Rivin Perinchery

Why FSU?

I knew I wanted to study at FSU because of the overall strength of the University and the kindness and brilliance of the faculty in the Department of Economics. During my visit, I had the privilege of speaking with three professors in the department. All of them showed interest in my thoughts and ideas, and they showed genuine consideration for my best interests in our discussions. The Department of Economics also had and continues to have excellent post-graduate placements. In short, I chose FSU because I knew these were the kind of people that I wanted to study and work with.

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

After I earned my B.S. economics, I secured a position as a research associate in economics. That experience was extremely valuable for me as I got to work with career economists intimately and glean a strong understanding of their daily life (as well as any advice they had). I also was able to attend economic conferences with that group, and learn about the research that other economists were doing as well. I knew that I wanted to continue my education in economics and learn how to apply economic intuition, insights, and modelling toward developing solutions to the challenges that society faces in the world.

Importance and/or impact of research and work

I study information economics and the role of information in environments of asymmetric information with applied economic theory and experimental economics. My research highlights the power of information as a tool and studies how individuals can optimally utilize information in strategic interactions. Developing theories of behavior in these environments can guide firms, individuals, and policy-makers when considering their own behavior in such environments. The experiments I conduct explore whether subjects behave in ways which are consistent with the developed theory, and allow us to glean insights from human behavior that we can incorporate into the theory.

Career aspirations

I aspire to be an economics professor at a research institution. My desire to conduct research and teach make a career in academia ideal for me. I hope that I have the opportunity to teach and can inspire my students the way many professors have inspired me.

Advice for anyone considering graduate school

Graduate study is vastly different from undergraduate study. The best thing to do is to "try it out." If you are exploring a research degree, you should try to do research as an undergraduate and/or take a "gap year" and do research with a faculty in the field of your interest. If your degree is "professional/applied," try to intern in that profession. The key is, you should dive into the field as much as you can. If you discover it is your passion and you enjoy it, excellent! If you discover that this is not the case, then it's better to have discovered it now then after X years of graduate school. Lastly, graduate school is a marathon, not a sprint! Be prepared to work hard, but be sure that you take care of yourself and "rest hard" as well.

Accomplishments during graduate career

In summer 2020, many students had their internships cancelled due to COVID. In an effect to mitigate those losses, the University of Wisconsin (where I completed by B.S in economics) introduced a virtual internship. I was selected to be a mentor, and I had the opportunity to guide two undergraduate students through their first research project, from developing research ideas to analyzing data and producing results. It was an honor to be able to serve in that capacity and to mentor the researchers of tomorrow!

Moreover, I am the recipient of a couple awards and fellowships: the McCaleb Award (2022) (Upper Division Teaching Excellence), the John & Hallie Quinn Fellowship in Experimental Economics (2022), and the Gapinski Award (2020) (Academic Excellence Among First Year PhD Students).