Ahmed S. Rahman
Associate Professor, Lehigh University
Welcome! I am an Associate Professor of economics in the College of Business at Lehigh University, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics. I am also the Director of the PhD Program in the College of Business.
Welcome! I am an Associate Professor of economics in the College of Business at Lehigh University, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics. I am also the Director of the PhD Program in the College of Business.
My work typically relates to issues in human capital in fields such as Labor, Economic History and Economic Growth. Among other projects, some of my recent work focuses on factors leading to economic divergence and convergence among nations, the effects of peers and teachers on college student performance, the impacts of different experiences in military service on private-sector employment, and the wage and employment effects of immigration on native workers.
My work typically relates to issues in human capital in fields such as Labor, Economic History and Economic Growth. Among other projects, some of my recent work focuses on factors leading to economic divergence and convergence among nations, the effects of peers and teachers on college student performance, the impacts of different experiences in military service on private-sector employment, and the wage and employment effects of immigration on native workers.
You can find my publications and current working papers on the Research tab. You can find some previews of recent research below:
You can find my publications and current working papers on the Research tab. You can find some previews of recent research below:
Recent Research
Recent Research
Fear and Loathing in the Classroom: Why Professor Quality Matters
Fear and Loathing in the Classroom: Why Professor Quality Matters
Professors teaching intro courses who receive high teaching evaluations generate some positive effects for their students' academic performance in follow-on courses (red diamonds), but professors whom students find difficult (blue triangles) and who tend to grade harshly (green dots) are far more effective.
Professors teaching intro courses who receive high teaching evaluations generate some positive effects for their students' academic performance in follow-on courses (red diamonds), but professors whom students find difficult (blue triangles) and who tend to grade harshly (green dots) are far more effective.
Trade, Technology and the Great Divergence
Trade, Technology and the Great Divergence
In this work Kevin O'Rourke, Alan Taylor and I explore various growth scenarios that may have played out over the last few hundred years. The orange line shows the case where intercontinental trade generates a dramatic divergence in living standards. But this same trade also builds up a massive reservoir of skill-biased technologies that peripheral economies can eventually adopt, creating a dramatic reversal of fortune.
In this work Kevin O'Rourke, Alan Taylor and I explore various growth scenarios that may have played out over the last few hundred years. The orange line shows the case where intercontinental trade generates a dramatic divergence in living standards. But this same trade also builds up a massive reservoir of skill-biased technologies that peripheral economies can eventually adopt, creating a dramatic reversal of fortune.
Why Can't We All Work Remotely? Blame the Robots.
Why Can't We All Work Remotely? Blame the Robots.
The map displays counties where workers are more readily able to work at home. These tend to be regions that experienced lots of automation over the last few decades. Robots have also pushed lower-skilled workers into contact-intensive employment, making them more prone to unemployment and infection from the COVID-19 outbreak.
The map displays counties where workers are more readily able to work at home. These tend to be regions that experienced lots of automation over the last few decades. Robots have also pushed lower-skilled workers into contact-intensive employment, making them more prone to unemployment and infection from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tracking the Herd with a Shotgun - Why Do Peers Influence College Major Selection?
Tracking the Herd with a Shotgun - Why Do Peers Influence College Major Selection?
Students tend to select the major of their upper-class dorm-mates at my old stomping grounds, the United States Naval Academy. This shows estimates of choice of major as a function of the number of upper-class dorm-mates having selected that major. Along with my old colleagues Michael Insler and Katherine Smith, we show the mechanism is mainly through social learning, not through network externalities.
Students tend to select the major of their upper-class dorm-mates at my old stomping grounds, the United States Naval Academy. This shows estimates of choice of major as a function of the number of upper-class dorm-mates having selected that major. Along with my old colleagues Michael Insler and Katherine Smith, we show the mechanism is mainly through social learning, not through network externalities.
Computerization and Immigration - Theory and Evidence from the United States
Computerization and Immigration - Theory and Evidence from the United States
This graph shows the changes in employment share by skill percentile measured as the occupational average wage in 1980. My co-authors, Gaetano Basso and Giovanni Peri, and I show how most of the employment polarization experienced in U.S. labor markets was due to low-skilled migrant workers, and how these migrants were in fact overall welfare-enhancing for native workers.
This graph shows the changes in employment share by skill percentile measured as the occupational average wage in 1980. My co-authors, Gaetano Basso and Giovanni Peri, and I show how most of the employment polarization experienced in U.S. labor markets was due to low-skilled migrant workers, and how these migrants were in fact overall welfare-enhancing for native workers.
Officer Retention and Military Spending: The Rise of the Military-Industrial Complex during the Second World War
Officer Retention and Military Spending: The Rise of the Military-Industrial Complex during the Second World War
What explains the spatial patterns of our current military-industrial-complex? In part, the picture to the left does. This is the cumulative career years of naval officers originating from various counties serving from the 1870s to the 1930s, and it explains to a surprising degree naval spending patterns during WWII.
What explains the spatial patterns of our current military-industrial-complex? In part, the picture to the left does. This is the cumulative career years of naval officers originating from various counties serving from the 1870s to the 1930s, and it explains to a surprising degree naval spending patterns during WWII.