Ph.D. Job Market Candidates
Several Pardee RAND students and recent alumni are actively pursuing employment opportunities. Prospective employers or executive recruiters are encouraged to contact them directly by email.
To view the profiles of all Pardee RAND students, visit our Students page.
For more information on recruiting at Pardee RAND, please contact our Career Development staff at (310) 393-0411, ext. 6742 or email prgscareers@rand.org.
Gursel Aliyev
As part of his dissertation, Gursel develops behavioral interventions to reduce tax evasion. While his current research mostly focuses on behavioral decision-making, he is interested and experienced in survey research methodology, social policy issues and health economics too. He has also taught Statistics and Microeconomics for over 10 years.
Dissertation Topic
Taxpayers Misperceptions and Two Novel Behavioral Interventions to Counter Tax Evasion
Faculty Advisors
Andrew Parker (chair); Sebastian Linnemayr; Raffaele Vardavas; Kim Bloomquist (retired Senior Economist, IRS Office of Research)
Ellie Bartels
Ellie’s work seeks to improve games used in national security by systematically documenting existing approaches and developing new tools. She designs, executes, and analyzes games that explore novel topics or integrate other analytical techniques. She also conducts research and analysis on defense topics including irregular warfare, urban operations, and deterrence.
Dissertation Topic
Building Better Games for National Security Policy Analysis
Faculty Advisors
Steven Popper (chair); Stacie Pettyjohn; Yuna Wong; Peter Perla
Pavan Katkar
Pavan has a background in quantitative policy analysis, international relations, and software engineering. These experiences enable him to excel at roles that attempt to address complex problems with a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and technological skills.
Dissertation Topic
Implications and Applications of Blockchain
Faculty Advisors
C Richard Neu (chair); Angel O’Mahony; Philip Evans
Jesse Lastunen
Jesse’s dissertation provides new evidence on the impact of digitalization on the economic premium for higher education and technical skills. His work at RAND has also focused on the intersection of technology and labor markets, and typically relied on the application of quantitative methods and data science tools. In addition to his forthcoming doctorate in Policy Analysis, Lastunen holds degrees in Technology Policy from the University of Cambridge and in Economic Analysis from Barcelona GSE.
Dissertation Topic
Technological Change and the Skill Premium: 21st Century Evidence
Faculty Advisors
Krishna B. Kumar (chair); Shanthi Nataraj; Philip Armour; Raffaele Vardavas