
Victoria Prowse
Marge Magner Chair and Professor of Economics
Department of Economics and Daniels School of Business, Purdue University
Victoria Prowse studies how cognitive skills and preferences shape economic decisions and life outcomes. Her research spans labor, public, and education economics and policy. It combines empirical microeconomics with experimental methods to measure skills and identify behavioral mechanisms. She examines how individuals build skills through education, work experience, and other investments, and how these skills in turn affect effort, teamwork, and labor market decisions. This work sheds light on the forces that generate inefficiency and inequality, and informs the design of policies, interventions, and programs to improve outcomes.
News
- Nov 2026New working paper on arXiv
“Dynamic Investment and Coordination in Teams: Theory and Experimental Evidence,” with David Gill and Lucas Reddinger.
- Nov 2026In the November issue of Psychology Today
“Why Being First or Last Pushes Us, but Being in the Middle Doesn’t” appears in “Get Going,” the issue’s feature on motivation.
- Sep 2026Keynote at the Cornerstone for Business Conference
250 years of technological change, from farm mechanization to robotics, and the human skills that help workers adapt alongside AI.
Featured publications
- The Creativity Premium: Exploring the Link Between Childhood Creativity and Life Outcomes
with David Gill. Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics
- Cognitive Skills, Strategic Sophistication, and Life Outcomes
with Eduardo Fe and David Gill. Journal of Political Economy
Selected work in progress
- Dynamic Investment and Coordination in Teams: Theory and Experimental Evidence
with David Gill and Lucas Reddinger.
- The Development of Children's Attitudes Towards Gender Equality
with Amrita Sanyal.