Faculty Highlight | Advancing Economic Research and Student Success: Professor Jesse Anttila-Hughes’ Impact at USF

Since joining the Economics Department in 2012, Associate Professor Jesse Anttila-Hughes has been a key mentor and advocate for students in the International and Development Economics (IDEC) program seeking to make meaningful contributions to economics and beyond. Now, as the Chair of the Department of Economics, he seeks to support both the M.S. IDEC and M.S. Applied Economics (MSAE) programs while nurturing the department’s thriving undergraduate major and minors, pushing the boundaries of economic research and student achievement alike.?

Professor Jesse Anttila-Hughes' recent research explores the evolution of cooperation, a field rooted in physical and biological parallels to economic organization. His work applies complex evolutionary game theory, network science, and biology to understand the clustered nature of complex production. By utilizing techniques from these fields, he seeks to uncover the mechanisms that drive fundamental expansions in economic capacity.?

Much of his recent research includes the application of complexity measures to economic development. He explains “Most of the work in this domain is asking some fairly basic economic questions at city-scale using some of these complexity measures.” These metrics provide insight into productivity at various scales—from industries to cities to entire nations. By studying comparative advantages through this lens, Prof. Anttila-Hughes’ work contributes to a richer understanding of development processes, making it possible to identify the complex productive capabilities at a local level.?

While Prof. Anttila-Hughes’ research has expanded, his foundational work remains in environmental and health economics. His studies have examined the relationship between climate variation and child health and how changes in farm productivity and temperature fluctuations impact families’ economic constraints. Through decades of research, he has developed a broader perspective on how physical constraints shape social systems. Reflecting on this, he notes “Basically in my head, this is all about constraints to social systems, like physical constraints.”?

For more than a decade, Prof. Anttila-Hughes has found the work of USF graduate students incredibly inspiring. He describes their contributions as “endless,” highlighting standout research projects that have had tangible impacts. Notably, M.S. IDEC and M.S. AE alumni have gone on to prestigious roles, such as leading major projects at UNICEF, Census, or the California Public Utilities Commission, while others have gone on to team up with top economists to conduct research. From his perspective, the department’s emphasis on rigorous research design and empirical analysis ensures that students graduate with the tools necessary to effect change in chosen fields. Prof. Anttila-Hughes takes pride in students’ ability to land high research positions, remarking “People speak very highly of the M.S. IDEC students—a bunch of very famous economists have hired our alumni and are very happy about it.”

Prof. Anttila-Hughes also highlights success stories of students who started with limited economics backgrounds but excelled through curiosity, hard work, and dedication. Reflecting on one such case, he noted, “We give students heavy weaponry when it comes to research. Sitting through some of the classes is hard—but it’s worth it.”?

As the Chair of the Department of Economics, Prof. Anttila-Hughes is committed to ensuring the program thrives amidst broader challenges facing higher education. One of his primary goals is to improve the department's visibility, both among prospective students and within the job market.?

His efforts focus on leveraging the success of alumni to showcase the value of an economics degree. By highlighting the program’s unique strengths—its rigorous quantitative training, its Jesuit commitment to development, and its proximity to San Francisco’s tech economy—he aims to attract more students who are eager to engage in impactful economic research.

Professor Anttila-Hughes is also excited about leading new initiatives that incorporate advanced methodologies into economic research. One such endeavor is an AI-focused seminar series featuring experts on large language models, mechanistic interpretability, and text automation. “A lot of the problems in AI are economic,” he says. He believes that understanding these tools will be essential for the next generation of economists.?

Additionally, he remains committed to the program’s emphasis on research design, causal inference, and econometric precision. His goal is to instill in students the confidence to independently engage with complex economic theories, conduct rigorous analyses, and apply their skills to real-world policy issues.

After spending a year on sabbatical, Professor Anttila-Hughes returns to USF proud of the M.S. IDEC and M.S. AE programs and their alumni’s increasingly stellar reputation. His time away involved collaborating with faculty from various institutions and he noted the widespread recognition of M.S. IDEC students in particular, as highly capable and well-trained academic economic researchers. With his leadership and dedication to student success, Professor Anttila-Hughes plans to help bring the same sort of success to all the departments’ undergraduate and graduate programs, empowering USF students to tackle some of the most pressing economic challenges of our time.