Teaching & Speaking
Reimagining how we teach economics and policy — from passive learning to professional practice
Live Discussion
Real-time Socratic dialogue replaces traditional exams and quizzes
Video Assignments
Students produce video analyses instead of written papers
Professional Practice
Presentations and deliverables mirror real-world professional settings
Teaching That Evolves
Pedagogy cannot stand still while the world transforms around it. As technology reshapes economies, as political landscapes shift, as new generations bring different ways of learning and communicating — how we teach must evolve in step. A curriculum written for yesterday's world does not prepare students for tomorrow's challenges.
Dr. Yin is actively experimenting with new approaches to content delivery and assessment — replacing traditional papers and exams with live discussions, video assignments, and professional-style presentations. Students brief federal agencies, defend methodology in live Q&A, and produce policy videos for real stakeholders. The goal is not just to transfer knowledge, but to expand horizons, build professional skills, and learn alongside students as the field itself changes.
Academic Leadership
Founding Director
Dual Master's Degree Program
MS in Applied Economics & Social and Economic Policy with CUHK. Learn more →
Executive Scholar
Kellogg School of Management
Nonprofit Management program at Northwestern's Kellogg School
Advising
Master's & Doctoral Students
Research design, evaluation, and career development in policy and economics
Courses
All courses redesigned with performance-based assessment
Applied Econometrics for Policy Analysis
Causal inference and policy evaluation: IV, diff-in-diff, RDD, synthetic control, panel data. Students present policy analyses via video briefs and defend findings in live seminar discussions.
🎥 Video policy briefs 🎤 Live defense 💼 Client-ready deliverables
Labor Economics and Human Capital
Labor supply/demand, wage determination, human capital, and discrimination. Students produce video analyses of real labor market data and present workforce policy recommendations as consultants.
🎥 Data walkthroughs 💼 Consulting presentations
Economics of Education
School choice, teacher labor markets, education production functions, and cost-benefit analysis. Assessment through recorded policy memos, live panel discussions, and peer review.
🎤 Panel discussions 🎥 Recorded policy memos
Program Evaluation and Causal Inference
RCTs, matching, IV, RDD, and diff-in-diff. Students design and pitch evaluation proposals via video and defend methodology in live Q&A sessions.
🎥 Video proposals 🎤 Live methodology defense
Technology, AI, and the Future of Work
Automation, AI, and labor impacts: skill-biased change, task models, wage polarization. Students create video explainers and lead live roundtable discussions on policy responses.
🎥 Video explainers 🎤 Roundtable facilitation
Disability Economics
VR effectiveness, employment discrimination, wage disparities. Students produce video case studies of real programs and present findings as they would to a federal agency or state legislature.
🎥 Agency-style briefings 💼 Legislative presentations
Speaking & Policy Leadership
Policy Leadership & Advisory
- Senior Advisor — U.S. Department of Labor, disability employment policy
- Capitol Hill Briefing — "Closing the Pay Gap for Workers with Disabilities"
- Special Olympics International — Evaluation frameworks for 170+ countries
- National Academy of Social Insurance — Elected member
Selected Keynotes & Invited Talks
- Massachusetts Disability Summit — "Research to Inform Policy" keynote
- International Conference, Barcelona — Special Olympics and HS completion
- CIEE Global Internship Conference, London — International education
- Middle East, Africa, Asia — Multiple keynotes on disability employment
Expertise Areas
AI & labor markets · Subminimum wage elimination · Social insurance policy · Vocational rehabilitation · Data science for accessibility · Evidence-based program evaluation
Media
Research featured in The Wall Street Journal and The Hill
Recognition
National Academy of Social Insurance · $50M+ lifetime funding · Top-tier journal publications
Speaking Engagements
Available for keynotes, policy briefings, and presentations at conferences, government agencies, universities, and international forums.