JYOTSANA KALA
Welcome! I’m a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at UC Irvine. My research interests lie in Labor Economics & Macroeconomic Theory.I’m on the Econ job market this year (2025-26). My job market paper explores the implications of algorithmic wage discrimination on worker welfare in the gig economy. Workers share their stories of navigating this reality here.Please find my CV here. Email: [email protected].
RESEARCH
Job Market Paper
"Worker Welfare under Algorithmic Wage Discrimination”
I examine the welfare consequences of algorithmic wage discrimination on gig economy workers and its subsequent policy implications. Algorithmic wage discrimination is defined as the practice of paying workers personalized wages based on individual characteristics identified through granular data collected and analyzed by algorithms. Leveraging novel data on Uber drivers, I provide the first empirical evidence of algorithmic wage discrimination in the gig economy. The empirical strategy uses a staggered difference-in-differences design to causally identify the impact of this practice on drivers’ wages. To further investigate the underlying mechanisms, I develop a game-theoretic model of Uber's wage-setting behavior, which shows that dynamic learning enables the platform to progressively reduce worker wages, ultimately harming worker welfare. The findings also highlight key policy interventions that could mitigate these challenges and improve outcomes for gig workers in algorithmically managed labor markets.Working Papers
“Dynamics of Market Power in Monetary Economies”
with Lucie Lebeau and Lu Wang
Revise & Resubmit at European Economic ReviewWe study the dynamic interplay between monetary policy and market power in a decentralized monetary economy. Our key innovation is to model rent-seeking as a process that takes time, allowing market power to evolve gradually. Consistent with the stylized correlation observed over the last few decades in the US, a gradual reduction in the nominal interest rate increases rent-seeking effort and producers’ market power over time. Indeterminacy and path dependence emerge when consumers benefit from valuable outside options, with monetary policy shocks potentially locking the economy into high- or low-market-power equilibria.“Minimum Wages and Race Disparities”
with David NeumarkWe provide a comprehensive analysis of the effects of minimum wages on blacks, and on the relative impacts on blacks vs. whites. We find evidence that job loss effects from higher minimum wages are more evident for blacks, and in contrast not very detectable for whites. Moreover, the effects of minimum wages are often large enough to generate adverse effects on earnings (and relative earnings) of blacks. Given strong residential segregation by race in the United States, the race difference in the effects of minimum wages implies that any adverse impacts fall on areas with a high black population share.“City Size, Monopsony, and the Employment Effects of Minimum Wages”
with Priyaranjan Jha, David Neumark and Antonio Rodriguez-LopezWe assess how minimum wage effects on restaurant employment in the U.S. vary with labor market size and monopsony power. Using city-level data, we construct monopsony proxies based on labor flows and concentration. Minimum wages bind less in larger cities, consistent with the urban wage premium, and omitting this relationship overstates how labor market power reduces adverse employment effects of minimum wages. Nonetheless, accounting for city size, lower job market fluidity is linked to weaker negative employment effects, consistent with search models. By contrast, traditional concentration measures do not consistently predict variation in the effects of minimum wages.Work in Progress
“The Effects of Fair Workweek Laws on Labor Market Outcomes”
with David Neumark and Vitor Melo“Impact of Layoffs on the Housing Market”
with Maximilian Gunnewig-Monert and Roozbeh F. Moghadam“Market Rents with Two-Sided Heterogeneity and Asymmetric Information”
TEACHING
My teaching philosophy is grounded in connection, clarity, and collaboration. I believe that economics education should equip students not just with technical tools, but with the confidence and curiosity to engage with ideas critically. Students learn most effectively when they are encouraged to challenge what they’re taught.At UC Irvine, I have served as a teaching assistant for graduate Macroeconomics, and for several undergraduate courses including Applied Econometrics, Corporate Finance, Economics of International Business and Basic Economics. I have also been a Pedagogical Fellow with the Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI), leading the TA Professional Development Program for the incoming class of TAs for three consecutive years in the School of Social Sciences.Student Evaluations
Here are some select student testimonials from Macro I graduate students, taken from my full set of teaching evaluations:“This TA has truly been the highlight of the course. Her kindness, empathy, and exceptional teaching skills make learning a pleasure. She is a role model for effective teaching, and her dedication has significantly contributed to my understanding and success in this class. I hope to have the opportunity to learn from her again in the future. She sets an inspiring standard for what a great educator should be!”“This TA is truly exceptional—one of the most caring and dedicated instructors I’ve ever encountered. She goes above and beyond to ensure students understand the material, whether through detailed email responses, thoughtful office hour discussions, or well-prepared classes. Her ability to break down complex topics into beginner-friendly explanations is remarkable, making the course objectives clear and approachable. Her discussions are incredibly helpful for mastering the material, and it’s evident she invests significant time and effort into preparation. She creates a supportive, empathetic, and structured learning environment that fosters success for every student.”“The material presented in lecture felt very difficult and hard to follow, but Jyotsana was able to condense the material and present it in a simple way that made difficult material easier to follow, at least intuitively.”