TEACHING

As an applied microeconomist, my teaching focuses on demystifying the theoretical and statistical tools economists use to study current issues such as the minimum wage, affordable housing, paid family leave, free community college, affirmative action, universal basic income, immigration, and trade—all of which serve as topics for in-class policy debates in my undergraduate and graduate courses. For undergraduates, my goal is to teach them to “think like an economist” and be critical consumers of the constant flow of data and information they encounter on a daily basis. For the master’s students, I show them how to use the tools of economic analysis to assess the costs and benefits of any policy proposal. For the Ph.D. students, I provide them with the latest theories and techniques, so they can apply them to the research questions that interest them and make meaningful contributions to the field. In each of my classes, I deliberately include income inequality as a policy topic to highlight differences in economic outcomes by gender, race, and class to promote diversity and inclusion.