Ph.D. Students, Past and Present
Current Students

Zhao (Brian) Rong (expected 2008). Brian is studying the extent to which managers can predict the value of patents. He has developed a clever research design that uses insider trading patterns as an indicator of managers' beliefs. An independent thinker, Brian solves his own technical problems and keeps me on my toes.
Jing Chen (expected 2009). Jing's current research asks how technological change and firm growth differentially affects job tenure of different kinds of workers within a firm. Previous work on skill biased technological change distinguishes between skilled and unskilled workers. In contrast, Jing's work distinguishes between workers likely to have technology-specific skills from those with general skills. She is making clever use of the PSID, on which she has become quite the expert, to engage in a very micro-level analysis of this topic. 

 

 Dmitriy Krichevski (expected 2010). Dmitriy is studying the effect of imperfect information about the state of nature on the decision to become an entrepreneur, and its consequences for new firm performance. He's just beginning this project, but I expect great things.
Past Students

Ioana (R.) at graduation, with my colleague Mihaela Pintea.

 Ioana Popovici (FIU - 2007). Ioana's dissertation focuses on the relationship between property rights and innovation.  Ioana did most of her dissertation without much help from me and produced three very nice empirical papers, so I know she has a great career ahead of her. She is a Senior Research Associate at the Health Economics Research Group of the University of Miami.

Jeff's the ugly one on the right. The woman making him smile is his partner, Cinthia.

 Jeff Czajkowski  (FIU - 2007). Jeff's dissertation is an eclectic mix of work on environmental topics. One piece, a very nice paper on contingent valuation methods, I expect to see widely cited in the field. His major work, at least by weight, is a calibrated optimal stopping model of hurricane evacuation decision making. I'm expected a lot of valuable practical policy advice to come from this work. Jeff is now an assistant professor at Austin College.

Yuanyuan Peng (FIU - 2007). Yuanyuan's dissertation measures the effect of firm strategies -- notably product quality choice and product diversification -- on firm performance. Her work on the British automobile industry produced some very intriguing results. Yuanyuan is now working as a statistician for the Affinion Group in Connecticut.

Rebecca, with her husband Mike, on one of our fishing vacations in the Keys.

 Rebecca Achee Thornton (U. Houston - 2001). My first student. I don't think I screwed up, as we're still friends! Rebecca's main dissertation paper measured knowledge spillovers in wartime shipbuilding using  non-parametric methods. It was a nice enough piece to find a home at the AER. Rebecca is Clinical Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Houston.