معرفی
Charlie Rafkin is an economist specializing in public and behavioral economics. He will join the University of British Columbia as an Assistant Professor of Economics in January 2026. Prior to this appointment, he will be a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) in Fall 2025. Rafkin completed his PhD at MIT in June 2024 and held a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley during 2024-25. He maintains an affiliation with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and has developed methodological tools like the scfses Stata program for Survey of Consumer Finances analysis.
Rafkin's educational background includes:
- PhD in Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), June 2024
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley, 2024-2025
His research focuses on the intersection of public policy and behavioral economics, with specific interests in transfer programs, housing insecurity, and policy design. Rafkin examines how social relationships between landlords and tenants shape eviction dynamics and how behavioral biases affect policy effectiveness. His work often employs experimental methods, including lab-in-the-field experiments in Memphis, Tennessee, to study real-world policy questions. He has made significant contributions to understanding benefit program take-up, the woodwork effect in SNAP eligibility expansions, and optimal regulation of e-cigarettes.
Rafkin's publications demonstrate a consistent focus on applying economic theory to pressing social issues, particularly in housing policy and transfer programs. His research often combines theoretical modeling with empirical analysis of administrative data and field experiments. A recurring theme is understanding how behavioral factors influence policy effectiveness and designing interventions that account for these behavioral realities.
Rafkin has received notable recognition for his work:
- CESifo Distinguished Affiliate Award in Behavioral Economics for 'Social Preferences and Bargaining Failure in Eviction'
- Innovative Policy Research Award from the Asia Development Bank/International Economic Association for 'Intergenerational Mobility in India'
As a rising scholar, Rafkin has developed methodological tools for economic research, including the 'scfses' Stata program for analyzing Survey of Consumer Finances data. His work has implications for policy design across multiple domains, from housing assistance to tobacco regulation. Rafkin actively collaborates with leading economists and policy researchers, demonstrating strong potential for future contributions to the field.
