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Institutional Economics Research Assistant

Franklin & Marshall College — with Prof. David Brennan

May 2025 – Present
Lancaster, PA (Onsite)
Target: Cambridge Journal of Economics

Overview

I support Professor David Brennan's research applying Marxian and Kaleckian profit frameworks to the U.S. economy — a paper now being revised for submission to the Cambridge Journal of Economics. My central contribution is an interactive data layer that lets readers explore the paper's empirical backbone rather than read it off static tables.

Signature deliverable: An R Shiny dashboard visualizing 52 years (1973–2025) of quarterly U.S. macroeconomic data — GDP components and capital/profit-share series — built independently so readers can immerse themselves in the evidence behind the argument.

What I Do

1. Interactive Data Visualization

  • Designed and built, independently, an Excel-backed R Shiny dashboard spanning 52 years of quarterly U.S. macro data
  • Visualized GDP components and capital/profit-share series to make the paper's institutional argument tangible and explorable
  • Engineered the underlying data pipeline in SQL and R

2. Theoretical & Literature Support

  • Conducting literature review and theoretical analysis of Marxian and Kaleckian profit frameworks
  • Helping strengthen the paper's empirical grounding ahead of journal submission
# R Shiny dashboard — reactive macro explorer (illustrative)
library(shiny)
library(tidyverse)

server <- function(input, output) {
  output$profit_share <- renderPlot({
    macro %>% filter(year >= input$range[1], year <= input$range[2]) %>%
      ggplot(aes(quarter, profit_share)) + geom_line()
  })
}

Methods & Tools

R Shiny R / tidyverse SQL Time-Series Macro Data Data Visualization Heterodox / Institutional Theory

Why It Matters

This role sharpened two things at once: the software craft to build research-grade interactive tools, and the economic literacy to know which series actually carry an institutional argument. It is a direct bridge between my data-visualization work and serious economic theory.