Dynata. Respondents were sampled between Jan. 1 and March 31 with a margin of error of +/- 4.21 percentage points. Responses for the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national distribution of the Hispanic population by region, education, gender, age and income according to the latest American Community Survey data. 

Full results can be found here:

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Monica Escaleras is available to speak with media about the BEPI Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index . Simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.


BEPI Poll: Hispanic Economic Outlook Drops Amid Tariffs, Rising Prices

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 Voters Split on Whether Trump Should be Removed from Office    Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has widened his lead to 26 points among Florida voters in the race for the Democratic party’s nomination for president in 2020, according to a statewide survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative (FAU BEPI).    Among the Democratic candidates, Biden has increased his support to 42 percent, up from 34 percent in BEPI’s September 2019 poll. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders jumped into second place at 14 percent, while U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren fell to third at 10 percent, down significantly from 24 percent support in September. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came in fourth at 7 percent, followed by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 6 percent, entrepreneur Andrew Yang at 5 percent and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 3 percent. 
 
A majority of Democratic primary voters (54 percent) said they will definitely vote for their top choice, with 46 percent saying there is a chance they could change their minds and vote for someone else. The Florida Democratic primary is March 17.
 
“Joe Biden continues to be in a very strong position in Florida,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of the FAU BEPI. “However, it will be interesting to see what impact the early contests in New Hampshire and Iowa will have on voters in Florida regarding their support for Biden.” Sanders fared best among Florida voters in head-to-head matchups against U.S President Donald Trump, with a 53-to-47 percent advantage on the president. Biden and Warren have narrow two-point leads on Trump, 51 to 49 percent, while Buttigieg finished in a 50-50 dead heat with the president. In September, Trump held small leads in each of these head-to-head matchups. 
 
With an impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate looming, Florida voters are split on whether Trump should be removed from office, with 51 percent saying he should be removed while 49 percent are against removal. Voters are also split about how their Congress person’s decision whether or not to impeach Trump will affect their support for them as a candidate, with 40 percent saying it will make them less likely to support the candidate, 38 percent saying they would be more likely to support them and 21 percent saying it would have no effect.
 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has just completed his first year in office, is popular among voters with 48 percent approval and 28 percent disapproval, while 25 percent of voters were neutral or had no opinion. 
 
With tensions rising with Iran, 61 percent of voters do not think the U.S. is going to get into a war with Iran, while 39 percent think recent military action will lead to war.
 
Trump’s approval rating is slightly above water among Florida voters, with 45 percent approval and 43 disapproval. He continues to be hugely popular among GOP voters, with a 66-point lead on his Republican rivals, former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. 
 
“Floridians are deeply divided on the president and on impeachment,” said Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative. “Nonetheless, Mr. Trump continues to perform better in Florida than in national polls.”    The survey was conducted Jan. 9-12 and polled 1,285 Florida registered voters. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. The margin of error for both the Republican primary and the Democratic primary is +/- 4.4 percentage points.   The data was weighted by ethnicity, age, education, party affiliation, region and  gender based on a 2016 voter model. It is important to remember that subsets carry with them higher margins of error, as the sample size is reduced. Data was collected using both an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system of landlines and an online panel provided by Dynata.   Are you a journalist covering the role Florida will play in the upcoming election?  If so, let our experts help with your coverage.

Kevin Wagner's research and teaching interests include presidential and judicial politics, political behavior and legislative behavior. Monica Escaleras is the Director of the Business and Economics Polling Initiative at Florida Atlantic University. Both experts are available to speak with reporters - simply click on either icon to arrange an interview.










FAU Poll Finds Biden Widening Lead in Florida, Where Trump Has Fallen Behind in Matchups with Democrats 


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2016 FAU Talon Award Recipient: Monica Escaleras BEPI

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