S4E5: Miikka Rokkanen, Consumer Behavior Analytics, Amazon

The Mixtape with Scott

Greetings everyone! The leaves on the tree are turning orange as we inch our way towards Halloween and some of us in some unbearably hot portions of the world get to finally see how the good half live and have a whisper of pleasant weather even if it will only be here for a second or two.

This week’s guest on the Mixtape with Scott is Miikka Rokkanen. Miikka is in Consumer Behavior Analytics at Amazon and is part of two of my larger series. First, he is part of my stories about the PhD economists who have gone into the tech industry. But Miikka also fits in another long running story about the “children and grandchildren of the credibility revolution”. That is, Miikka went to MIT for his PhD and was one of Joshua Angrist’s advisees. Miikka can share his full story but he is an economist who started out in academia (Columbia University) and then early on moved into industry at Amazon and having lived both lives can share what that has been like for him. It was great getting to know him better and hearing what his life journey has been like and I hope you enjoy this interview.

For those new to the podcast, though, this is not really a podcast about economics but rather is a podcast about economists. It’s a podcast devoted to sharing economists’ stories about how they got from the point of being a little kid, going through grade school, high school, college and their PhDs into the careers they’re in now. And in learning and hearing these stories and sharing them, it’s hoped that over time it can form a bit of an oral history of the profession. I select people based on larger series I’m interested in — like “Economics who go into tech” or “the students of …” — so it is not exhaustive, and won’t be, but I hope nonetheless that these stories can help, encourage and expand your imagination. Thank you again for all your support.

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