Read below some Q&A with the Economics Department faculty. View a full list of our department's faculty on our Economics Department Directory page.
Gretchen Sileo joined Temple in 2023. She received her BS in Mathematics and Psychology and her MS in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Most recently, she received her PhD in Economics from Georgetown University. Her research interests include the industrial organization of public institutions and policy-relevant analysis. Her work has applied empirical industrial organization methods to a variety of topics including: drinking water infrastructure investment, prices in the prison phone industry, and technology and market power in the cement industry.
Four Questions for Gretchen Sileo
Economics is really just applying mathematical concepts to interesting problems. What's not to like?
I think the US, and every economy in the world, is constantly having to grapple with the consequences of decisions made in the past. In some cases, these are negative environmental changes due to prior polluting behavior, in other cases it's crumbling infrastructure due to years of under-investment. I think better insight into the consequences of present-day policies can improve our ability to make better decisions for the future.
I have been extremely lucky to have met and worked with many incredible economists. I am constantly inspired by them.
I like to go hiking, so possibly a park ranger.
Previous Faculty Q&A
Afrin Islam joined Temple University in August 2021 after completing her Ph.D. at Washington State University. Her current research focuses on understanding how information processing influences health and employment outcomes. She received her B.S.S and M.S.S. in Economics from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. She also completed an M.S.S in Applied Economics from Illinois State University. Prior to higher studies in the United States, she worked as a consultant for the largest market development project in Bangladesh.
Five Questions for Afrin Islam
What attracted you to Economics?
I fell in love with Economics when I was introduced to the subject matter in college. Particularly, the day my teacher discussed how each of us influences the everyday “rickshaw” fare. I was fascinated by the concepts of Demand-Supply explained with such a simple example. Following her, few years later, I started my journey at the Department of Economics, Dhaka University, Bangladesh.
Some “hard scientists” have been known to doubt that economics is a science. What do you think?
I believe that Economics is a science. Big data, complex methodologies and social experiments are reshaping the way to look at Economics.
What do you think is the most intractable economic problem facing the US today, & why do you think it is such a difficult problem?
In my opinion, the most intractable economic problem that US is facing currently is rising health care costs. The underlying reason for this is the unequal income distribution.
Is there an economist you particularly admire? Why?
There are so many! Particularly Esther Duflo;* working as a development practitioner in Bangladesh, I can relate to Dr. Duflo’s work and recognize that a focus on the right policy can make an enormous amount of progress in alleviating poverty. Also, Susan Athey. The status of women in Economics is not great. And they are putting remarkable effort to inspire so many.
*Esther Duflo is a Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Economic Development at MIT. She shared the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer. Susan Athey is the Economics of Technology Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. [Ed.]
What would you most want to do if you were not an economist?
If I were not an Economist, I would have been an Archaeologist.
Professor Rhiannon Jerch joined Temple in 2020. Rhiannon is interested in how infrastructure and the provision of public goods affects the growth and development of cities. Her recent work asks questions like: Do people value clean rivers, even if cleaning them is expensive? How do hurricanes affect municipal public goods provision? Do urban driving restrictions reverberate through the housing market? Her research has received coverage from Forbes, Marketplace, the "Inequalitalks" podcast, and the NBER Digest. She earned a BA in Economics and an MS in Applied Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a PhD in Applied Economics from Cornell University.
Five Questions for Rhiannon Jerch
What attracted you to Economics?
Social sciences and history have always been my favorite subjects. What I love about economics is that it combines social sciences with the rigor and universality of mathematics.
Some “hard scientists” have been known to doubt that economics is a science. What do you think?
Economists study people and societies. We cannot morally engage in much experimentation on humans the way scientists do on materials or elements. That said, empirical economists have some of the most scientific conclusions on society and human decision-making of any social science.
What do you think is the most intractable economic problem facing the US today, & why do you think it is such a difficult problem?
Climate change. By far.
Is there an economist you particularly admire? Why?
Karen Clay. She finds historical settings and natural experiments that shed light on modern environmental policy questions. Her papers, both answer important questions about environmental regulation and unearth fascinating histories of US urban development.
What would you most want to do if you were not an economist?
I love studying economics, but if I had to choose another path, I would be a historian.
Joshua Mask joined Temple in the Fall of 2021. He earned his BBA and MBA from the University of Memphis and his MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research studies how starting a career in the middle of a recession can harm wages over time. He recently published a solo-authored article in the IZA Journal of Development and Migration. Prior to Temple, he worked in investment banking, healthcare, recruitment, interned at the United Nations, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer (Uganda ‘11).
Five Questions for Joshua Mask
What attracted you to Economics?
I wanted to understand why there was so much inequality in the world. I think students sometimes associate economics with the stock market, finance, etc., but economics is one of the best disciplines for assessing inequality and how to alleviate it.
Some “hard scientists” have been known to doubt that economics is a science. What do you think?
I’d tell them to read about this year’s Nobel prize winners in Economics: David Card, Josh Angrist, and Guido Imbens. They’ve spent their entire careers transforming the discipline to be more methodical and rely more on evidence. I would argue that Economics is one of the more scientific disciplines today, given the advances and reliance on econometrics.
What do you think is the most intractable economic problem facing the US today, & why do you think it is such a difficult problem?
As a labor economist, one thing I fear is that our recovery will be uneven again. After the Great Recession of 2009, Caucasian Americans saw their labor markets recover by 2014-2015. However, it wasn’t until 2019, shortly before the pandemic, that we saw a similar recovery for African Americans. My fear is that we are going to repeat history and further exacerbate inequality in this country.
Is there an economist you particularly admire? Why?
Michael Clemens at the Center for Global Development. His paper, “Economics and Emigration: Trillion Dollars on the Sidewalk?,” completely changed my understanding of immigration and how it can help alleviate global inequality. He is also a very nice person who works hard to promote the work of younger economists in the field, which is especially admirable.
What would you most want to do if you were not an economist?
As a kid, I always dreamed of being a rock star. However, this was not a realistic dream for a kid who lacks rhythm, ha!
Viviane Sanfelice joined Temple in 2019. She earned a BA in Applied Mathematics from the Universidade de São Paulo, an MA in Economics from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Rochester. Before starting her doctoral studies, she worked at the World Bank as a junior professor associate. Her research lies on the broad field of applied microeconomics. Within this field she studies topics in urban, public, and development economics. Her research has appeared in such journals as the Journal of Urban Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organizations and Health Economics.
Five Questions for Viviane Sanfelice
What attracted you to Economics?
I like that economics studies human interactions systematically, using tools from mathematics and statistics.
Some “hard scientists” have been known to doubt that economics is a science. What do you think?
To be honest I think it is an unproductive debate. It seems to me that it depends on how science is defined and also what field within economics you have in mind. For instance, applied microeconomics would fit the concept of pursuing testable explanations and predictions about the social world following a systematic methodology - and one could argue that is a definition of science.
What do you think is the most intractable economic problem facing the US today, & why do you think it is such a difficult problem?
I think inequality and structural changes in the labor market are the biggest challenges. They are difficult issues because they cannot be solved in the short term. Initiatives and interventions to solve these problems are like growing trees: they need to be planted in the present, but only bear fruit in the future.
Is there an economist you particularly admire? Why?
I have been fortunate to work with very smart and productive scholars. All of my advisors, from undergraduate to Ph.D., are very inspiring to me.
What would you most want to do if you were not an economist?
If I could choose anything I would have been a professional volleyball player. However, based on my height that probably would not have worked out. Then, I would probably would have been a geography teacher.