Joshua Angrist

Nobel Prize-winning economist and author Joshua Angrist is a pioneer in the use of econometric ideas and tools to answer some of today’s most pressing policy questions. Angrist received the Nobel Prize for his innovative work using natural experiments to answer questions of profound importance. Does it matter whether you go to a highly selective high school or college? Where are the best schools? What are the long-run consequences of military service for those who serve? What are the economic implications of having, or growing up in, a larger family? Why are the sort of statistics we hear so often in the media likely to be misleading? How can you – as the consumer of such information – break through the fog? The tools of econometric data science, wielded with skill and judgment, dispel the hype and offer new insights.

Angrist is also Co-Founder of Avela, an education technology startup that matches students to opportunities, prioritizing equity, accountability, and quality to ensure fair decisions and empower families.

Angrist has co-authored two of the leading texts in applied econometrics and data science, Mostly Harmless Economics: An Empiricist’s Companion and Mastering ‘Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Not only scientifically rigorous, with innovative content, his books are by far the funniest econometrics texts you’re ever likely to see. Angrist is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT, co-founder and director of MIT’s Blueprint Labs, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has served on many editorial boards and as a co-editor of the Journal of Labor Economics.