Bio - AARON MEDLIN

BIOGRAPHY

During my undergraduate career, I assisted my professors in conducting research and even student instruction in introductory macroeconomics. I first worked as a research assistant to Dr. Hong Zhuang, who is the chair of the economics department of IUSB and director for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research. I gathered and analyzed economic indicators to construct a regional economic dashboard for north central Indiana, a project commissioned by the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce. I also assisted Dr. Zhuang with publishing quarterly newsletters on the economic performance of our region. This work familiarized me with the many sources of economic data available and helped prepare me for my own independent research. I also had the honor of becoming a teaching assistant to Dr. Gihoon Hong for his intro to macroeconomics course. This particular course was part of a special program where students participated in one hour study sessions with me. My responsibilities included review of macroeconomic concepts covered in lecture as well as assessment through practice exercises and quizzes. This was an experience few undergraduate students get to have and I was grateful to have the opportunity especially since, in addition to conducting academic research, teaching economics is also a career goal of mine. This experience has also primed me for a research and teaching assistantships should I be awarded with such opportunities by your institution.

For my undergraduate research thesis, I studied the relationship between new immigrants and new establishments at the local level across U.S. cities. Using a two-stage least squares regression, I identified a significant positive relationship. I presented my research at the IUSB Undergraduate Research Conference and won best presentation in the professional programs category. Dr. Hong took an interest in my findings and we broadened the study to examine the relationship between high and low skilled immigration and firm entry and exit. Our paper, “Identifying the Impact of Immigration on Local Firm Entry and Exit,” will be published in February, 2017 in the Journal of Economics Studies. Fortunately, the process of publishing in peer reviewed journals has not dissuaded me and I hope to provide many more contributions to the field.

My research interests span primarily labor and macroeconomics, as well comparative economic systems with specific concentrations on immigration, labor market frictions, search and matching models, structural unemployment, and monetary and fiscal policy across countries.