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Halloween treat: Professor writes about how zombies would impact economy

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has contributed a ghoulish chapter to , a recently published book that takes an academic approach to some of the favorite horror traditions of film land.

O鈥橦ara鈥檚 chapter, 鈥淶ombies as an Invasive Species,鈥 examines how real-life feral pig problems can be used as a model to predict the what-if scenario of a zombie invasion and the inevitable economic impacts.

鈥淟ike zombies, wild hogs start out as a domesticated and economically productive species. 鈥 Unlike zombies, they are not undead, and their bite cannot change another creature into a wild hog, but they offer the closest comparison available to us for analyzing the effects of policy intervention. Studying efforts to control the costs of feral hogs can inform our economic analysis of zombies,鈥 O鈥橦ara writes.

While examining a zombie outbreak sounds like a lot of fun, O鈥橦ara says he also uses the exercise as a teaching tool in his class, where he asks students how they would change standard models of recreational hunting to fit the zombie scenario.

An excerpt from is featured on the book鈥檚 website, and it was recently discussed on its after the village of Clarendon Hills, Ill. issued zombie hunting permits in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The book, edited by Glen Whitman and James Dow, was recently featured on the and has been reviewed in ,  , and .