Prof. Jillian Carr

Prof. Jillian B. Carr (Ph.D., Texas A&M) is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. Her fields are applied microeconomics and labor economics, and her current research is on the economics of crime, urban economics and law and economics. She is a research affiliate with the Purdue University Research Center in Economics, the Justice Tech Lab, and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering.

You went to a small liberal arts college [Rhodes College, approx. 2000 students]. What are the advantages and disadvantages of going to a small liberal arts college when you plan to go to grad school in economics?

I think I’m in a unique position to answer this having just spent 8 years post-Rhodes at large state schools, so I guess my responses are relative to those. I think that comparing to an elite private school is probably different, too. 

I can’t say for sure that I would have decided to pursue my PhD at all if it wasn’t for the mentorship and motivation that I got from faculty at Rhodes. They really inspired me to consider becoming an academic, specifically. I thought that I wanted to work in government policy, and that the only way to do that was to work for the government or a think tank. I do work on government policy now in my research, but I like having the ability to study what I want how I want instead of focusing on the questions that the government or my agency prioritizes. [My professors] always seemed like they were having fun, so I thought that teaching could be enjoyable, too (and it is!)

There’s also a bit of hubris required to embark on a PhD, and I think that the experience of attending a liberal arts school helped to stoke that in me. If I had been in some of the classes I teach (400-level Public Economics with >30 students) I’m not sure I would have considered myself exceptional enough to take on the challenge. I think that the small classes and personal attention from faculty instill the confidence you need to get started down that path.

Also, there’s just better quality control on the classes you take. Almost every class I took at Rhodes was exceptional, and they were all taught by faculty (as opposed to grad students). That’s really huge. You need a solid foundation. 

The main disadvantage is name recognition, especially if you go somewhere less well-known. . . . For example, [another Rhodes student] went to Texas A&M for her PhD before me, and I basically got in because they liked her so much. Then, more Rhodes students got into Texas A&M because they liked both of us. It’s just harder to signal that you are a high-quality candidate (particularly for applying to grad schools) if someone doesn’t know your institution.

Are there any books that were important to your development as an economist or that you would recommend to aspiring economists?

The main one for me was Freakonomics. I always cared about human behavior and societal institutions, but I liked the rigor of the economics framework (theoretically and then empirically). When I read that book, I thought “Yep, those are the questions that interest me and the methods I want to use.” 

Other than that, I recommend anything that interests you (I’d go so far as to include TV shows here, too). I work in the economics of crime and poverty, so I read lots of non-economics books and articles because I’m interested in the topics. Sometimes I have ideas for research while I’m reading these things.

What is the worst advice that you have ever been given about becoming an economist?

“Only the work matters.” (By work, I mean whatever the current “output” is – grades, publications, etc.) In truth, everything matters. I say that not to scare you, but to encourage you that being a well-rounded interesting person (who does things like blog!) also matters. Who you know also matters (a lot). Be yourself, do interesting things and meet interesting people. You’ll be happier and likely more successful.