Patrick Zimmer ‘20

Patrick Zimmer is a senior interested in applied microeconomics, development economics, and the economics of education. Through the Kellogg International Scholars Program, Zimmer is working with Professor Jeffrey Bergstrand on his research of economic integration agreements. Zimmer identifies, reviews, and classifies trade agreements to update Professor Bergstrand’s economic integration database. Zimmer is also writing an economics honors thesis under the direction of Professor Chloe Gibbs. His thesis explores relative age achievement gaps in early childhood education, the extent to which interventions such as all day kindergarten might affect these gaps, and how relative age gaps compare to other educational achievement gaps.

During his sophomore year, Zimmer worked with Professor Alexandros Taflanidis on his research for Engineering2Empower. During this time, Zimmer researched lending models and developed surveys to assist the team in their efforts to implement an affordable and disaster-resilient solution to the housing crisis in Haiti. On a break research grant from the Kellogg International Scholars Program, Zimmer traveled to Léogâne, Haiti, during January of 2018 to conduct interviews with landowners, bank managers, and informal lending institutions.

Thesis Title: Relative Age Achievement Gaps in Early Childhood Education

Thesis Adviser: Chloe Gibbs