Economics · University of Louisville
Harper P. Stephens
I build models of how people respond before change arrives, then hold them to the data. My work pairs structural modeling, including mean field games, with applied causal inference.
B.A. in Economics, Mathematics minor · Expected May 2027
969,829
worker residences in the calibration of my spatial model
46.7%
of modeled relocation happens before the factory opens
3.88
GPA in economics, graduating with distinction
24 hrs
to clean, model, and pitch at the 2026 EconGames, against 30 teams
News
Oct 2026
Presented “Before the Factory Opens” and “Educational Technology and Cognition” at the Kentucky Economic Association Annual Conference.
Sept 2026
Began tutoring intermediate macroeconomics on faculty recommendation.
June 2026
Selected for the University of South Carolina’s summer seminar on the trivium of the liberal arts.
Spring 2026
Defended my honors thesis before a three-member faculty committee.
Research
Selected work
Working paper · 2026
Before the Factory Opens
A spatial mean field game of anticipatory migration around Intel’s announced Ohio semiconductor plant, and what happens when the opening slips.
Work in progress
Time, Tools, Technology
Which devices, activities, and settings actually drive the educational returns to technology? Evidence from multiply imputed PISA 2018 data.
Honors thesis · 2026
Educational Technology and Cognition
How students’ use of technology relates to achievement in mathematics, reading, and science across countries.
Academic & Industry
Rigorous methods, practical answers
For research teams
Theory meets data
Working papers, conference presentations, and an honors thesis built on structural models and careful econometrics, plus experience teaching intermediate macroeconomics.
Interests
Let’s talk
I’m exploring graduate study in economics, as well as research assistant and analyst roles beginning in 2027.