Smyrna, Georgia · open to new work

Ian Helfrich,
trade economist.

PhD in Economics from Georgia Institute of Technology, 2024. Primary field international trade. Secondary fields geospatial economics, microeconomic theory, and networks. Advisors Tibor Besedes and Usha Nair-Reichert.

ianthelfrich@gmail.com github about Book a session

My doctoral and post-doctoral research is in international trade, with secondary work in geospatial economics, microeconomic theory, and networks. The active line of work, joint with Dr. Elizaveta Gonchar, builds a satellite-calibrated bilateral trade-cost panel for 200 countries over 2000-2024; the 2025 SSRN preprint Trade in the Spotlight introduced the construction. A separate working paper, SSRN 4772016, unifies economic equilibrium and optimal transport in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. The umbrella research program is documented at /program.

A smaller, more applied line of work uses the same intermediary-network methods in domestic-policy settings. Helfrich (2026) decomposes the apparent rural-urban leverage gap in the U.S. New Markets Tax Credit using Community Development Entity fixed effects. The companion European replication is in progress, with Katia Antunes.

Twin master's degrees from Georgia Tech in Economics (2019) and Geographic Information Science and Technology (2022). Prior degrees from Indiana University Bloomington, the Barcelona School of Economics, and UNC Chapel Hill. Working languages English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian.

What I've built

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teaching
Stats Lab
Applied statistics teaching site spanning probability foundations through time series. Twelve chapters with Excel, Stata, R, and Julia code side by side; browser-side interactive demos for the distribution sampler, CLT, OLS, and bootstrap.
live
teaching
Inference Lab
Applied causal inference for the spatial social sciences. Fifteen chapters with R + Stata side-by-side, including networks, intermediary fixed-effects, and optimal transport.
live
teaching
Macro Prep
Intermediate macroeconomics reference with live FRED dashboards, central-bank RSS feeds, and 126 worked practice problems. Built for the panicked student the night before a final.
live
dataset
EffDist V2026
A global gridded effective-distance dataset built on WorldPop population grids and GHS-SMOD settlement layers. Co-authored with Dr. Elizaveta Gonchar.
in-progress
book
Pictures of Inference
A visual textbook on statistical and econometric inference. Figures lead, prose points at them. In active draft.
in-progress
dataset
US NMTC Viewer
Cesium-based interactive viewer for every New Markets Tax Credit project deployed in the U.S. between FY2001 and FY2022. The data spine behind the rural-mobilization-gap paper.
live

Papers

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Datasets

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Writing

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Teaching

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Undergraduate
Econ 101A — Microeconomic Theory
Interactive theory guide for UCB Econ 101A (Gaubert, Spring 2026) — WebGL utility surface, D3 diagrams (Edgeworth box, Slutsky, Cournot), tiered content from 100A intuition through Varian graduate theory, plus six PDF study materials.
Master's-level / advanced undergraduate
Stats Lab
Applied statistics from fundamentals through master's level. Twelve chapters with Excel, Stata, R, and Julia side by side. Browser-side interactive demos: distribution sampler, CLT animator, OLS by hand, bootstrap.
Graduate / advanced undergraduate
Inference Lab
Applied causal inference for the spatial social sciences. 15 chapters with R + Stata code, plus a 32-problem practice set.
Undergraduate
Macro Prep
Intermediate macro reference site (Case-Fair-Oster Ch. 7-13, 19) with live FRED dashboards and 126 worked practice problems.
Undergraduate / self-study
Pictures of Inference
Visual textbook on statistical and econometric inference. In active draft.
Undergraduate (online, MTI College)
BUSN 180 — Principles of Macroeconomics
Online undergraduate principles of macro taught through Campus (MTI College partnership). Spring 2023 cohort, fully asynchronous.
Undergraduate (online, MTI College)
BUSN 130 — Principles of Microeconomics
Online undergraduate principles of micro taught through Campus (MTI College partnership). Summer and Fall 2022 cohorts.
Undergraduate (Georgia Tech)
ECON 2106 — Principles of Microeconomics (Georgia Tech)
Asynchronous undergraduate principles of micro at Georgia Tech, Spring 2021. CIOS evaluations available on request.
Undergraduate (Georgia Tech)
ECON 2100 — Economics and Policy (Georgia Tech)
Asynchronous undergraduate economics-and-policy course at Georgia Tech, Summer 2020. The pandemic-era cohort that taught me how much pedagogy benefits from really good written materials when you can't lecture in person.

Upcoming talks

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People I work with

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Trade economist · geospatial analyst · instructor
Dr. Ian T. S. Helfrich
Trade economist working at the intersection of international trade, geospatial analysis, networks, and microeconomic theory. Primary research field: international trade. Secondary …
Co-author on Penumbra-program trade and trade-cost work
Dr. Elizaveta Gonchar
Frequent research co-author with Ian Helfrich. Joint work covers the Effective Distance bilateral trade-cost panel (Paper 5), the 2025 SSRN preprint Trade in the Spotlight (5202676…

On my desk

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Want to work together?

Book a 30-minute consult for tutoring (graduate or advanced-undergrad econ) or to chat about a project. For research or collaboration questions, write me directly at ianthelfrich@gmail.com. I answer most emails within a day.