The Mixtape with Scott

• S4E22: Jessica Brown, Labor Economist, University of South Carolina

  Welcome to The Mixtape with Scott, a podcast dedicated to exploring the personal stories of living economists. I'm your host, Scott Cunningham, Professor of Economics at Baylor University.Today, I'm delighted to introduce Jessica Brown, Assistant Professor of Economics at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Jessica is also a Research Fellow at IZA and a Faculty Affiliate at the Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.I invited Jessica onto the podcast because of her deep connections to the credibility revolution, causal inference, and the esteemed tradition of labor economics nurtured at Princeton University’s Industrial Relations Section, where she completed her PhD in 2019.Jessica is also joining us as part of a special series I've been hosting, loosely titled "The Students Of..." Within this series, she specifically contributes to our "Students of Alan Krueger" mini-series. Alan Krueger, a pioneering economist whose work profoundly shaped labor economics, tragically passed away in 2019. Jessica was one of Alan's last doctoral students, and his death came shortly before her dissertation defense.In our conversation today, we'll explore Jessica's journey as an economist, her experiences studying under Alan Krueger, and the influence he had on her professional and personal development.Jessica, thank you so much for joining us.Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E21: Michael Anderson, Public and Labor Economist, UC Berkeley

  Welcome to this week's episode of The Mixed Tape with Scott. I'm your host, Scott Cunningham. This podcast is devoted to the personal stories of living economists, diving into their lives, careers, and the fascinating paths they've walked.This week's guest is Michael Anderson, an economist from the University of California Berkeley's Department of Agricultural Resource Economics. Michael earned his PhD at MIT in 2006 under the mentorship of Josh Angrist, making him part of a broader narrative I've been exploring—the Princeton Industrial Relations Section and the influential lineage of scholars who shaped the modern credibility revolution in economics.In our conversation, we touch on Michael's rich and varied research. We discuss his insights into the returns to college athletic success, delve into his foundational work on the Perry Preschool program and the challenge of multiple inference, and explore the real-world impacts outlined in his American Economic Review paper on subway strikes and slowdowns. As always, though, this episode is much more than just research highlights—it's about Michael's journey through economics, his stories, and the experiences that have defined his path. I hope you enjoy the show!Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E20: Philip Oreopoulos, Labor Economist, University of Toronto

  I’m thrilled to announce that our next guest on The Mixtape with Scott is Professor Philip Oreopoulos—one of the most impactful economists working today in education and labor. A PhD student advisee of David Card, Phil is part of the distinguished lineage that helped shape the credibility revolution in applied microeconomics.Now a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, Phil has spent his career studying how education policies and interventions affect outcomes for students and workers. His work blends rigorous causal inference with real-world relevance to uncover how both the very large interventions we employ to help society, as well as the seemingly surgically narrow ones, shape the lives of workers and students. He’s also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Research Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. His CV is full of important papers, but it’s the heart behind the work that really stands out—his curiosity about the world and his desire to make a difference. In this episode, we go beyond the papers. We talk about his journey, what it was like working with David Card, and how he found his calling. It’s a thoughtful, warm conversation with a scholar who represents the very best of what economics can be.Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E18: Liyang Sun, Econometrics, University of College London

  I'm excited to announce the newest episode to the podcast features a brilliant mind in econometrics and applied microeconomics: Dr. Liyang "Sophie" Sun from University College London. While Liyang has technically been a guest before, our previous conversation had been narrowly focused on econometric techniques. This time, we're shifting gears to align with the core purpose of the podcast—exploring the personal stories and journeys of living economists.Many of you know Liyang by reputation or have cited her groundbreaking work. Her 2021 paper with Sarah Abraham in the Journal of Econometrics on difference-in-differences estimated using two-way fixed effects with leads and lags was recognized as one of the recipients of the Aigner award for 2022 —a remarkable achievement. That paper in particular helped clarify exactly what we were—and weren't—measuring in difference-in-differences event studies. Beyond diagnosing issues in existing approaches, they introduced a new and more accurate estimator, known formally as the interaction-weighted estimator, but which most of us now fondly call simply “SA” (Sun and Abraham). I love that paper; it has taught me a great deal.Her research portfolio extends well beyond this, spanning instrumental variables, synthetic control methods, and other innovative approaches that have reshaped how we think about causal inference in economics.In this episode, we'll dive into Liyang’s personal journey through growing up in China, coming to the United States as a high school student, and then through college, grad school and a career as a professional economist and econometrician. She generously shares the experiences, people and discoveries that have shaped her career and research directions. It was a genuine pleasure to hear more of her story, and I believe you'll find it both enlightening and inspiring.Thank you again for all your support! Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E17: Nathan Nunn, Economic History and Development, University of British Columbia

  Welcome to the Mixtape with Scott! This week’s guest is Nathan Nunn, professor in the Vancouver School of Economics at University of British Columbia. Nathan is a development economist and economic historian whose work on the development of the African continent has been viewed as pioneering, seminal even. Two of his major works focused on the African slave trade and its impact on trust (here in this AER) and the continent’s longterm development (here). The body of work is so massive that I can only point you to his webpage and vita. He’s currently an editor at Quarterly Journal of Economics, a member of NBER and a research fellow at BREAD. And here is his google scholar page. And for giggles, here are the people at NotebookLM explaining his vita!Here’s that NotebookLM link for people looking on YouTube or podcast platforms like Apple Music or Spotify. url: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ac825f4e-3e35-4359-b154-bc82ef808a79/audioThanks again everyone and I hope you enjoy this great interview! Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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