Hello! I am a PhD candidate in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. My research interests are environmental and energy economics, machine learning for causal inference, and policy learning. My CV is available here.

I am on the job market in 2022-2023 and will be available for interviews before and at ASSA 2023.

Education

• Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2023 (expected)
• M.S. in Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, 2021
• MEM. Master of Environmental Management, Duke University, 2015
• B.A. in Environmental Biology, Economics, Washington University in St. Louis, 2013

Working Papers

• Targeted Behavioral Intervention as a Decision-making Problem: Who Should We Treat? (Job Market Paper)
  • Abstract: Demand-side energy policies aim to maximize average energy conservation in the target population, but their effects are heterogeneous across households. How should we design these programs? I investigate two conceptual approaches. First, using a decision-making framework, I derive treatment assignments based on household characteristics through a process called policy learning. I directly solve for the treatment assignment rule that maximizes the average treatment effect estimated using the doubly-robust augmented inverse propensity weighting estimator. Second, I adopt a causal estimation framework that assigns treatment based on heterogeneous treatment effects estimated using machine learning tools in high-dimensional settings. I apply these two methods to a large-scale behavioral intervention program. While both methods outperform the original program, the direct method achieves at least 60% higher savings in energy usage and 40% higher savings in energy cost. These findings highlight the distinctions between causal effect estimation and causal decision making in policy learning.
• Using Targeting to Optimize Program Design: Evidence from an Energy Conservation Experiment (Accepted at JAERE)
  • with Todd Gerarden
• Charging Infrastructure and Consumer Incentives Drive Cross-Country Disparities in Electric Vehicle Adoption
  • with Shanjun Li, Binglin Wang, and Fan Zhang

Professional Experience

• National Grid. Full-time analyst. August 2015 – July 2017
  • Conducted cost-benefit analysis of energy efficiency programs
  • Managed evaluation studies on the technical savings potential of multiple programs
• Rocky Mountain Institute. Full-time research Intern. June – August 2015
  • Conducted detailed research on market features of China’s power sector
• Environmental Defense Fund. Full-time Climate Corps fellow. May – August 2014
  • Performed energy audits and emissions accounting, and proposed energy efficiency improvement strategies for Dunkin’ Brands.

Teaching Experience

Cornell University, Teaching Assistant

• AEM 4515 (Fall 2019)
• AEM 3390/6390 (Spring 2019)
• AEM 440/ 6140 (Fall 2018)

Duke University, Teaching Assistant

• Environ 983 (Spring 2015)
• Environ 962 (Fall 2014) [test]