Cale Harrison

Lloyd’s Postgraduate Award - Cornell University, Applied Economics

As the oldest of 13 children, I’ve always been interested in the allocation of scarce resources, but it was after reading a book by fellow Fulbright scholar Joseph Stiglitz that I decided to study economics. I pursued my undergraduate degree in economics at Royal Holloway, England, and I’m now going to study applied economics and management at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. I’m keenly excited to experience living in small-town America while also studying at an Ivy League university.

My Fulbright project will focus on the impact of automation for low earners and how public policy can reduce this. I firmly believe that good economics can use maths to explore solutions to everyday problems—economics is too important to be left to economists. I was particularly inspired in my undergraduate by the applied approaches of professors Daniel Hamermesh and Bjoern Hartig. I chose Cornell because they combine quantitative excellence with a focus on tangible applied economics. My work at Nest Pensions in the UK allowed me to explore how to use data to improve a product for less sophisticated users and I believe this experience will translate into a fascinating Fulbright project.