Shawn McCoy

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Director, UNLV Lied Center for Real Estate

Associate Professor, Economics

Expertise: Urban Economics, Environmental Economics, Health Economics

Biography

Shawn McCoy is an economics professor, who specializes in urban-, environmental-, and health-related issues.

McCoy's research focuses on identifying cause-and-effect relationships between social problems, local economies, and the environment. His published works or works in-progress have explored a wide range of topics, including: the effect of wildfires and other storm damage on real estate transactions and homeowners' perceptions of disaster risk; how mass shootings and terrorism affect communities; and connections between disease and urban development, and fracking and indoor radon levels in homes.

Education

Ph.D., Economics, University of Pittsburgh
B.A., Economics, UNLV

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economy, environment, health & medicine, social issues

Shawn McCoy In The News

‘It’s ridiculous’: Rising housing costs are pinching Las Vegas Valley residents

Jair Guigui knows all too well about Las Vegas’ housing crisis. His sister recently moved in with him due to rising rental rates, and the 20-year-old said his parents, who were undocumented immigrants, were taken advantage of by a landlord which caused a number of health issues and forced them to move in with his older sister.

Welcome to Las Vegas’ housing crisis in 2024

There is no way around it, the Las Vegas Valley has a big problem, said the leader of the Nevada Housing Coalition. “Straight answer is we have a housing crisis in every sense of the imagination,” said Maurice Page, executive director for the coalition.

Low supply of Las Vegas rentals driving up prices, with income slow to catch up

If you're a renter, chances are your rent has increased in the last year. According to Redfin, the median rent in Las Vegas is about $1,500, while the national average is just over $ 1,600.

Crushing cost: Las Vegas residents spending too much on rent, study says

The Las Vegas metro region has one of the highest rates of rental burdens in the country, according to a new UNLV study. In Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and the overall metro region, 58.3 percent of all renters are spending more than 30 percent of their income on rental costs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development states that a renter is “housing cost burdened” if they are spending more than 30 percent of their income on  housing costs.