What I'm interested in

I love economics. My first econ class was in high school. I liked that each question was like a math puzzle question and often to find the answer you had to draw something from memory. I love the way it explains, at least partially, the world around me made using math.

At BYU I had the same thrill. I took all of the econ PhD prep courses. The only econ elective class I took was Labor Economics. Then again at LSE my elective choice was Labour Economics. Currently at Imperial, I’m working mostly with economists that study development and productivity. This fall I’ll be applying to PhD programs, so I need to flesh out what exactly my interests are so I can apply to schools that are strong in those fields.

Development doesn’t speak to me the same way Labo(u)r does. When I first started seriously studying econ I was recently back from Cambodia. Back then development sounded more interesting, I liked the thought of somehow making a meaningful impact in combating the poverty I saw in Cambodia. Development econ often takes very small samples of 1,000 or so people then, for example, gives a random subset of those 1,000 a cow. The economist then analyizes how that cow, or treatment, affected people’s health/wealth/other outcomes in the future. The idea is then to take these findings to inform policy about effective ways to develop.

I do enjoy thinking about producitivity and macroeconomics more generally. I’m always drawn to that section of the news. Though I’m not sure if I’m drawn to it because I enjoy it or becuse it gives the same thrill as doom-scrolling. Economists studying producitivy often use macro data from countries. This limits the amount of data available to the number of countries that produce and make available reliable data. Economists then analyze things like education levels, investment in infrastructure, health care systems, etc. They then use this analysis to inform policy about effective ways to grow productivity.

I’m glad, and frankly quite lucky, to be at Imperial and be exposed to these other kinds of economics. But, labo(u)r still has my heart. At LSE my labour class had sections about labor supply and welfare systems, inequality and techincal change, immigration, education, trade, racial and gender gaps, minimum wage, crime, and intergenerational mobility. These other kinds of economics are still important, but labor just appeals more to my interests. How does internet access impact someone’s earnings? What are the effects of grade inflation? How will NIL impact college athletes choices 10 years later?

Here is a random list of papers that are particularly intersting to me:

• Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Financial and Corporate Sectors

• Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark

• Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households

• Racial Discrimination Among NBA Referees

• THE EFFECT OF MINIMUM WAGES ON LOW-WAGE JOBS: EVIDENCE FROM THE UNITED STATES USING A BUNCHING ESTIMATOR

• The Contribution of the Minimum Wage to US Wage Inequality over Three Decades: A Reassessment

• Why the Apple Doesn't Fall Far: Understanding Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital

• The impacts of parental job loss and job insurance policies on children

• Panic on the Streets of London: Police, Crime, and the July 2005 Terror Attacks

• UNTANGLING TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY: EVIDENCE FROM LOCAL LABOUR MARKETS

• The impact of computer usage on academic performance: Evidence from a randomized trial at the United States Military Academy

• Optimal inflation and the identification of the Phillips curve

• WHY DO PEOPLE STAY POOR?

• Gender Differences in Job Search: Trading off Commute against Wage