Isaac Opper

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Isaac M. Opper is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is an applied microeconomist, who uses and develops a range of empirical techniques to shed light on important policy-relevant questions. Much of his work combines quasi-experimental variation with either economic theory or novel econometric techniques to better understand the full policy implications of educational interventions. His work has been published in academic journals (e.g., American Economic Review, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Econometrics, Nature Human Behavior, and PNAS), written about in popular media (e.g., New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Barrons), and cited by policy makers.

Prior to joining UCLA, he worked at RAND where he also conducted studies on a wide range of topics, including a number of reports on how the U.S. Army can best recruit, develop, employ, and retain talent. Dr. Opper received his Ph.D. from Stanford University and his bachelor’s degree from Colby College.

 

For more information, please visit his personal website at https://sites.google.com/site/isaacopper/.

Carlo Medici

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Carlo Medici is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is an applied microeconomist working in the areas of labor economics, political economy, and economic history. His research examines the economics of immigration, labor market institutions, and public sector organizations, drawing on both contemporary and historical contexts. He studies these questions empirically, leveraging administrative records, newly digitized archival datasets, and publicly available microdata.

Before joining UCLA, Carlo was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Brown University. He received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2024, and holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Bocconi University.

More information about his work can be found at carlomedici.com.

Emily Weisburst

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I am an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles. My research focuses on topics in labor economics and public finance, including criminal justice and education.

I recently earned my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. While in graduate school, I worked as a Staff Economist at the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President and as a research associate for the RAND Corporation on joint projects with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. I have also received the NAED Spencer Dissertation Fellowship to support my research on the impact of funding for police in public schools on student disciplinary outcomes and educational attainment in Texas.

My research interests include understanding factors that impact police decision-making and public trust in police. I am also interested in how interactions with the criminal justice system affect individuals, families and communities. A recent paper examines how much police discretion matters to law enforcement outcomes, after accounting for offense context. In this project, I find that the likelihood that an incident results in an arrest critically depends on the officer that shows up to respond to an offense reported through a police call for service.

For more information about my work, check out my website: emilyweisburst.com