The Mixtape with Scott

• S4E18: Liyang Sun, Econometrics, University of College London

  I'm excited to announce the newest episode to the podcast features a brilliant mind in econometrics and applied microeconomics: Dr. Liyang "Sophie" Sun from University College London. While Liyang has technically been a guest before, our previous conversation had been narrowly focused on econometric techniques. This time, we're shifting gears to align with the core purpose of the podcast—exploring the personal stories and journeys of living economists.Many of you know Liyang by reputation or have cited her groundbreaking work. Her 2021 paper with Sarah Abraham in the Journal of Econometrics on difference-in-differences estimated using two-way fixed effects with leads and lags was recognized as one of the recipients of the Aigner award for 2022 —a remarkable achievement. That paper in particular helped clarify exactly what we were—and weren't—measuring in difference-in-differences event studies. Beyond diagnosing issues in existing approaches, they introduced a new and more accurate estimator, known formally as the interaction-weighted estimator, but which most of us now fondly call simply “SA” (Sun and Abraham). I love that paper; it has taught me a great deal.Her research portfolio extends well beyond this, spanning instrumental variables, synthetic control methods, and other innovative approaches that have reshaped how we think about causal inference in economics.In this episode, we'll dive into Liyang’s personal journey through growing up in China, coming to the United States as a high school student, and then through college, grad school and a career as a professional economist and econometrician. She generously shares the experiences, people and discoveries that have shaped her career and research directions. It was a genuine pleasure to hear more of her story, and I believe you'll find it both enlightening and inspiring.Thank you again for all your support! Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E17: Nathan Nunn, Economic History and Development, University of British Columbia

  Welcome to the Mixtape with Scott! This week’s guest is Nathan Nunn, professor in the Vancouver School of Economics at University of British Columbia. Nathan is a development economist and economic historian whose work on the development of the African continent has been viewed as pioneering, seminal even. Two of his major works focused on the African slave trade and its impact on trust (here in this AER) and the continent’s longterm development (here). The body of work is so massive that I can only point you to his webpage and vita. He’s currently an editor at Quarterly Journal of Economics, a member of NBER and a research fellow at BREAD. And here is his google scholar page. And for giggles, here are the people at NotebookLM explaining his vita!Here’s that NotebookLM link for people looking on YouTube or podcast platforms like Apple Music or Spotify. url: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ac825f4e-3e35-4359-b154-bc82ef808a79/audioThanks again everyone and I hope you enjoy this great interview! Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E16: Jérémy L'Hour, Econometrics and Machine Learning, Capital Fund Management and CREST

  Welcome welcome one and all! This is the newest episode of the The Mixtape with Scott where we talk to living economists, ask them what they wanted to be when they were little, learn what and how they did become, are becoming, what they became as an adult, and this week too, the road less traveled. This week’s guest is named Jérémy L’Hour. I first learned about Jeremy because of a JASA on synthetic control he wrote with Alberto Abadie a few years ago entitled “A Penalized Synthetic Control Estimator for Disaggregated Data”. I then learned that Jérémy had studied with Xavier D’Haultfoueuille, the econometrician and coauthor to the famed difference-in-differences estimator in the AER that helped launch a thousand ships on difference-in-differences with differential timing. I reached out to see if we might talk as Jérémy has a story that I have not had a chance to hear about.Jérémy is the author of Machine Learning for Econometrics with Christophe Galliac which is forthcoming at Oxford University Press. And of course he is the author of the JASA on synthetic control with Abadie. But interestingly, he is not an academic. Rather, he works for a hedge fund called Capital Fund Management. Which was another reason I wanted to talk to him.The last many years, we’ve seen more and more talented economists go into industry rather than academia, but mostly I interview economists in tech. I haven’t interviewed anyone who is at a hedge fund before, and I thought that that might be an interesting guest. There’s always a lot of uncertainty in the job market, but maybe now more than ever, and hearing about more options in the private sector would be useful to people all over the world. So thank you again everyone for supporting the substack and the podcast. I appreciate it immensely as it helps me to do what I love which is listening to people’s stories. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E15: Dmitry Arkhangelsky, Econometrics and Machine Learning, CEMFI

  Welcome to episode 15 of season 4’s The Mixtape with Scott! I am of, you guessed it, Scott. And this is my podcast which is a podcast where I interview economists and ask them about their personal story. If you were dying to know the games that economists played when they were kids, or what books they read in high school, then man are you ever in luck because that’s literally what we talk about on here!This week’s guest is Dmitry Arkhangelsky, an associate professor at CEMFI in Madrid, Spain. Dmitry is known to many people because of his 2021 American Economic Review article with an Avengers like team of econometricians and statisticians — Susan Athey, Guido Imbens, David Hirshberg and Stefan Wager — entitled “Synthetic Difference-in-Differences”. Synth diff-in-diff is a well known contribution to the pantheon of new causal panel methods and is quite versatile and flexible. Dmitry is currently on leave from CEMFI and had just arrived to Harvard for a research sabbatical when we did this interview. Dmitry is an econometrician and machine learning, and as he’s connected to this new diff-in-diff and synth literature that has been exploding and evolving over the last few years, his work on those topics are well known. But I think as he’s not on social media, he’s not someone people may know as much about. So I hope you that this is an interesting interview for those of you wanting to learn about his life growing up in the bustling city of Moscow, Russia. It’s a bit of a rags to riches story in some way as unlike many Russian economists who are dialed into the best schools as a young person, where they are exposed to intensive training in mathematics early on, Dmitry’s journey was different, and I don’t want to spoil it. But I think it’s one that many of us may identify with. Thank you again for all your support of the podcast. It’s a labor of love to get to have a chance to just pause, look at another person, and listen. I continue to believe that it’s in the moments when we can look at a person that we know ourselves. And so I enjoy doing it and appreciate your support and hope it is the same for you on some level. And thank you to Dmitry for being generous with his time to share a little about his life. Consider becoming a paying subscriber where you get full access to all kinds of weird posts ranging from econometrics, practical opinions about work, discussion of my classes, and taking care of my ailing dad, as well as a fairly regular reflection on the economic implications of new technologies. Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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• S4E12: Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Labor, Northwestern University

  This week, I’m thrilled to have Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach as my guest. Diane is the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University and a leading voice in the economics of poverty, education, and public policy. Her research focuses on how major programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and early childhood education impact children’s long-term outcomes. Diane has published in top-tier journals, testified before Congress, and served in key leadership roles, including as director of the Hamilton Project at Brookings and as director of Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research.Diane is also part of my ongoing series exploring economists with connections to Princeton’s Industrial Relations Section. As a former student of the late Alan Krueger, Diane brings a unique perspective to the show, and it was a privilege to hear about her journey—from her work at the Council of Economic Advisers to her impactful research and academic career.Thank you, Diane, for joining me, and thank you for listening! I hope you enjoy the conversation.Scott's Mixtape Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to Scott's Mixtape Substack at causalinf.substack.com/subscribe

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