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Angela Shoulders
Economist. Teacher. Change-maker.
My Research Interests
Health Economics
Substance Use Disorder
Policy Evaluation
I'm passionate about using my economics skills to do research that will inform policymakers and help make peoples’ lives better.
About Me
My name is Angela Shoulders
I am a 5th-year economics PhD candidate. I am a health economist researching mental and behavioral health policy. Most of my time is spent in the Economics Department in the Darla Moore School of Business, but I also do research on substance use disorder and Medicaid coverage for the Health Service Policy and Management Department in the Arnold School of Public Health. Between my work for these two departments, I have two first-authored publications, two single-authored working papers, and three co-authored working papers, and I have presented at seven conferences.
In addition to being a researcher, I am a talented and devoted instructor, and I have taught Introduction to Economics (Fall 2022) and Intermediate Microeconomics (Fall 2023). I was fortunate enough to have wonderful economics teachers in high school and college, and I am doing my best to make the subject come alive for my students as my professors did for me.
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Outside of work, you can find me spending time with my pets, playing pickleball, or reading fiction.
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Research
Peer-Reviewed Publications
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Shoulders, Angela and Alicia Plemmons (April 2024) "Supply of mental health practices after prescriptive authority expansion for psychologists." Contemporary Economic Policy.
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Shoulders, Angela, Christina M. Andrews, Melissa A. Westlake, Amanda J. Abraham, and Colleen M. Grogan (August 2023) “Changes in Medicaid Fee-for-Service Benefit Design for Substance Use Disorder Treatment During the Opioid Crisis, 2014 to 2021.” JAMA Health Forum.
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Media mentions: Behavioral Health Business, Healthcare Finance, MedPage Today
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Professional Experience
Research Positions
University of South Carolina, Columbia SC
Research Assistant, Economics Department - August 2020 - Present
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Cleaned, gathered, and analyzed data in Python and Stata
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Proofread and copyedited manuscripts to prepare for publication
Research Assistant, Health Service Policy and Management Department - May 2022 - Present
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Contributed to NIH funded projects on Medicaid programs and substance use disorders
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Advised the research team on use of econometric models and usage of Stata programming
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Managed and led products from initiation and implementation to submission and publication
South Carolina Center for Excellence in Addiction, Columbia SC
Research Assistant - August 2023 - Present
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Authored technical specification documentation for creation of opioid Cascade of Care metrics for the state of South Carolina
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Managed various projects related to data collection, management, and analysis on the opioid crisis
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​Wrote language for a general audience describing methodology and data for publication on the public-facing data dashboard
Davidson College, Davidson SC
Research Assistant - Summer 2022
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Collected data on timing and details of megachurch sexual assault and financial scandals
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Cleaned quantitative and qualitative data in Stata and R for use in analysis
Honors and Awards
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American Psychological Association Patrick H. DeLeon Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy, 2024
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National Bureau of Economic Research Mentee for Health and Aging Economics, 2024
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Darla Moore School of Business Doctoral Fellowship, 2024
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American Society of Health Economists Diversity Scholar, 2024
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Alfred G. Smith, Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching, one award granted to a graduate student per year in the Darla Moore School of Business, 2023
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CSWEP Women and Nonbinary Students In Economics Mentoring Participant, 2022 and 2023
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Institute for Humane Studies Hayek Fund Grant, 2022
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University of South Carolina Graduate School Travel Grant, 2022
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Institute for Humane Studies Workshop Grant, 2022
On A Personal Note...
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