Profile information for Valentina Hartarska

Honors and Awards

• Highly Ranked Scholar, No. 3 worldwide in microfinance (lifetime), ScholarGPS
• Top 10% Author, Social Science Research Network (SSRN), all social sciences
• 2026: Mentorship and Outreach (Legacy) Award, Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
• 2019: Warren Samuels Prize for Outstanding Research, Association for Social Economics, ASSA Meeting, Atlanta
• 2019: Richard Guthrie Award for Achievements in International Agriculture, College of Agriculture, Auburn University
• 2018: Outstanding Publication Award, College of Agriculture, Auburn University
• 2018: Best Paper Award in Microfinance (finalist), FMA International, Kristiansand, Norway
• 2012 and 2016: High Impact Paper Award, College of Agriculture, Auburn University
• 2015: Fulbright Scholar, Core Programs, Belgium
• 2014-2019: Alumni Professorship, Auburn University
• 2014-present: Global Teaching Academy Fellow, Auburn University
• 2013: Highly Commended Award Winner, Emerald Literati Network
• 2008: Borlaug Fellow and Mentor
• 2008: Best Poster Award, Boulder-Bergamo Forum on Access to Financial Services, Bergamo, Italy
• 2008: Distinguished Professional Contribution Award, Southern Agricultural Economics Association
• 2006: Fellowship, Center for Financial Research, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  
  

Invited Speaker

• 2024: Workshop on Green Finance, University of Zurich, Switzerland, June 12
• 2024: National Agricultural Credit Conference, American Bankers Association, Gulf Shores, AL, May 2
• 2023: Keynote, International Conference on Economic Development, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima
• 2023: Research Workshop: 15 Years of the European Microfinance Research Center, Brussels, March
• 2020: Panelist, Community Finance with the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Auburn University, March
• 2020: Panelist, Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Workshop, Farm Foundation and Economic Research Service, USDA
• 2013: Plenary Speaker, 3rd European Microfinance Research Conference, Agder University, Norway, June
• 2013: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, October 3
• 2011: Plenary Speaker, Microfinance Industry Meeting, Agder University, Norway
• 2010: Financial Economics Seminar, The World Bank
• 2005: Federal Reserve System, 4th Community Affairs Research Conference

Professional Affiliations

• Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
• American Finance Association
• American Economics Association
• European Agricultural Economics Association
• Financial Management Association International
• International Association of Agricultural Economists

