Hi. My name is Kurtis Gilliat. I am a fifth-year PhD student in Economics at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). My research interests are in labor economics and political economy, with a special interest in social networks and peer groups.

My current research uses quasi-experimental variation in the composition of church congregations to study how peer groups influence a variety of individual outcomes. In one project I study the effects of peers on political behavior and in another other I study the effects of peers on entrepreneurial outcomes.

Prior to coming to UCSD, I worked as a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Center for the Economics of Human Development. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Mathematics from Brigham Young University.