Hi! My name is Michael 👋
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the John Munro Godfrey, Sr. Department of Economics at the University of Georgia. My research lies at the intersection of empirical industrial organization and labor economics, with particular interests in franchising and broadband markets.
My latest working paper studies the effects of Chattanooga, Tennessee’s municipal broadband project on its local labor market performance.
Before graduate school, I worked as a program manager at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, contributing to projects related to regulatory processes, technological innovation, and entrepreneurship. My policy writing and commentary have appeared in outlets including USA Today, POLITICO Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The Hill, and Tribune News Service.
I also enjoy programming and data-visualization projects, many of which are hosted on GitHub.
📫michael[dot]kotrous[at]uga[dot]edu