John Merrifield John Merrifield, Ph. D., is a Professor of Economics at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has published three books, 38 articles, and several chapters in edited books in his primary teaching and research fields of K-12 school reform, the environment, natural resource management, urban and regional economics, and public choice. Dr. Merrifield received a B. S. in natural resource management from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo in 1977, a M. A. in economic geography from the University of Illinois in 1979 and a Ph. D. in economics from the University of Wyoming in 1984.