Joshua Angrist is a preeminent economist whose innovative methodological contributions have reshaped empirical research across social sciences. He currently holds the distinguished position of Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been a faculty member since 1996 after teaching positions at Harvard University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1960 and raised in Pittsburgh, Angrist received his B.A. in economics from Oberlin College in 1982 before completing his Ph.D. in Economics at Princeton University in 1989. A dual U.S. and Israeli citizen, he lived in Israel from 1982 to 1985 and served as a paratrooper in the Israeli Defence Forces prior to pursuing his graduate studies. His early academic career included an assistant professorship at Harvard from 1989 to 1991 followed by a productive period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Angrist's groundbreaking research pioneered the use of natural experiments and quasi-experimental designs to establish causal relationships in social science research, fundamentally transforming how economists evaluate policy interventions and social phenomena. His seminal work with Guido Imbens on instrumental variables methodology provided rigorous frameworks for interpreting causal effects from non-experimental data, work for which they jointly received half of the 2021 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Alongside Victor Lavy, Angrist developed the influential Maimonides Rule research design, one of economics' first applications of regression discontinuity methods to estimate causal effects of class size on student achievement. His methodological innovations extended to labor economics, where he examined complex questions ranging from the effects of childbearing on mothers' employment to the impacts of military service on veterans' long-term outcomes. Angrist's influential textbook 'Mostly Harmless Economics: An Empiricist's Companion,' co-authored with Steve Pischke, has become a cornerstone reference for empirical researchers worldwide.
Beyond his methodological contributions, Angrist has significantly shaped policy discussions through his leadership as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research across multiple programs including Children, Education, and Labor Studies. He co-founded and directs MIT's Blueprint Labs, an initiative that investigates the relationship between human capital and income inequality in the United States, and in 2020 co-founded Avela, an educational technology startup applying cutting-edge research to help schools optimize enrollment and operations. As a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and The Econometric Society, Angrist has mentored generations of economists through his teaching and collaborative research projects. His methodological approaches have been widely adopted across economics and related social sciences, establishing new standards for causal inference in observational studies. Angrist continues to advance empirical methods while applying them to pressing questions in education, labor markets, and social policy, ensuring his work remains at the forefront of evidence-based policy analysis.