Select Publications

• Hartarska, V. and R. Cull, eds. (2023) Handbook of Microfinance, Financial Inclusion and Development, Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Fuad, S., V. Hartarska, and D. Nadolnyak (forthcoming) "Net Entry of Beginning Farmers in the U.S.: An Application of Spatial Analysis," European Review of Agricultural Economics.
• Hartarska, V., K. Varaku, and R. Sickles (2026) "The Effect of 'Plus' Services in Microfinance: A Doubly Robust Machine Learning Approach," Journal of Financial Services Research, 69(1): 17-38.
• Hartarska, V., J. Hilliard, and Y. Yoon (2026) "Opportunity Zones and the Importance of Banks in the Community," Journal of Financial Services Research, 69(1): 81-108.
• Khachatryan, K., A. Grigoryan, V. Hartarska, and R. Mersland (2026) "Cross-border Spillovers in Social Entrepreneurship: Spatial Proximity and Microfinance Performance," International Journal of the Economics of Business, 33(1): 161-186.
• Saha, R., M. Taylor, and V. Hartarska (2026) "Caste Dominance in Agricultural Credit Markets, but for Whom? Evidence from India," European Journal of Development Research, DOI: 10.1057/s41287-026-00753-9.
• Hartarska, V. and K. Khachatryan (2026) "A Joint Assignment as a Simple and Effective Way to Connect Students from Different Countries," New Directions in Teaching and Learning.
• Adu, D. and V. Hartarska (2025) "Are Cell Phones Changing Lives? Fintech and Poverty in Kenya," World Development, 195: 107136.
• Hartarska, V., K. Varaku, and R. Sickles (2025) "The Effect of Regulation in Microfinance: Evidence from Semi-parametric Machine Learning Methods," Applied Economics Letters, DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2025.2575824.
• Hartarska, V., D. Nadolnyak, and R. Chen (2025) "Banking Crises and Microfinance Performance," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 102: 102166.
• Hartarska, V., J. Zhang, and D. Nadolnyak (2025) "Financial Inclusion through Specialization or Diversification with Group and Individual Loans in Microfinance," Empirical Economics, 68(6): 2767-2798.
• Grigoryan, A., K. Khachatryan, V. Hartarska, and R. Mersland (2025) "Are All Deposit Products in the Microfinance World Created Equal?" Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 61(5): 1160-1176.
• Adu, D., V. Hartarska, W. Sawadgo, and H. Thompson (2025) "Revisiting the Impact of Export Diversification on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 12: 102091.
• Hartarska, V., E. Adjei, and D. Nadolnyak (2024) "The Transition Incentive Program and Women Farmers in the USA," Food Policy, 129: 102739.
• Hikkaduwa Epa Liyanage, K., V. Hartarska, and D. Nadolnyak (2024) "Prepaid Cards and the Unbanked in the U.S.: Financial Innovations and Financial Inclusion," Journal of Financial Economic Policy, 16(1): 102-119.
• Odabasi, S. and V. Hartarska (2024) "Climate Variability and Crime Rates in the Southeastern US," International Journal of Sustainable Society, 16(2): 91-106.
• Hartarska, V., J. Zhang, and D. Nadolnyak (2023) "Scope Economies in Rural and Urban Microfinance Markets," Southern Economic Journal, 89(4): 1138-1167.
• Nadolnyak, D. and V. Hartarska (2022) "Nontraditional Lenders and Access to Credit in Local Markets by Beginning and Female Farmers," Agricultural Finance Review, 82(2): 268-284.
• Hartarska, V., D. Nadolnyak, and N. Sehrawat (2022) "Beginning Farmers' Entry and Survival: Evidence from County Level Data," Agricultural Finance Review, 82(3): 577-596.
• Cozarenco, A., V. Hartarska, and A. Szafarz (2022) "Subsidies to Microfinance Institutions: How Do They Affect Cost Efficiency and Mission Drift?" Applied Economics, 54(44): 5099-5132.
• Zhang, J., V. Hartarska, and E. Malikov (2021) "Product and Market Diversification in US Banking," Finance Research Letters, 42: 101881.
• Brizmohun, R., V. Hartarska, and D. Alessandrini (2021) "Wage Gap in Small Islands: Effect of a Policy Framework in Mauritius," Review of Development Economics, 25(4): 2207-2229.
• N'Guessan, M.N. and V. Hartarska (2021) "Funding the Funders of the BOP in Emerging Markets: Organizational Forms and Capital Structures of Microfinance Institutions for Resource Acquisition," Research in International Business and Finance.
• Odabasi, S. and V. Hartarska (2021) "Farmer Suicides: Effects of Socio-Economic, Climate, and Mental Health Factors," Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 24(2).
• Griffin, B., V. Hartarska, and D. Nadolnyak (2020) "Credit Constraints and Beginning Farmers' Production in the U.S.: Evidence from Propensity Score Matching with Principal Component Clustering," Sustainability, 12(14): 5537.
• Malikov, E., V. Hartarska, and R. Mersland (2020) "Scope Economies in Microfinance: Evidence from Quantile Estimation on Panel Data," Finance Research Letters, 34: 101246.
