Harvard Economics Welcomes Anna Russo and Oscar Volpe as Assistant Professors

Anna Russo joins the department from the Harvard Society of Fellows, where she was a Junior Fellow. Her research spans environmental economics, public economics, market design, and industrial organization, with a focus on the design of government intervention in markets. Her work explores how environmental regulation and market design can improve market outcomes and address pressing policy challenges. Russo earned her B.S. from Yale University in 2017 and her Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 2024. This academic year, she will teach the Social Studies junior tutorial, The Economics of Climate Change and Environmental Policy.

Oscar Volpe's research lies at the intersection of labor economics, econometrics, and industrial organization. His work examines the sources of wage inequality and worker sorting in labor markets, while also exploring how social and economic networks shape labor market outcomes through spillover effects. Volpe received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago after earning a B.A. in Economics, a B.S. in Applied Mathematics, and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Johns Hopkins University. This academic year, he will teach Empirical Analysis of Labor Markets, a Ph.D. field course examining the operation of labor markets and the policies that shape labor market outcomes.

Their appointments reflect the department's continued commitment to advancing excellence in research and teaching across a broad range of fields. Their research, teaching, and mentorship will strengthen the department’s intellectual community and contribute to its continued excellence in scholarship and education.