Riley Acton
@riacton.bsky.social
Pinned
Riley Acton
@riacton.bsky.social
· Sep 8
🚨 New working paper alert! 🚨 #econsky
Emily Cook, Paola Ugalde, and I are thrilled to share "Political Views and College Choices in a Polarized America" — now out with both @iza.org and @annenberginstitute.bsky.social EdWorkingPapers
www.iza.org/publications...
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1280
Emily Cook, Paola Ugalde, and I are thrilled to share "Political Views and College Choices in a Polarized America" — now out with both @iza.org and @annenberginstitute.bsky.social EdWorkingPapers
www.iza.org/publications...
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1280
Reposted by Riley Acton
Y’all, this CSWEP newsletter is a banger. Five women economists generously share their stories about navigating family and career. 🔥 @jialanw.bsky.social @kmpjones.bsky.social Sarah Hamersma, Kosali Simon, and Sarah Baird. It was an honor to "edit" (which mostly involved sitting back for good reads)
CSWEP News Issue IV, "Focus on Fertility" by @caitlinmyers.bsky.social is out now. www.aeaweb.org/content/file...
www.aeaweb.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Y’all, this CSWEP newsletter is a banger. Five women economists generously share their stories about navigating family and career. 🔥 @jialanw.bsky.social @kmpjones.bsky.social Sarah Hamersma, Kosali Simon, and Sarah Baird. It was an honor to "edit" (which mostly involved sitting back for good reads)
Reposted by Riley Acton
We're going through the second 100-year shock to the academic job market in the past 5 years
Update on the state of the job market courtesy of a nudge by @gottliebecon.bsky.social
It's bad!
paulgp.com/2025/11/24/j...
It's bad!
paulgp.com/2025/11/24/j...
Economics Job Market Update: November 2025 - A Historic Low
paulgp.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:21 AM
We're going through the second 100-year shock to the academic job market in the past 5 years
Reposted by Riley Acton
Be sure to take a look at something interesting one of our professors did for his Principles of Micro classes!
I (vibe)coded a game to teach my Prin of Microeconomics students the difference between one-shot and repeated games and how cooperation in repeated games can work.
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
November 24, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Be sure to take a look at something interesting one of our professors did for his Principles of Micro classes!
Once again, I say, my colleagues rock
I (vibe)coded a game to teach my Prin of Microeconomics students the difference between one-shot and repeated games and how cooperation in repeated games can work.
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
November 24, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Once again, I say, my colleagues rock
Reposted by Riley Acton
I (vibe)coded a game to teach my Prin of Microeconomics students the difference between one-shot and repeated games and how cooperation in repeated games can work.
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
November 24, 2025 at 5:22 PM
I (vibe)coded a game to teach my Prin of Microeconomics students the difference between one-shot and repeated games and how cooperation in repeated games can work.
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
Try it and let me know if anything is broken :-)
dashing-travesseiro-939e66.netlify.app
Next: Balatro-style game theory roguelite?
Reposted by Riley Acton
You know higher ed is in real trouble when the econ job market is suffering - currently below 2020 levels.
November 24, 2025 at 4:58 PM
You know higher ed is in real trouble when the econ job market is suffering - currently below 2020 levels.
Reposted by Riley Acton
The obsession with Ivy+ colleges is overrated
The same kids who are able to get into an elite school will earn just as much $$$ if they get into a state school. The income gain is 0%
But Ivy+ schools offer access to the *most prestigious* jobs, like elite law firms academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...
The same kids who are able to get into an elite school will earn just as much $$$ if they get into a state school. The income gain is 0%
But Ivy+ schools offer access to the *most prestigious* jobs, like elite law firms academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...
November 24, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The obsession with Ivy+ colleges is overrated
The same kids who are able to get into an elite school will earn just as much $$$ if they get into a state school. The income gain is 0%
But Ivy+ schools offer access to the *most prestigious* jobs, like elite law firms academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...
The same kids who are able to get into an elite school will earn just as much $$$ if they get into a state school. The income gain is 0%
But Ivy+ schools offer access to the *most prestigious* jobs, like elite law firms academic.oup.com/qje/advance-...
Reposted by Riley Acton
Looks like we're in the worst year in since 2015.
November 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Looks like we're in the worst year in since 2015.
Reposted by Riley Acton
ED has never considered these degrees to be professional, instead relying on a tiny list put together decades ago (that they barely changed in 2025). It's just that the graduate/professional distinction never really mattered for accessing federal student loans until now.
