Jonathan Presler
Welcome. I am an applied microeconomist developing creative empirical approaches to answer policy-relevant questions using big data and spatial methods. I earned my PhD in economics from Syracuse University in 2020.
My research sits at the intersection of urban, public, and labor economics. In one strand, I explore peer effects in education, with particular focus on how the racial and ethnic composition of students' peers shapes their friendship networks. In another, I apply cell phone geolocation micro-data to urban and policy questions, including work on homelessness that is developing into a broader research agenda.
Previously, I was a Senior Research Economist at the FDIC, where I worked on major survey efforts including the 2023 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. Currently, I teach intermediate microeconomics at Goucher College.
Curriculum Vitae: Jonathan Presler CV
Research
Publications
"What Makes a Classmate a Peer? Examining Which Peers Matter in NYC Elementary Schools"
(2025) Journal of Population Economics, 38, 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-025-01107-1.
with William Horrace, Hyunseok Jung, and Amy Ellen Schwartz
"2023 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, (November 2024)"
with Jeffrey Weinstein and Garret Christensen
"FDIC Survey of VITA Providers, (June 2024)"
with Elissa Cohen, Yan Lee, Noah Shult, Jeffrey Weinstein, and Mary Zaki
"You Are Who You Eat With: Academic Peer Effects from School Lunch Lines"
(2022) Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 203, 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2022.08.029.
Working Papers
"The Lunch Club: Does Exposure Increase Integration in the Lunch Line?"
with Amy Ellen Schwartz
Work in Progress
"Migration and Seasonality of the Homeless in the United States: Using Big Data to Understand a Big Problem"
with David Lucas
"How do gas prices affect commuter rail uptake?"
with Christopher Rick
"Unevenly cooked: racial inequity due to climate change"
with David Schwegman
Teaching Experience
Instructor for Intermediate Microeconomics, Department of Economics, Goucher College
Fall 2025
Instructor for Economic Principles, Dept. of Economics, Syracuse University
Summer 2017
Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Economics, Syracuse University
Economic Principles
Game Theory
Intermediate Microeconomics
Intermediate Mathematical Microeconomics
2015-2019
Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Mathematics, North Dakota State University
Pre-Calculus
2014-2015
Presentations
“2023 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households”
FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion
November 2024
“The Lunch Club: Does Exposure Increase Integration in the Lunch Line?”
Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)
March 2022
"Obesity Peer Effects in NYC Elementary Schools"
Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)
March 2021
"You Are Who You Eat With: Evidence on Academic Peer Effects in School Lunch Lines"
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
November 2019
"What Makes a Classmate a Peer? Examining Which Peers Matter in NYC Elementary Schools"
Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP)
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Summer Workshop in Education and Social Policy
March 2019
May 2019
Awards and Fellowships
FDIC Mission Achievement Award
Syracuse University Graduate Fellowship
Syracuse University Graduate Assistantship
Maxwell School Summer Fellowship
Travel Grant, Syracuse University