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Robert W. Fairlie
Robert W. Fairlie
Research Fellow
University of California, Los Angeles
rfairlie@ucla.edu External Homepage CV

I am an Economist and Professor of Public Policy at UCLA and a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). My research interests include public policy, entrepreneurship, education, racial and gender inequality, information technology, labor economics, developing countries, and immigration. Publications from my research have appeared in leading journals in economics, policy, management, science, and medicine. I received a Ph.D. and M.A. from Northwestern University and B.A. with honors from Stanford University. I have held visiting positions at Stanford University, Yale University, UC Berkeley, and Australian National University. I have received funding for my research from the National Science Foundation, National Academies and Russell Sage Foundation as well as numerous government agencies and foundations, and have testified in front of the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Treasury, and the California State Assembly. Recent awards and honors include a joint resolution from the California State Assembly, Choice Academic Title award, and the Bradford-Osborne research award two years in a row. I am regularly interviewed by the media to comment on economic, education, entrepreneurship, inequality and policy issues.

I joined IZA as a Research Fellow in May 2004.

IZA Publications

IZA Discussion Paper No. 18160
revised version published in: Small Business Economics, 2026, 66, 1665-1672, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-025-01171-7
IZA Discussion Paper No. 17469
Prashant Loyalka, Dinsha Mistree, Robert W. Fairlie, Saurabh Khanna
forthcoming in: Economic Development and Cultural Change
IZA Discussion Paper No. 16412
published in: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2024, 43 (1), 258 - 288
IZA Discussion Paper No. 15445
Robert W. Fairlie, Frank M. Fossen, Reid Johnsen, Gentian Droboniku
revised version published in: Small Business Economics, 2023, 60, 1613-1629
IZA Discussion Paper No. 13919
George Bulman, Robert W. Fairlie, Sarena Goodman, Adam Isen
published in: American Economic Review, 2021, 111 (4), 1201–1240
IZA Discussion Paper No. 13822
Silvia Robles, Max Gross, Robert W. Fairlie
published in: Journal of Public Economics, 2021, 199, 104409
IZA Discussion Paper No. 13707
published in: Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2020, 29 (4), 727 - 740
IZA Discussion Paper No. 13311
published as 'The impact of COVID-19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social-distancing restrictions' in: Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 2020, 29 (4), 727-740
IZA Discussion Paper No. 13080
Robert W. Fairlie, Prashant Loyalka, Scott Rozelle, Yue Ma
published in: Economic Development and Cultural Change, 2024, 72 (4), 1923–1962
IZA Discussion Paper No. 11258
revised version published in: Research in Labor Economics, 2020, 48, 253-289.
IZA Discussion Paper No. 9848
published in: Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2017, 26 (1), 3 - 34
IZA Discussion Paper No. 9302
published in: B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2016, 16 (1), 59 - 96
IZA Discussion Paper No. 8367
published in: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2015, 7 (2), 125 - 161
IZA Discussion Paper No. 7764
Robert W. Fairlie, Samantha H. Grunberg
published in: Economic Inquiry, 2014, 52 (3), 1040 - 1059
IZA Discussion Paper No. 7669
published in: Barry Chiswick and Paul Miller (eds.), Handbook on the Economics of International Immigration, 1B, Elsevier, 2015
IZA Discussion Paper No. 7298
published in: Journal of Labor Economics, 2014, 32 (3), 507-561
IZA Discussion Paper No. 7211
published in: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2013, 5(3), 211-240
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5983
published in: American Economic Review, 2014, 104 (8), 2567-2591
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5726
published in: Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 2013, 22 (2), 365-389
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5725
published in: Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 2013, 22 (2), 207-231
IZA Discussion Paper No. 5203
published in: Journal of Health Economics, 2011, 30 (1), 146-162
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3718
published in: Small Business Economics, 2009, 33 (4), 375-395
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3713
published as 'Black-White Unemployment and the Business Cycle' in: Demography, 2010, 47 (1), 227-247
IZA Discussion Paper No. 3708
published in: Research in Labor Economics, 29, 2009, 335 - 373
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2566
published in: Journal of Population Economics, 2009, 22 (4), 827-858
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2206
published in: Review of International Economics, 2010, 18 (1), 153 - 167
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2201
published in: Review of Income and Wealth, 2012, 58 (2), 279-306
IZA Discussion Paper No. 2039
published in: G. Borjas (ed.), Mexican Immigration in the United States, NBER-C, 2007, 123-158
IZA Discussion Paper No. 1917
published in: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 2005, 30(4), 305-316
IZA Discussion Paper No. 1912
Daniel O. Beltran, Kuntal K. Das, Robert W. Fairlie
published as 'Home Computers and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from the NLSY97 and CPS ' in: Economic Inquiry, 2010, 48 (3), 771-792
IZA Discussion Paper No. 1296
published in: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 2007, 60 (2), 225-245
Communications
Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer-ext@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
Network Coordination
Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

About IZA@LISER Network
Contact
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Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
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Maison des Sciences Humaines
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Phone: +49 228 3894-0 | Fax: +49 228 3894-510
E-Mail: info@iza.org | Web: www.iza.org
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