Patrick C
- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)

Expertise

Economics, with a focus on public policy, healthcare, development and Innovation.

Bio

I am a PhD student in the department of economics at UC Berkeley. I have worked on healthcare projects, evaluating the impact of programs meant to decrease healthcare expenses while improving health outcomes. Broadly, I am interested in issues related to public policy, healthcare, development, and innovation. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, biking and rock climbing.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Business Cycles and Health Outcomes

Something economists are often interested in is the way business cycles affect individuals in unforeseeable ways. A researcher may be interested in studying how business cycles may affect health outcomes. For instance, although someone may think recessions would lead to worse health, it's possible that the opposite happens. The reduced consumption in alcohol and other damaging substances could actually improve the health of certain populations. While those who are unemployed will likely be worse off, their health is not particularly large among those driving mortality (i.e. 65+ age group). Given that this is an empirical question, this research project could seek to find out the answer behind this phenomena.