Professor Alyssa Carlson has been awarded the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER award, a rare honor for an economist and especially for methodologist like her. Her award will be used to support research in developing statistical tools and methodologies for identifying and estimating causal effects under realistic assumptions. In evaluating the effectiveness of economic policies, models of endogeneity are commonplace as individuals or states who choose to enact a policy or participate in treatment are often different than those who do not in unobservable ways. Prof. Carlson’s research will expand upon existing methods in models of endogeneity, while relaxing underlying assumptions that may not likely hold in reality. 

Prof. Carlson believes strongly and has demonstrated leadership in the encouragement and mentorship of women into the field of economics. The educational component of this award will provide support for the Undergraduate Women in Economics student group as well as the creation of an undergraduate research experience. The experience will include summer stipends for undergraduate researchers, funding for student events, and support for a graduate research assistant to evaluate the effectiveness of the undergraduate programming through surveys.

Read award abstract here.