Hi there! I'm a research associate at UNU-WIDER, focusing on tax-benefit microsimulation modeling and related topics such as social policy, taxation and employment. As part of the SOUTHMOD project, I coordinate the research and technical assistance activities in Vietnam, Rwanda and Uganda. This includes collaborative, often policy-driven research and organizing training events for local government officials and researchers. Find SOUTHMOD resources from this sub-page.

Before WIDER, I worked for organizations such as OECD, RAND Corporation, Internet Association, Technopolis Group and CERN. A big chunk of this work involved research on the intersection of technological change and the labor market. I'm particularly interested in the applications of generative AI in research (see this sub-page for prompts and resources for economists) and the analysis and visualization of complex data.

I received my PhD in policy analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School, with analytical concentrations in economics and quantitative methods. Before that, I studied public policy (UChicago), international economics (BSE), technology policy (Cambridge) and engineering and management (Masdar Institute and Tampere University).

Discover more about my work or get in touch through the links below.

Contact

Get in touch at lastunen(at)wider.unu.edu