Economics of the Safety Net
Faculty Supervisor(s):
Chima Ndumele and Jacob Wallace
Project and Position Description:
Professors Wallace and Ndumele are recruiting two Fellow(s) to support a portfolio of field experiments and quasi-experimental studies aimed at improving the design and delivery of safety net services.
The State Collaborations to Advance Learning (SCALE) lab has launched an ambitious partnership with the Tobin Center for Economic Policy to embed a Yale team within the Department of Social Services in Connecticut. As part of this partnership, our team has state credentials and is embedded within state government. This provides unprecedent access to novel administrative data, senior policymakers, and a path to cutting edge research and impact. In addition, our team has obtained national Medicaid data via a combination of purchases and research partnerships with other states.
One of the ambitious goals of SCALE Connecticut is to build evidence and support for the value of randomization in Medicaid. To do so, our team is partnering with state government to co-develop, field, and analyze policy randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Examples of active and planned projects include:
· Nudges to increase childhood immunizations and well-child visits
· Outreach experiments to improve take-up of safety net programs
· Care management interventions to reduce hospital readmissions
In addition to RCTs, our team works on quasi-experimental research projects related to: (a) administrative burdens to accessing coverage (e.g., work requirements) and services (e.g., prior authorization) in the safety net; the public vs. private provision of benefits; long term care; pharmacy; and provider networks.
Research from the team has been covered in the New York Times, NPR, and PBS and cited by President Obama. It has been presented to federal and state policymakers, including Governors, Commissioners, Medicaid Directors, and the CBO and presented widely at academic conferences (e.g., National Bureau of Economic Research).
Candidates should have an in pursuing economics research to advance knowledge and inform real-world policy problems. Responsibilities include data cleaning, statistical analysis, preparation of presentations and policy memos, and manuscript drafting. Prior pre-doctoral fellows have co-authored papers with the research team (including papers in top journals) and regularly interact with Yale faculty and external collaborators. We have excellent placements, including top PhD programs at Yale, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins for the handful of pre-docs we have worked with.
For more information about Professor Jacob Wallace, visit www.jacobwswallace.com
Requisite Skills and Qualifications:
Applicants should be completing or have completed a Bachelors or Master’s degree and have excellent programming skills. Preference will be given to detail-oriented applicants with previous research and programming experience, particularly in working with large datasets using statistical packages including R, Python, Stata, and SAS. We prefer candidates who can work for two years. We also strongly encourage individuals with previous experience in economic consulting to apply.