Nicholas Reynolds
I’m a labor and health economist at the University of Essex.
Much of my research focuses on the health and human capital of Americans and innovation.
News
- 2025 | AER: Insights lead article. The Broad Decline in Health and Human Capital of Americans Born after 1947.
- 2025 | AEA Featured Chart. Figure 1 selected as an AEA Featured Chart.
- Oct 2025 | LSE Business Review. What caused the American decline of the past 60 years?.
- Aug 2024 | Commentary. Marginal Revolution and Bloomberg Opinion.
Research
Accepted and Published Papers
The Broad Decline in Health and Human Capital of Americans Born after 1947
American Economic Review: Insights (Lead article)
Links: Journal version | Working paper version
Increased Mortality of White Americans and a Decline in the Health of Cohorts Born after World War II
Journal of Human Resources
Links: Journal version | Working paper version | Appendices
The Paper Trail of Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from Patent Interferences
With Ina Ganguli (UMass Amherst) and Jeffrey Lin (Philadelphia Fed)
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Links: Journal version | Working paper version
New Working Papers
Patent Text and Long-Run Innovation Dynamics: The Critical Role of Model Selection
With Ina Ganguli (UMass Amherst), Jeffrey Lin (Philadelphia Fed), and Vitaly Meursault (Philadelphia Fed)
Notes: NBER WP; presented at NBER Summer Institute 2025.
Links: Paper
Stunted Adolescence: The Anomalous Growth Pattern of Americans Born in the 1960s
Notes: IZA discussion paper; submitted.
Links: Paper
Candidate Origins of the Recent Stagnation in Midlife Mortality in the United States
With Sam Arenberg (Houston) and Sam Stripling
Notes: Prepared for general science journals; presented at NBER Summer Institute 2025.
Links: Paper
Local Average Cohort Effects
Links: Paper
Selected Work In Progress
The Cohort Signature of American Mortality Stagnation
With Sam Arenberg (Houston) and Sam Stripling
Deindustrialization as a Double-edged Sword: Employment and Environmental Effects
With Michel Serafinelli (KCL)
Sorting, Neighborhood Effects, and Intergenerational Mobility in Spatial Equilibrium
With Jeffrey Lin (Philadelphia Fed) and Bryan Stuart (Philadelphia Fed)
Old Working Papers
The Broad Decline in Health and Human Capital of Americans Born after 1947
Much longer version of what became the AER: Insights paper. Also includes results that turned into the “Stunted Adolescence” and “Local Average Cohort Effects” working papers, plus additional material.
Links: Long version
Teaching
Below is a list of courses taught at the University of Essex.
Undergraduate Health Economics
University of Essex
Course taught in 2021-2025.
PhD Applied Research Methods (Causal Inference)
University of Essex
Course taught in 2021-2024.
Masters-level Introduction to Economics and Public Policy (co-lecturer)
University of Essex
Course taught in 2023-2025.
Please email me if you’re interested in my teaching materials.
Contact
- Email: nicholas.reynolds@essex.ac.uk
- Google Scholar: Profile
- University of Essex: Profile
Office
Department of Economics
University of Essex