I’m Lauri Luosta, a public policy researcher trained in applied microeconomics whose work focuses on child well-being, behavioral health, and consumer finance. My research investigates how public policies, such as minimum wage increases, the legalization of marijuana, and the legalization of sports gambling, affect families through spillovers on household finances and child welfare. I employ quasi-experimental and other quantitative methods using large-scale administrative and financial datasets.

I am currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Polish Academy of Sciences, working on a Wellbeing Simulation Model (WELLMOD) in collaboration with the London School of Economics, the Paris School of Economics, and the University of Luxembourg. In addition, I am an Affiliate Economist at Northwestern University’s Research and Innovation for Social and Economic Inclusion (RISEI) Lab, where I contribute to research on youth with disabilities and labor-market outcomes. I am also a Visiting Research Fellow in the INVEST Fellowship Programme at the University of Turku in Finland. I hold a PhD in Consumer Behavior and Family Economics and a Master of International Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Beyond my research, I have experience teaching undergraduate courses in consumer research and quantitative methods, and I previously conducted policy research at the Urban Institute.