PROVIDENCE – Jesse Shapiro, a professor of economics at Brown University, has been named a MacArthur Fellow by the MacArthur Foundation on Tuesday.
Shapiro was one of 25 individuals to be awarded with a fellowship for the 2021 year. He is an applied microeconomist who joined the Brown faculty in 2015. He uses statistical methods and novel data to explore public and social policy.
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“Focusing on a variety of important questions of our time, Shapiro is advancing our understanding of the efficacy of public policy interventions and clarifying the forces contributing to the increasingly entrenched political polarization of American communities,” the foundation said in its award announcement Tuesday.
The fellowship includes a $625,000, no-strings-attached award paid out quarterly over five years.
Shapiro said the award will support his research on topics such as political polarization, trends in cognitive skills and the structure of advertising markets.
“A very important part of my work is taking intellectual risks and working outside my comfort zone,” Shapiro said in a statement. “In light of the fellowship, I hope that I’ll be able to continue to take risks and be willing to fail — though hopefully not too often!”
This year, Shapiro was the only Rhode Island resident to be named a fellow, and was one of five named in New England.
The foundation said the selection criteria for the fellowship includes exceptional creativity, promise for future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments and potential for the fellowship to facilitate creative work.
