Assistant Professor at @YaleEconomics. Research Fellow @TheIFS.

London
Joined April 2011
Cormac O'Dea retweeted
Retirement saving in America has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Today @BrookingsInst's Retirement Security Project launched "SECURE 3.0," a collection of new proposals to strengthen how Americans save for and spend in retirement. Read the collection: brookings.edu/collection/sec…
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Cormac O'Dea retweeted
Incredibly exciting to see this! This paper studies the surprising similarity in Social Security claiming and retirement across groups who differ in wealth and life expectancy. What do we find? Subjective beliefs about mortality and the SS program are critical!
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Falling Slowly I'm heartbroken to hear of the passing of Glen Hansard. His music has been the soundtrack to my life for as long as I can remember. This was one of the very first pieces I shared here during the Covid pandemic. I remember how nervous I felt posting it. Not long afterwards, I received a message from Glen himself telling me he loved my version. Those few kind words, coming from an artist I admired so deeply, meant more than I can say. They gave me the confidence to keep sharing my music, and they played a significant part in the path that followed. So many evenings were spent lying on the floor of my cottage beside the fire with my dog Nisha, listening to Glen's songs. I still can't quite believe he's gone. This is Falling Slowly from the film Once. Glen and his co-star, Markéta Irglová, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008. The world feels quieter today. My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and to everyone whose life was touched by his music. I'll be listening to his songs for the rest of my life.
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Cormac O'Dea retweeted
Thrilled that this paper with @TahaChoukhmane is finally in print! Check out the thread below for more details, and the full paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…
❗️A 🧵 on my NBER WP paper with @TahaChoukhmane ❗️ Draft: tinyurl.com/47mt6m2k More details: ⬇️⬇️⬇️
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Congratulations to @Yale's Cormac O'Dea, & coauthors Taha Choukhmane / Lucas Goodman, for winning the 2025 @TIAA Samuelson Award for their paper “Efficiency in Household Decision-Making: Evidence from the Retirement Savings of US Couples” Full story here: tiaa.org/public/about-tiaa/n…
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Thanks @econimate for turning our research into such a great animated explainer! Watch the video here:
Economic models often assume households behave as a single decision-making unit. Does this mirror reality? @TahaChoukhmane (@MITSloan), @goodmanl (@USTreasury) & @cormacodea (@YaleEconomics) on the retirement savings of U.S. couples: youtu.be/eHowMVi5MoA
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Cormac O'Dea retweeted
Economic models often assume households behave as a single decision-making unit. Does this mirror reality? @TahaChoukhmane (@MITSloan), @goodmanl (@USTreasury) & @cormacodea (@YaleEconomics) on the retirement savings of U.S. couples: youtu.be/eHowMVi5MoA
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🧵10/11 BOTTOM LINE: •Challenges narrative that saving inertia = large lifetime impact •Shows the importance of studying nudges over long horizons •Illustrate the benefit of structural models when policies are too recent
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🧵1/11 My paper "Default Options and Retirement Saving Dynamics" is forthcoming in the AER! Auto-enrollment is often hailed as behavioral economics' greatest policy success and now covers 100M+ workers worldwide. But: does it actually increase lifetime wealth and welfare?
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(1/10) 🚨Paper alert!🚨 How millions of US couples miss out on $750/yr in employer money by not coordinating 401(k) contributions. Evidence + implications for theory below 👇🧵 In the AER at @AEAjournals w/ @goodmanl @cormacodea aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.12…
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NEW in the AER, @TahaChoukhmane, @goodmanl, and @cormacodea study how couples allocate retirement-saving contributions across each spouse's account. Read the full publication here: aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.12…
The May 2025 issue of the American Economic Review (115, 5) is now available online at aeaweb.org/issues/802.
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UCD Economics has two tenure-track AP jobs available. One post is broadly in behavioural/enviro, and one is in ML/AI/econometrics. Pre-tenure, pay is up to €100k/year + pension. If you’re on the job market, or considering a move, you should at least apply. Deadline is Friday.
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Unbundling college: Causal returns to US college majors, minors, and extracurriculars. An audit study of seniors' first-job search, with Carolina Bussotti, John Nunley, and Alan Seals. We find: majors matter, zero returns to minors, positive returns to extracurriculars. 1/6🧵
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Cormac O'Dea retweeted
A book review of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. This is probably the first book review you will read that has absolutely no spoilers and that you will appreciate equally whether you have read the book or not (at least if you read to the end).
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We are hiring! The University of Galway is on the market for an Assistant Professor in Economics. The position is open to any field and is a permanent, tenured position. (1/5)
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Lindsey Uniat (@LindseyUniat): “The Quiet Revolution and the Decline of Routine Jobs” Website: lindseyuniat.com/
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Meet this year's talented @YaleEconomics Job Market Candidates! Learn more about their experience and research here: economics.yale.edu/phd-progr…
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Stephan Waizmann's job market paper studies how AI affects firm-consumer dynamics. He shows that opaque algorithms yield higher profits than transparent ones and may be better for consumer surplus as well. Details: stephanwaizmann.com
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Samuel Solomon's (@SamuelMSolomon) job market paper examines the underlying drivers and aggregate implications of occupational following—when children enter into their parent’s occupation—for the labor market, social mobility, and total output. Website: samuelmsolomon.com/
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