Joshua Angrist

Joshua Angrist is a prominent American economist and Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known for his work in Econometrics and Labor economics, particularly in the fields of Causal inference and Instrumental variables. His research has been influenced by notable economists such as Orley Ashenfelter, Angus Deaton, and David Card. Angrist's work has been published in top-tier economics journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Economic Review, and Journal of Political Economy. He has also collaborated with economists like Victor Chernozhukov and Jörn-Steffen Pischke.

● Biography

Joshua Angrist was born on September 11, 1960, in Columbus, Ohio, to a family of Harvard University and University of Chicago alumni. He spent his childhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Palo Alto, California, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio. Angrist's interest in economics was sparked by his father, who worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He has mentioned being influenced by the works of Milton Friedman and Gary Becker during his early years. Angrist's brother, Jules Angrist, is also an economist, and they have co-authored papers together, including with Guido Imbens and Alan Krueger.

● Education

Angrist received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Oberlin College in 1982, where he was influenced by professors like Peter Kenen and Robert Solow. He then pursued his graduate studies at Princeton University, earning his Master of Arts in 1984 and Ph.D. in Economics in 1989. During his time at Princeton University, Angrist was advised by Orley Ashenfelter and Whitney K. Newey. His dissertation, which explored the relationship between Compulsory schooling laws and Earnings, was later published in the Journal of Labor Economics and cited by researchers like David Autor and Lawrence Katz.

● Career

Angrist began his academic career as an assistant professor at Harvard University in 1989, where he worked alongside economists like Lawrence Summers and Greg Mankiw. He later moved to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991, becoming a full professor in 1998. Angrist has held visiting positions at institutions like University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, and the London School of Economics. He has also served as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a fellow at the Econometric Society. Angrist has worked with economists like Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson on various research projects.

● Research

Angrist's research focuses on the application of Econometric methods to Labor market and Education issues. He is particularly known for his work on Instrumental variables and Regression discontinuity design, which have been influential in the fields of Causal inference and Program evaluation. Angrist has published papers on topics like the Returns to education, Immigration, and Minimum wage laws, often collaborating with researchers like David Card and Alan Krueger. His work has been cited by economists like Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, and has influenced policy debates on issues like Education reform and Labor market regulation.

● Awards_and_Honors

Angrist has received numerous awards for his contributions to economics, including the John Bates Clark Medal in 2001, awarded by the American Economic Association. He was also elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006 and a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2011. Angrist has received honorary degrees from institutions like University of St. Gallen and University of Zurich. He has also been recognized for his teaching and mentoring, receiving the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences award for excellence in undergraduate teaching.

● Publications

Angrist has published numerous papers in top-tier economics journals, including the American Economic Review, Econometrica, and Journal of Economic Literature. He is also the co-author of the popular econometrics textbook Mostly Harmless Econometrics, written with Jörn-Steffen Pischke and Stephen P. Jenkins. Angrist's work has been cited over 100,000 times, according to Google Scholar, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential economists of his generation, along with researchers like Daron Acemoglu and Abhijit Banerjee. His publications have been influential in shaping the fields of Econometrics and Labor economics, and have been recognized with awards like the Frisch Medal and the Mahalanobis Memorial Medal.

Category:Economists