Brendan M
- Research Program Mentor
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Expertise
Economic inequality, recessions and job loss, impacts of globalization and automation on US labor markets, political economy, 20th century economic history
Project ideas
How do workers cope with job loss?
A project that would investigate how workers respond to the major disruption of being laid off from their jobs. A research project would study whether displaced workers search for a similar type of job or enter an entirely new profession. Do workers cut back on how much they spend or do they increase borrowing via credit cards? Does an unemployed worker's spouse pick up more hours to compensate for lost income? Many of these questions can be answered by analyzing public data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Bureau.
How does economic hardship affect regional voting patterns?
Certain areas of the US economy have been hard-hit by forces such as automation and globalization. Many observers believe such forces shapes the behavior and preferences of voters in these distressed regions. A research project would analyze how economic hardship influences voters choices for political candidates as well as policy issues in state or local referendums.