Hello, I'm
Artem Samiahulin
PhD Candidate in Economics
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
I am a PhD candidate in Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My research interests span econometrics and applied microeconomics, with a focus on developing robust inference methods for regression discontinuity designs and machine learning–based estimation techniques.
Research
Working Papers
Global Testing in Multivariate Regression Discontinuity Designs
Regression discontinuity (RD) designs with multiple running variables arise in a growing number of empirical applications, including geographic boundaries and multi-score assignment rules. Although recent methodological work has extended estimation and inference tools to multivariate settings, far less attention has been devoted to developing global testing methods that formally assess whether a discontinuity exists anywhere along a multivariate treatment boundary. Existing approaches perform well in large samples, but can exhibit severe size distortions in moderate or small samples due to the sparsity of observations near any particular boundary point. This paper introduces a complementary global testing procedure that mitigates the small-sample weaknesses of existing multivariate RD methods by integrating multivariate machine learning estimators with a distance-based aggregation strategy, yielding a test statistic that remains reliable with limited data. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed method maintains near-nominal size and strong power, including in settings where standard multivariate estimators break down. The procedure is applied to an empirical setting to demonstrate its implementation and to illustrate how it can complement existing multivariate RD estimators.
Works in Progress
Iterated Random Forest Feasible Generalized Least Squares
Understanding the Impact of Evidence-Based Funding on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from Illinois School Districts
Optimal Distance for Regression Discontinuity Designs
Presentations
State Dependence and Food Stamps: Before and After the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
Curriculum Vitae
A condensed overview — download full CV (PDF)
Education
PhD in Economics
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — 2022–present
MA in Economics
University of Iowa — 2021–2022
BS in Economics
University of Scranton — 2017–2020
Experience
PhD Economics Math Camp Instructor
UIUC — August 2025
Research Assistant (A. Osman, M. Borgschulte, E. Powers)
UIUC — January 2024–present
Teaching Assistant — Principles of Macroeconomics, Economic Statistics II
UIUC — August 2023–December 2025
Teaching Assistant — Principles of Macroeconomics
University of Iowa — August 2021–May 2022
Public Policy Intern
Commonwealth Foundation — January–July 2021
Research Intern
Cato Institute — September–December 2020
Honors & Awards
Paul W. Boltz Fellowship
UIUC — 2025
Summer Research Fellowship
UIUC — 2024, 2026
Excellence in Economics
University of Scranton — 2020
Professional Activities
Reviewer, Journal of Econometrics
2026
Reviewer, Midwest International Economic Development Conference
2025
Programming
Python, R, Stata, LaTeX
Get in Touch
I'm happy to hear from fellow researchers, prospective collaborators, or anyone interested in my work. The best way to reach me is by email.
artembs2@illinois.edu