• Li, S., D. Nadolnyak, and V. Hartarska (2019) "Agricultural Land Conversion: Impacts of Economic and Natural Risk Factors in a Coastal Area," Land Use Policy, 80: 380-390.
• Nadolnyak, D., V. Hartarska, and B. Griffin (2019) "The Impact of Weather, Economic, and Demographic Factors on Beginning Farmers' Exit," Sustainability, 11(16): 4280.
• Khachatryan, K., V. Baghdasaryan, and V. Hartarska (2019) "Is the Model 'Loans-Plus-Savings' Better for Microfinance Institutions? A PSM Comparison," Review of Development Economics, 23(3): 1309-1330.
• Malikov, E. and V. Hartarska (2018) "Endogenous Scope Economies in Microfinance," Journal of Banking and Finance, 93: 162-182. College of Agriculture Outstanding Publication Award, 2018.
• Chen, R., V. Hartarska, and N. Wilson (2018) "The Causal Impact of HACCP on Seafood Imports in the U.S.: An Application of Difference-in-Differences within the Gravity Model," Food Policy, 79: 166-178.
• Quaye, F., D. Nadolnyak, and V. Hartarska (2018) "Climate Change Impacts on Farmland Values in the Southeast," Sustainability, 10(10): 3426.
• Shen, X. and V. Hartarska (2018) "Winners and Losers from Financial Derivatives Use by Community Banks," Applied Economics, 50(41): 4402-4417.
• Sun, H., V. Hartarska, L. Zhang, and D. Nadolnyak (2018) "The Influence of Social Capital on Farm Household's Borrowing Behavior in Rural China," Sustainability, 10(12): 4361.
• Lee, J., D. Nadolnyak, and V. Hartarska (2017) "The Effect of Weather on Agricultural Labor Supply," Journal of Agribusiness, 35(1): 15-27.
• Nadolnyak, D., V. Hartarska, and X. Shen (2017) "Farm Credit System Credit and Farm Income and Output," Agricultural Finance Review, 77(1): 95-110.
• Khachatryan, K., V. Hartarska, and A. Grigoryan (2017) "Performance and Capital Structure of Microfinance Institutions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia," Eastern European Economics, 55(5): 395-419.
• Hartarska, V., D. Nadolnyak, and X. Shen (2015) "Agricultural Credit and Economic Growth in Rural Areas," Agricultural Finance Review, 75(3): 302-312.
• Delgado, M., C. Parmeter, V. Hartarska, and R. Mersland (2015) "Should All Microfinance Institutions Mobilize Microsavings? Evidence from Economies of Scope," Empirical Economics, 48: 193-225.
• Hartarska, V., R. Mersland, and D. Nadolnyak (2014) "Are Women Better Bankers to the Poor? Evidence from Rural Microfinance Institutions," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 96(5): 1291-1306.
• Hartarska, V., X. Shen, and R. Mersland (2013) "Scale Economies and Elasticities of Substitution in Microfinance Institutions," Journal of Banking and Finance, 37(1): 118-131.
• Hartarska, V. and R. Mersland (2012) "What Governance Mechanisms Promote Efficiency in Reaching Poor Clients? Evidence from Rated Microfinance Institutions," European Financial Management, 18(2): 218-239.
• Hartarska, V. and D. Nadolnyak (2012) "Financing Constraints and Access to Credit in a Post-Crisis Environment: Evidence from New Farmers in Alabama," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 44(4): 1-15.
• Hartarska, V., C. Parmeter, and D. Nadolnyak (2011) "Economies of Scope of Lending and Mobilizing Deposits in Microfinance Institutions: A Semiparametric Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93(2): 389-398.
• Caudill, S., D. Gropper, and V. Hartarska (2009) "Which Microfinance Institutions Are Becoming More Cost Effective with Time? Evidence from a Mixture Model," Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, 41(4): 651-672.
• Hartarska, V. and D. Nadolnyak (2008) "Does Rating Help Microfinance Institutions Raise Funds? Cross-Country Evidence," International Review of Economics and Finance, 17: 558-571.
• Hartarska, V. and D. Nadolnyak (2008) "An Impact Analysis of Microfinance in Bosnia and Herzegovina," World Development, 36(12): 2605-2619.
• Hartarska, V. and D. Nadolnyak (2007) "Do Regulated Microfinance Institutions Achieve Better Sustainability and Outreach? Cross-Country Evidence," Applied Economics, 39(10-12): 1207-1222.
• Hartarska, V. and C. Gonzalez-Vega (2006) "What Affects New and Established Firms' Investment? Evidence from Small Firms in Russia," Small Business Economics, 27(2-3): 195-206.
• Hartarska, V. and C. Gonzalez-Vega (2006) "Evidence on the Effect of Credit Counseling on Mortgage Loan Default by Low-Income Households," Journal of Housing Economics, 15(1): 63-79.
• Hartarska, V. and C. Gonzalez-Vega (2005) "Credit Counseling and Mortgage Termination by Low-Income Households," Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 30(3): 227-243.
• Hartarska, V. (2005) "Governance and Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States," World Development, 33(10): 1627-1643.