ICYMI Dept of Education will no longer considers these professional degrees:
Nursing
Public health
Social work
Physician assistant
Occupational therapy
Physical therapy
Audiology
Speech-language pathology
Social work
Counseling & therapy
Health Admin
A smaller health workforce makes us all sicker
Nursing
Public health
Social work
Physician assistant
Occupational therapy
Physical therapy
Audiology
Speech-language pathology
Social work
Counseling & therapy
Health Admin
A smaller health workforce makes us all sicker
November 22, 2025 at 10:29 PM
ED has never considered these degrees to be professional, instead relying on a tiny list put together decades ago (that they barely changed in 2025). It's just that the graduate/professional distinction never really mattered for accessing federal student loans until now.
Reposted by Riley Acton
Looking forward to the next iteration of this work, “F- it, we’re doing four robustnesses.”
New paper: Triply Robust Panel Estimators (TROP) by @susanathey.bsky.social @guidoimbens.bsky.social Zhaonan Qu @vivianodavide.bsky.social.
arxiv.org/pdf/2508.21536
arxiv.org/pdf/2508.21536
November 23, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Looking forward to the next iteration of this work, “F- it, we’re doing four robustnesses.”
Reposted by Riley Acton
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Reposted by Riley Acton
Huge congrats to my @miamiecon.bsky.social colleague @jieezhong.bsky.social, whose JMP is now forthcoming at AEJ: Applied!
🥳🤩👏
🥳🤩👏
Forthcoming in AEJ: Applied Economics: "Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings" by Jiee Zhong. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings
(Forthcoming Article) - This paper provides new causal evidence on the effects of grade retention on educational
attainment, behavioral outcomes, and labor market performance by analyzing Texas’s read...
www.aeaweb.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Huge congrats to my @miamiecon.bsky.social colleague @jieezhong.bsky.social, whose JMP is now forthcoming at AEJ: Applied!
🥳🤩👏
🥳🤩👏
Reposted by Riley Acton
I am very happy that my JMP found a sweet home!
Huge congrats to my @miamiecon.bsky.social colleague @jieezhong.bsky.social, whose JMP is now forthcoming at AEJ: Applied!
🥳🤩👏
🥳🤩👏
Forthcoming in AEJ: Applied Economics: "Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings" by Jiee Zhong. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
November 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I am very happy that my JMP found a sweet home!
Reposted by Riley Acton
Congratulations to our own Professor Jiee Zhong (@jieezhong.bsky.social) on her forthcoming work! Be sure to check it out.
Forthcoming in AEJ: Applied Economics: "Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings" by Jiee Zhong. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings
(Forthcoming Article) - This paper provides new causal evidence on the effects of grade retention on educational
attainment, behavioral outcomes, and labor market performance by analyzing Texas’s read...
www.aeaweb.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Congratulations to our own Professor Jiee Zhong (@jieezhong.bsky.social) on her forthcoming work! Be sure to check it out.
Huge congrats to my @miamiecon.bsky.social colleague @jieezhong.bsky.social, whose JMP is now forthcoming at AEJ: Applied!
🥳🤩👏
🥳🤩👏
Forthcoming in AEJ: Applied Economics: "Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings" by Jiee Zhong. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Early Grade Retention Harms Adult Earnings
(Forthcoming Article) - This paper provides new causal evidence on the effects of grade retention on educational
attainment, behavioral outcomes, and labor market performance by analyzing Texas’s read...
www.aeaweb.org
November 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Huge congrats to my @miamiecon.bsky.social colleague @jieezhong.bsky.social, whose JMP is now forthcoming at AEJ: Applied!
🥳🤩👏
🥳🤩👏
Reposted by Riley Acton
Q for the professors: I’m mentoring a few students on their (econ) honors theses. I’m used to giving feedback for grad students, but the objective function/expectations for undergrad work seems necessarily different
How do you differentiate advising research for grad students vs undergrads?
How do you differentiate advising research for grad students vs undergrads?
November 20, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Q for the professors: I’m mentoring a few students on their (econ) honors theses. I’m used to giving feedback for grad students, but the objective function/expectations for undergrad work seems necessarily different
How do you differentiate advising research for grad students vs undergrads?
How do you differentiate advising research for grad students vs undergrads?
Reposted by Riley Acton
Please share this opportunity with any grad students or early-career scholars interested in rural higher education
The National Rural Higher Education Research Center at MDRC is now taking applications for the first cohort of the Rural Research Mentorship Network
www.mdrc.org/work/project...
The National Rural Higher Education Research Center at MDRC is now taking applications for the first cohort of the Rural Research Mentorship Network
www.mdrc.org/work/project...
