Economics in Tech
Megan Thomas, Amazon
Economics in Tech
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Megan D. Thomas
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University of Texas at Austin 2016 Ph.D.
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Background in Development Economics
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Senior Economist at Amazon
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Marketing
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Alexa
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Finance
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Optimization
Economist Skill Set (Athey and Luca, 2019)
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The ability to assess and interpret empirical relationships and work
with data.
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The ability to understand and design markets and incentives, taking
into account the information environment and strategic interactions.
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The ability to understand industry structure and equilibrium behavior
by firms.
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Meet the business team
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What ambiguous problem are they trying to solve?
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Work through the ambiguity and frame the question
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Determine the Data and Modeling Approach
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Pull and process the right data from large databases
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Explore applicable econ models and/or ML techniques
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Make a Product
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Work with Engineers to take the model and build a product
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Have a Business Impact
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Guide the business on the right use the results and make them self
sufficient to use the information from the product
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Demand Estimation
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New Products
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Forecasting
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Supply planning and optimization
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Planning labor needs at different times
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Improving P&Ls in Finance
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Causal Inference
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Effect of program changes
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Effect of customer driven actions
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Structural Modeling
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Forecasting
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Experimentation
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Quasi-experimental analysis
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Optimization
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Machine Learning
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Marketing
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What is the effectiveness of our advertising channels?
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How do we effectively allocate spend across different channels?
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Which is the right channel for which audience?
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What is the optimal messaging and targeting?
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Product : Alexa
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What is the long term impact of feature discover?
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What is the long term impact of a negative experience?
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Content optimization
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What features do we roll out next?
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Finance
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Forecasting P&L items.
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Understanding macro effects on the company’s P&L.
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Understanding growth attribution to internal and external factors.
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Featuring Sellers
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What is the best offer to show a customer for a given product?
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What is the effect on customers?
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What is the effect on sellers?
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Independence in owning a product
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Building a science team
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Working with rich data
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Working with people from diverse backgrounds
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Having influence across different science projects
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Seeing your work’s impact being realized in the real world
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Athey, Susan, and Michael Luca. 2019. "Economists (and Economics)
in Tech Companies." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33 (1): 209-30
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Presentation Transcript
Economics in Tech Megan Thomas, Amazon
Introduction Introduction Megan D. Thomas University of Texas at Austin 2016 Ph.D. Background in Development Economics Senior Economist at Amazon Marketing Alexa Finance Optimization
Economist Skill Set (Athey and Luca, 2019) The ability to assess and interpret empirical relationships and work with data. The ability to understand and design markets and incentives, taking into account the information environment and strategic interactions. The ability to understand industry structure and equilibrium behavior by firms.
A Typical Day in the Life of an Economist A Typical Day in the Life of an Economist Meet the business team What ambiguous problem are they trying to solve? Work through the ambiguity and frame the question Determine the Data and Modeling Approach Pull and process the right data from large databases Explore applicable econ models and/or ML techniques Make a Product Work with Engineers to take the model and build a product Have a Business Impact Guide the business on the right use the results and make them self sufficient to use the information from the product
Problems for Economists in Tech Problems for Economists in Tech Demand Estimation New Products Forecasting Supply planning and optimization Planning labor needs at different times Improving P&Ls in Finance Causal Inference Effect of program changes Effect of customer driven actions
Techniques used by Economists in Tech Techniques used by Economists in Tech Structural Modeling Forecasting Experimentation Quasi-experimental analysis Optimization Machine Learning
Some Examples from Experience Some Examples from Experience Marketing What is the effectiveness of our advertising channels? How do we effectively allocate spend across different channels? Which is the right channel for which audience? What is the optimal messaging and targeting? Product : Alexa What is the long term impact of feature discover? What is the long term impact of a negative experience? Content optimization What features do we roll out next?
Some Examples from Experience Some Examples from Experience Finance Forecasting P&L items. Understanding macro effects on the company s P&L. Understanding growth attribution to internal and external factors. Featuring Sellers What is the best offer to show a customer for a given product? What is the effect on customers? What is the effect on sellers?
Career Growth Career Growth Independence in owning a product Building a science team Working with rich data Working with people from diverse backgrounds Having influence across different science projects Seeing your work s impact being realized in the real world
To learn more: To learn more: Athey, Susan, and Michael Luca. 2019. "Economists (and Economics) in Tech Companies." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33 (1): 209-30
