Olugbenga "Gbenga" Ajilore (/ˈbɛŋɡə ˌædʒɪˈlɔːri/ BENG-gə AJ-il-OR-ee)[1] is an American economist who is a senior advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development at the United States Department of Agriculture.[2] Prior to his current role, he was a senior economist at the Center for American Progress and former associate professor of economics at the University of Toledo. He is a past president of the National Economic Association and is a frequent media commentator on the labor market, particularly for Black Americans.[3][4][5][6]
Olugbenga Ajilore | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Academic career | |
| Field | Public Finance, Economics of Crime, Economics of Rural Areas |
| Institution | United States Department of Agriculture Center for American Progress Urban Institute University of Toledo |
| Alma mater | University of California at Berkeley (BA) Claremont Graduate University (PhD) |
| Website | www |
Education and early life
editAjilore grew up in the city of Pasadena and attended Polytechnic School (California),[7] before earning a B.A. in applied mathematics and economics from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in economics from the Claremont Graduate University.[8]
Career
editAjilore was an assistant and associate professor at the University of Toledo from 2003 to 2018. During this period, he conducted research on tax policy and peer social networks, as well as racial bias and policing,[9] particularly the use of lethal and nonlethal physical force by police and police militarization.[10][11] Since joining the Center for American Progress in 2018, much of his work has focused on the economy of rural America.[8]
Selected research publications
edit- Ajilore, Olugbenga. "The militarization of local law enforcement: is race a factor?." Applied Economics Letters 22, no. 13 (2015): 1089–1093.
- Ali, Mir M., and Olugbenga Ajilore. "Can marriage reduce risky health behavior for African-Americans?." Journal of Family and Economic Issues 32, no. 2 (2011): 191–203.
- Ajilore, Olugbenga, and John Smith. "Ethnic fragmentation and police spending." Applied Economics Letters 18, no. 4 (2011): 329–332.
- Ajilore, Olugbenga, Aliaksandr Amialchuk, and Keven Egan. "Alcohol consumption by youth: peers, parents, or prices?." Economics & Human Biology 23 (2016): 76–83.
- Ajilore, Olugbenga. "Identifying peer effects using spatial analysis: the role of peers on risky sexual behavior." Review of Economics of the Household 13, no. 3 (2015): 635–652.
References
edit- ^ "Redefining rural America (with Olugbenga Ajilore)". Pitchfork Economics (Podcast). Civic Ventures. September 8, 2020. Event occurs at 6:00. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Key Staff Appointments". www.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
- ^ "'The Deep Dive with John Lettieri': Gbenga Ajilore on race, policing, and the labor market". American Enterprise Institute - AEI. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Jobs In June : The Indicator from Planet Money". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Joint Center Hosts 'Pandemic Relief Priorities for Black Workers' Twitter Chat with Experts". Joint Center. 2020-09-11. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Dr. Gbenga Ajilore on Structural Racism and COVID-19 in the Labor Market". Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ Sam Clark (14 July 2016). "OakTree Times Spring/Summer 2016--Alumni Profile: Dr. Olugbenga Ajilore '92". Issuu: 26. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ a b "Olugbenga Ajilore". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Speaker: Gbenga Ajilore | AlterConf". alterconf.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Institute for New Economic Thinking". Institute for New Economic Thinking. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Olugbenga Ajilore". Urban Institute. 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
External links
edit- STRENGTHENING OUR FISCAL TOOLKIT: POLICY OPTIONS TO IMPROVE ECONOMIC RESILIENCY, Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, Testimony by Olugbenga Ajilore, Ph.D., Senior Economist, Center for American Progress, October 16, 2019, https://budget.house.gov/sites/democrats.budget.house.gov/files/documents/Ajilore_Testimony.pdf