National Rural Higher Education Research Center | MDRC
Funded by the U.S.
www.mdrc.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Please share this opportunity with any grad students or early-career scholars interested in rural higher education
The National Rural Higher Education Research Center at MDRC is now taking applications for the first cohort of the Rural Research Mentorship Network
www.mdrc.org/work/project...
The National Rural Higher Education Research Center at MDRC is now taking applications for the first cohort of the Rural Research Mentorship Network
www.mdrc.org/work/project...
Reposted by Riley Acton
CSWEP strongly condemns Larry Summers’ behavior as revealed in the email correspondence with the late Jeffrey Epstein. While abuse of power in the economics profession is not new, rarely has the intent behind such abuse been so clearly stated.
November 19, 2025 at 7:25 PM
CSWEP strongly condemns Larry Summers’ behavior as revealed in the email correspondence with the late Jeffrey Epstein. While abuse of power in the economics profession is not new, rarely has the intent behind such abuse been so clearly stated.
Reposted by Riley Acton
I have been feeling depressed and discouraged that this man has the power and influence he does at my school and in my profession
And I am a tenured professor at Harvard! How much more protected can I be?
Imagine how STUDENTS feel. Junior faculty. This quote nails it
And I am a tenured professor at Harvard! How much more protected can I be?
Imagine how STUDENTS feel. Junior faculty. This quote nails it
November 19, 2025 at 6:27 PM
I have been feeling depressed and discouraged that this man has the power and influence he does at my school and in my profession
And I am a tenured professor at Harvard! How much more protected can I be?
Imagine how STUDENTS feel. Junior faculty. This quote nails it
And I am a tenured professor at Harvard! How much more protected can I be?
Imagine how STUDENTS feel. Junior faculty. This quote nails it
Reposted by Riley Acton
For my polling class this semester we worked with the Humanities Center at Miami to ask questions about the Midwest. The students will be completing analysis for their final project but here are some results that I thought would be of interest, including which state Ohioans include in the Midwest.
2025 Miami University Survey of Ohio Voters Opinions about the Midwest – Kevin Reuning
kevinreuning.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
For my polling class this semester we worked with the Humanities Center at Miami to ask questions about the Midwest. The students will be completing analysis for their final project but here are some results that I thought would be of interest, including which state Ohioans include in the Midwest.
Reposted by Riley Acton
I told profs at my phd program that I didn't want to work at an "R1" directly after grad because I cared deeply about teaching and was very concerned the incentives at certain institutions would push me to ignore my pedagogy practice in order to try and keep my job. Truly no regrets.
November 19, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I told profs at my phd program that I didn't want to work at an "R1" directly after grad because I cared deeply about teaching and was very concerned the incentives at certain institutions would push me to ignore my pedagogy practice in order to try and keep my job. Truly no regrets.
Reposted by Riley Acton
When states like Colorado passed policies requiring employers to disclose salary information in job postings, what happened?
It increased competition, and raised wages, without harming employment or changing skill requirements.
Improved functioning of markets, helped workers.
It increased competition, and raised wages, without harming employment or changing skill requirements.
Improved functioning of markets, helped workers.
November 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
When states like Colorado passed policies requiring employers to disclose salary information in job postings, what happened?
It increased competition, and raised wages, without harming employment or changing skill requirements.
Improved functioning of markets, helped workers.
It increased competition, and raised wages, without harming employment or changing skill requirements.
Improved functioning of markets, helped workers.
Reposted by Riley Acton
"On average, Musk will make $3 billion more per year than the 1.4 million elementary school teachers in the U.S. combined. Together, they made $97 billion last year."
November 19, 2025 at 12:33 PM
"On average, Musk will make $3 billion more per year than the 1.4 million elementary school teachers in the U.S. combined. Together, they made $97 billion last year."
Reposted by Riley Acton
Come join us at Annenberg! I cannot speak highly enough of the community and this postdoc as a place to develop as a researcher.
📢 New postdoc opportunity at Annenberg!
The Annenberg Institute is seeking a postdoctoral research associate for a 2‐year appointment to join a diverse community of scholars committed to educational equity and improvement!
More info here: annenberg.brown.edu/opportunitie...
The Annenberg Institute is seeking a postdoctoral research associate for a 2‐year appointment to join a diverse community of scholars committed to educational equity and improvement!
More info here: annenberg.brown.edu/opportunitie...
November 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Come join us at Annenberg! I cannot speak highly enough of the community and this postdoc as a place to develop as a researcher.