Research

Work In Progress

"The Effects of Uncertainty Shocks: Implications of Wealth Inequality," R&R at the European Economic Review

Abstract: This paper investigates whether and how the effects of time-varying macroeconomic uncertainty depend on the distribution of wealth. I show that increases in wealth inequality amplify the responses of uncertainty shocks. Using deciles of the distribution of wealth along with a series of macroeconomic volatility for the United States, I find that consumption growth falls by approximately 0.25 percentage points more in response to a one standard deviation uncertainty shock when wealth inequality is high relative to when it is low. In order to understand the nonlinear effects of uncertainty on consumption growth, I consider a two-agent New Keynesian model. I calibrate this simple model to qualitatively match the empirical responses of consumption growth to a one standard deviation uncertainty shock and show that nominal rigidities are key to magnifying the effects of uncertainty under high wealth inequality.

"The Aggregate Cost of Workplace Sexual Harrassment," with Natalie Duncombe and Birthe Larsen

"Credit Access and Intergenerational Inequality," with J. Carter Braxton, Kyle Herkenhoff, and Gordon Phillips

Policy Pieces

Household Insecurity Matters for U.S. Macroeconomic Stability, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, May 2018

Power, violence, and consequences at work, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, January 2023