Welcome!
I am an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado Boulder. I also am the Director of the Institute for Behavioral Sciences' Population Program at CU Boulder and an affiliate of the Colorado Population Center.
I am also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), and an affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin.
I study U.S. policies—including safety net and social insurance programs, as well as immigration policy—and examine how they affect outcomes of both foreign-born and U.S.-born people. My work has been cited in numerous policy contexts and by major media outlets such as the Nation, NPR, the New York Time, the Washington Post, Politico, the Atlantic, and others. I have published in top economics journals including the American Economic Review and the Journal of Labor Economics. I earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis.
In Spring 2022 I founded the Equitable Policy Research Lab. I co-lead the Research Working Group within the Children Thrive Action Network. Finally, I am the co-chair of the Women in Economics Community for APPAM.
See my work on: Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 6/29/2025
I am an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado Boulder. I also am the Director of the Institute for Behavioral Sciences' Population Program at CU Boulder and an affiliate of the Colorado Population Center.
I am also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), and an affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) at the University of Wisconsin.
I study U.S. policies—including safety net and social insurance programs, as well as immigration policy—and examine how they affect outcomes of both foreign-born and U.S.-born people. My work has been cited in numerous policy contexts and by major media outlets such as the Nation, NPR, the New York Time, the Washington Post, Politico, the Atlantic, and others. I have published in top economics journals including the American Economic Review and the Journal of Labor Economics. I earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis.
In Spring 2022 I founded the Equitable Policy Research Lab. I co-lead the Research Working Group within the Children Thrive Action Network. Finally, I am the co-chair of the Women in Economics Community for APPAM.
See my work on: Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 6/29/2025
News
My paper with Jason Cook on the effects of SNAP Work Requirements for parents is forthcoming in the Journal of Public Economics.
I released an NBER working paper in spring 2026 with Caitlin Patler and Elizabeth Cox on how ICE arrests in Trump 2.0 compare to the last decade.
I was awarded two Russell Sage Research Grants in Fall 2025 for my work on the real-time economic effects of ICE activity in Trump 2.0 and my work on immigrants' access to the safety net.
I began a new position as an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado Boulder in August 2025.
Contact Information
chloe.east[at]colorado[dot]edu
@chloeneast.bsky.social
she/her