Trenchant Economics

Mission: To provide our clients service that is scrupulous and fully meets their needs. Truth honesty, and analytical rigor are core values. Our aspiration and capability is to deliver products that are trenchant, meaning vigorously effective and articulate, sharply perceptive, and with clear-cut distinctions (from Merriam Webster).

“When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear.”
– Thomas Sowell, American economist

Economics Analysis

Economic analysis. Trenchant Economics can provide analyses related to transportation, infrastructure, and other microeconomic fields. We are keen on analyses requiring major innovation and combining economics with other fields, such as engineering and law, but also welcome other work. On a current project, we are developing a model to estimate the ride comfort value ($) of improvements to pavement quality. Preliminary results were presented at the 2022 annual conference of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis.

Survey Design

Survey design: For TxDOT, Dr. Luskin designed surveys to gauge the local business impacts of construction activity on the High-Five Interchange Project in Dallas, Texas. The survey results confirmed the success of TxDOT in minimizing disruptions to local businesses by employing innovative construction strategies. While employed by the Australian government, Dr. Luskin designed a survey of on-the-job training practices. More recently, at the Federal Highway Administration, he designed stated preference questions for a household travel survey to support an analysis of how much travelers value travel time savings.

Infrastructure Finance Advice

Infrastructure finance advisory service: While working for the Bureau of Transport Economics in Australia, Dr. Luskin wrote a working paper on the potential benefits from increase private involvement in road provision, which also considered the alternative of increased reliance on publicly financed toll roads. A summary of the paper’s findings was published in a Melbourne newspaper, The Age. As a consultant at HDR Economics, Dr, Luskin prepared a report for U.S. DOT that drew lessons from international experience with environmental review of transportation projects, with a focus on public-private partnerships. At the Federal Highway Administration, he continued his involvement with infrastructure finance issues, including through serving on the board of the TRB Revenue and Finance Committee and participating in a working group to prepare guidance for State and local governments on P3 issues.

Program Support

Program support: For Illuminate FNQ, Dr. Luskin drafted the initial business plan for the STEM/Environment Festival that was held in Cairns, Australia in August 2022. He also led the design of a questionnaire to obtain feedback from festival participants.