Knuth
A Python workbench for research, with a live session, a variable explorer, and results alongside the code. Analyses stay in plain Python files; named values and figures can flow into papers written in Plass.
Taylor J Weidman
Hi! I'm an economist at the University of Pittsburgh. These days I'm using voter panels to study information spillovers in residential networks and laboratory experiments to study coordination games. I also build tools for research and teaching through Claerbout Studio.
Research
... current working papers.
Homophily Turnout: network effects and voter behavior
Voters increase their turnout when a new same-party voter moves in next door.
Panel Nearest Neighbors: A new algorithm applied to voter files
A new algorithm resolves the tradeoff between panels and kNN, applied to voter files.
Testing Models of Strategic Uncertainty
An index using risk dominance to organize cooperation across social dilemmas in the lab.
Well Excuse Me!
Three excuse-seeking behaviors replicate but show no relationship across domains.
Teaching
... some material from courses I've taught at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Richmond.
Intro Microeconomics
ECON 0100
Economic Data Analysis
ECON 0150
Applications of Economic Analysis Techniques
ECON 2823
Intermediate Microeconomics
ECON 1100
Game Theory Principles
ECON 0200
Projects
... software and visual explanations for research and teaching.
Claerbout Studio
A collection of tools I'm building for computation, writing, and animation.
Plass
A writing editor that typesets as you work. Write directly on the page with equations, citations, figures, and footnotes, then save as Typst or Markdown and export a PDF.
ManimLive
An environment for making and presenting Manim animations. Preview changes live, step through a scene at your own pace, and export videos or interactive presentations for the web.
Octavo
A live viewer and visual editor for Quarto slide decks. Move and resize content while keeping the original Quarto file editable.
Nilson
A grading tool in development: randomized exams, reading multiple-choice responses from scans, rubric-based grading, and feedback PDFs.
Economics Animations
Visual explanations from my introductory microeconomics course, made with ManimLive. Open an animation and use Next and Back to step through it at your own pace.
- Production possibilitiesScarcity, tradeoffs, and what's attainable.
- Comparative advantageOpportunity cost and the gains from specialization.
- Gains from tradeHow exchange can make both parties better off.
Geographic Voter Panel
I use voter data in some recent work. This data pipeline generates the main geographic panel used in many current and upcoming projects, and is the product of many problems solved. I'm immensely proud of this code and the number of technical solutions that make it possible.
Experiments in oTree
oTree is flexible software for running experiments in the lab and online. Here are some experiments I've written over the years, run at Iowa State University, University of Pittsburgh, and Leheigh University.