Senior Economist · Economic Innovation Group

Evidence on how policy reshapes work, place, and mobility.

My research combines applied microeconomics and policy evaluation to study U.S. labor markets, place-based policy, and the design of social programs. The focus is worker well-being and economic mobility, and how national policy choices play out in local economies.

  • Generational mobility

    The generation wage ladder

    At the same age, each generation of U.S. wage earners has out-earned the last — at 35, the typical Millennial earned about 32 percent more than the typical Boomer did, in 2025 dollars.

  • July 2026 jobs report

    Raises are the smallest in five years

    Average hourly earnings grew 3.2 percent year over year in July 2026 — the slowest pace since May 2021.

  • Cost of living · 2024 election

    One dot breaks the 2024 election chart

    Democratic vote share fell 4.35 points in the 27 most expensive U.S. counties — nearly four times the decline the trend across all other counties predicts.

  • Social Security

    The largest anti-poverty program

    Social Security lifted 28.7 million Americans out of poverty in 2024 — more than any other program, and 20.1 million of them were 65 or older.

  • State economies

    Take out healthcare and California shrank

    California employment grew 3.4 percent over the four years to March 2026, but excluding healthcare it fell 0.3 percent — healthcare is carrying the state's job market.

Figures adapted from my short-form video series — full reels on Instagram and TikTok.

Currently: Shaping EIG's research pipeline on labor markets, place-based policy, and retirement security — from framing new questions to publication-ready analysis.

Collaborations, press interviews, podcasts, and panels are a regular part of the work — requests welcome. Email me or see past appearances.

Selected work

PEER-REVIEWED · 2023

The Minimum Wage, Self-Employment, and the Online Gig Economy

Minimum wage increases pushed some workers into gig and nonemployer self-employment, concentrated in transportation and warehousing after ride-hailing platforms emerged.

Journal of Labor Economics
EIG REPORT · 2025

How to end low-wage work forever: An 80-80 wage subsidy proposal

The 80-80 proposal would subsidize low-wage paychecks directly, raising take-home pay without adding to employers' cost of hiring.

Economic Innovation Group
INTERVIEW · 2024

New Project Looks to Build Consensus on State of American Worker

A conversation on the American Worker Project — why labor-market perception often diverges from the underlying data, and which policy levers matter most for workers.

Spotlight on Poverty