Economist Mike Robinson: Measuring a Complex World

<<< Mike Robinson

Michael Robinson, associate professor of economics, says of his work, "It's fun to be an econometrician because you can learn about so many different topics." Econometrics, the use of multivariate economic analysis, turns raw data into statistics useful for practical and policy applications. In the past few years, Robinson has worked on numerous projects ranging from studying artists' earnings to looking at why men earn more than women. He is also senior adviser to the president on enrollment planning.

Robinson's primary research interest is labor economics, and much of his work has centered on wages and income. However, his recent work has been satisfyingly eclectic.

In collaboration with Lucia Nixon '91, Robinson studied the impact of women teachers on female high school students' educational achievements. They found that for female students whose own parents hadn't attended college, those who had more women teachers obtained college degrees at a higher rate (15 percent) than those who had fewer female teachers (10 percent). "If there's a possible policy implication here, it's that gender-segregated classrooms or programs might encourage a higher rate of mentoring," Robinson suggests.

With Sarah Montgomery, dean of the college emeritus, he looked at factors that determine artists' earnings. They compared visual artists in New York City and elsewhere to examine the economic impact of being at the center of the country's visual-arts scene. "Artists in New York City are actually less successful financially than artists living outside the area, but work harder and are driven to create important art. They seemed motivated by the peer network and critique of their work available in the city," Robinson said.

Looking at why men continue to earn more than women, Robinson studied groups of workers and found that wage differentials are smaller among younger people because both men and women share similar employment patterns, unlike older groups in which women tend to have joined the work force later in life, experienced employment interruptions, or worked part-time.

With department colleague Eva Paus, Robinson analyzed what determines wage growth in developing countries. With another College economist, James Hartley, he developed rankings of liberal arts college economics departments, in an effort to clarify differences between college and research-driven university programs.

As a master of measurement techniques that can be variously applied, Robinson finds that "being at a college allows me the freedom to pursue projects just because they interest me."