Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowships are intended to speed the process of completing the dissertation. Except in unusual cases, they should be awarded to students who are at the writing stage of the dissertation. This will permit candidates to work full-time on the final stages of their dissertations.
Winter 2025 Recipients:
Chandler Inman
Chandler Inman is a 6th year economics Ph. D candidate at the University of Michigan. Chandler previously attended Indiana University earning a BA in Economics with a minor in Philosophy and a BS in Mathematics. His main fields of study are Public Finance and Family Economics. He predominantly studies the adoption and foster care markets with an emphasis on public policy, but also has a general interest in Public Finance related topics and has worked on projects ranging from employer learning to intangible-capital labor substitution.
Basil Isaac
Basil Isaac is a 5th year Economics Ph.D Candidate. He received his B.A degree from St.Stephen’s College, Delhi and a Master’s degree from Delhi School of Economics.
Basil’s research interests lie in health economics. His research broadly asks questions that inform debates in healthcare policy. More specifically, his work characterizes the effects of drug shortages in the United States and identifies the role healthcare providers can play in mitigating its impact. Additionally, Basil studies whether prevailing inequities in healthcare access are exacerbated by healthcare providers’ response to prescription drug insurance utilization policies - such as pre-authorization requirements.
After the completion of his dissertation, Basil hopes to continue using novel empirical tools and economic modelling frameworks to answer questions that can inform health policy.
Xiaomeng Li
Xiaomeng Li is a rising fifth-year Economics PhD student with a keen interest in gender and human capital. Her academic journey began with an undergraduate degree at the University of Manchester, where she graduated with first-class honors in Mathematics with Financial Mathematics. She then excelled at the University of Cambridge, earning a distinction in her MPhil in Economics.
In her gender-related research, Xiaomeng has studied how gender interacts with decisions in education and negotiation behavior in the labor market. Specifically, she has investigated the unintended gender inequality resulting from information-optimal grading policies, how anticipated gender discrimination influences major choices, and how the ongoing trend toward gender pay gap transparency affects workers’ negotiation and job application responses.
In the long run, Xiaomeng hopes to contribute to evidence-based policies that foster inclusive growth and equal opportunities for everyone. With her solid foundation in empirical research and growing experience, she is well-positioned to make a meaningful contribution to the field of economics.
