Ph.D., Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Bruns-Smith is a PhD student in Computer Science. He is interested in applying methods from optimization, statistics, and control to problems in causal inference, labor, and social policy, with the hope that recent developments in computer science can help break new ground in inequality research.
Ph.D., Economics
Lyubich is a PhD student in the Economics Department and a Graduate Student Researcher at the Energy Institute at Haas. Her research examines the relationship between inequality, local public goods, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Ph.D., Economics
Harrison Wheeler is a PhD student in Economics. With support from the Opportunity Lab and the Smith Richardson Foundation, he and his research partner Patrick Kennedy are studying the impacts of "Opportunity Zones" created through the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. In particular, they are looking into how the targeted tax incentives created through this program have affected local investment, employment, housing prices, and demographics in areas designated as underserved.
Ph.D., Sociology
LaBriola is a PhD candidate in Sociology. With support from the Opportunity Lab and the Smith Richardson Foundation, he is studying the effects of land use regulations on housing supply throughout California and around the country.
Ph.D., Economics
Vasquez is a PhD student in Economics. With support from the Opportunity Lab and the Smith Richardson Foundation, he and his research partner Isabela Manelici are studying the effects of incentive policies designed to attract large multi-national corporations. In their current project, Isabela and Jose are looking into how these kinds of incentives are affecting firm productivity, employment rates, and economic activity in Costa Rica.
Ph.D., Public Policy
Danesh is a PhD student in Economics. With support from the Opportunity Lab and the Smith Richardson Foundation, he is studying the effects of federal policies targeted at "Medically Underserved Areas." In particular, he will be examining how incentives to attract doctors and changes to Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates have affected the supply of physicians in these areas, spending on healthcare, and the health outcomes of individuals living in these areas.
Ph.D., Economics
Rousille is a PhD candidate in Economics at Berkeley. She is interested in labor market inequality and capital taxation. Her most recent project uses data from more than 100,000 candidates and 40,000 jobs on an online recruitment platform to explore the role of the gender ask gap - the fact that women with similar backgrounds and experience as men have lower salary expectations - in companies' hiring and wage setting decisions.
Ph.D., Economics
Kennedy is a PhD student in Economics at UC Berkeley, a Graduate Research Fellow at the National Science Foundation, and a Research Fellow with the California Policy Lab. He received his BA from Stanford University, and has worked at the Federal Reserve Board and Treasury Department in Washington, DC and at Columbia University in New York City. His research interests focus on the intersection of labor economics, public finance, and economic geography.
Photo by Hagit Caspi
Ph.D., Economics
Zarate is a PhD student in Economics. With support from the Opportunity Lab and the Smith Richardson Foundation, he is studying the relationship between public transit investments, commuting times, and labor power in Mexico City.
