A $1.685 million gift by the Charles Koch Foundation was given to Iowa State's department of economics Oct. 16. The gift will span over five years and go toward a new program which will study Midwest markets and entrepreneurship and is an Iowa State agricultural entrepreneurship initiative.
"[This gift] will help us to fill a gap in research and education on how Midwest markets work, and how they might work better to support Midwestern entrepreneurs and innovators,” said Joshua Rosenbloom, chair of the department of economics.
"Studies of entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth have focused predominantly on the experiences of cities, and mainly on the East and West Coasts," said Peter Orazem, university professor of economics who directs the program. "That’s why we believe it’s important to better understand how Midwest markets function in a world where increasingly people and companies benefit from locating near one another."
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