Introduction
I am an Assistant Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University. My research asks what widens or narrows access to economic opportunity. I study how safety-net programs, schooling, housing, geography, and technological change shape who gets a foothold in the labor market and who gets left behind. Across projects ranging from SNAP work requirements to the Orphan Trains to generative AI, I use natural experiments, structural models, and historical data to trace how policy and circumstance move people up or hold them back.
Before joining LSU, I earned my Ph.D. at Duke University following professional experiences at the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Federal Reserve, and Johns Hopkins SAIS. I teach introductory courses and labor economics and recently received the E. J. Ourso College's Dean's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.