Laurence Wilse-Samson

I am an economist and researcher based in New York City, working as a consultant and serving as adjunct faculty at Columbia University, NYU, and the University of Johannesburg. My work spans applied research, policy analysis, tech regulation, and teaching, with a focus on understanding how economic institutions shape development and how governments can use economic tools more effectively.

My interests are broad including public finance, geoeconomics, economic history, and policy.

LinkedIn

Email: lw3387@nyu.edu

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Teaching

NYU Wagner School of Public Service

• Economics of International Development
• Public Economics
• Urban Economics
• Labor Policy

Columbia SIPA

• Understanding Emerging Technologies

University of Johannesburg CCRED

• Competition Policy Research Methods

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Books & Working Papers

Economic Coercion

A comprehensive guide to sanctions, trade wars, and economic statecraft.

• Format: Read Online (GitBook)

  Source Code

• Status: Living Draft

The American Economy

A living open-source textbook on the structure and institutions of the American economy.

• Format: Read Online (GitBook)

  Source Code

• Status: Living Draft

Natural Rate of Interest Estimation

Working Paper, January 2026

• Abstract: Implementation of the HLW model using post-pandemic data to estimate r-star.

• Download: PDF Draft

  View Code

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Recent Projects

South African Economic Reform Agenda

Analysis of 10 years of parliamentary oversight reports to extract and categorize policy recommendations for the national budget. See the repository for methodology and findings.

• Outcome: Identified 5,256 specific policy recommendations and flagged potential “Quick Wins” for implementation.

SA Policy Space

Analysis of South African parliamentary committee meetings to map policy recommendations and oversight patterns.

• Format: View App

  Source Code

• Status: In Development

Apartheid in South Africa — Digital History

An economic history dataset examining Apartheid in South Africa, digitizing historical economic and electoral data.

• Status: In Development

Fiscal Policy Calculator

Interactive tool for modeling fiscal impacts of tax and spending changes in the US.

• Status: In Development

Regional Economics

Regional economic analysis and data resources.

• Status: In Development

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Research Interests

• Public Finance: Budgetary allocation efficiency and oversight.
• Geoeconomics: The use of economic tools—such as sanctions, trade policy, and financial leverage—to achieve geopolitical objectives.
• Digital History: Digitizing historical South African economic and electoral data.

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Hosted on GitHub Pages — View Source