iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

“No way to please everyone” but they’re doing a great job of pissing everyone off it seems

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Imagine doubling down on being this spineless.

0451

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Congratulations! I’ve only heard great things about Boulder.

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

It just dawned on me I have more followers here on Bluesky than on X… and it’s not even close either.

030

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Hello #EconSky: I am still seeking new opportunities, and I am open to local/municipal government, postdocs, and industry jobs that could help me expand my experience researching urban transportation. Feel free to share to colleagues and check out my website: www.henrybernal.com

henrybernal.com

Henry Bernal

Henry Bernal – Transportation and Urban Economics Research. Explore insights on public transit, mobility behavior, discrete choice modeling, and transportation policy. Visit for research, publications...

0101

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Since the hiring freeze was announced, I received dozens of emails of job listings I applied to being canceled and a hire not being made. It’s been hard to take. If anyone knows of policy-related opportunities or any postdocs or research jobs that might suit me, feel free to reach out or DM. (3/3)

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

And part of my strategy this year was to search for more policy-focused roles. All my interviews to date had been for positions with the federal government. I work mostly with urban transportation, so it seemed like a sensible strategy to pursue. (2/3)

100

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

#EconSky Thanks for your support on my post yesterday. It’s been a difficult last year and a half since starting my search. I lost a relative and I feel like I’ve lost interest in my hobbies and gained tons of weight since I started submitting applications. (1/3)

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I do think of those who had to face the job market at the height of the Great Recession. My mental health and sanity has fallen off a cliff in the last 18 months, and more markedly so after losing my a family member last Thanksgiving.

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

That and I’m not eligible to renew my lease with graduate housing past June 30th, meaning I’ll be on my own. I’ve been looking for jobs in government, postdocs, industry and I’m at 125 apps submitted so far. I have another 20-30 I’ll be sending out this week. But I’m frightened.

030

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

To other #EconSky job market candidates: anyone else still unplaced and just worried sick about these federal purges? Everywhere I look, the market is just getting harder and I feel like I’m only growing more despondent about my search, in part because this is my 2nd try in as many years.

3182

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Happy to announce that I’m going to be a speaker at the Pacific Southwest Region’s UTC Congress at UC Berkeley next month! I’ll be giving a brief presentation of my job market paper there. its.berkeley.edu/PSRCongress2...

its.berkeley.edu

Pacific Southwest Region UTC Annual Congress | Institute of Transportation Studies

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Update: now over 100, at 102 apps. I did also get 3 rejections this morning…

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

So. Close. To. 100. Applications. Submitted.

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

8 more job applications in today. It’s really been a grind after the hiring freeze paralyzed all the federal job applications I had submitted… #EconSky

020

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Yesterday: -Sent out 7 job applications -Spent time coding and testing a multivariate probit model for a paper -Had lunch with a professor to get job market feedback -Remembered to call my parents back Today: -Sent out 8 job applications -Generated Latex tables from my model results Small wins.

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Congratulations and good luck!

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Oh yeah… it’s my birthday today. On Inauguration Day too.

100

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

- also PhD job market candidates who didn’t take any gap years to work in industry 😭

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

It was great to meet many great economists and colleagues at #ASSA2025! And I had a chance to meet and speak to the great John List (@johnlist.bsky.social) twice! I welcome anyone who met me or wanted to get to know my work better to check out my website at www.henrybernal.com

henrybernal.com

Henry Bernal

120

Reposted by Henry Bernal

ASSA Annual Meeting @assameeting.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

We are pleased to report that the labor strikes at the main SF hotels have been settled. It is our understanding that it will be business as usual at the Hilton, Parc 55, Marriott Marquis, and other hotels in the Union Square area for the ASSA meetings Jan 3-5. We look forward to seeing you there!

052

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Amplifying my old thread for the #EconJMP feed!

020

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Will there be anything on multiple price lists & other WTP experiment methods? That’d be much appreciated!

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

This seems quite daunting, and I really wish my fellow job market candidates luck. This is my second time on the market in as many years. We had a tough market last year and it looks like this year’s market won’t relent.

010

Reposted by Henry Bernal

Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I absolutely LOVE that this notorious anti-LGBTQ account was suspended after just nine days on Bluesky, thanks to the platform’s kick-ass content moderation.

comicsands.com

MAGA Account 'Libs Of TikTok' Banned From Bluesky After Just 9 Days—And People Are Cheering

Take your hate somewhere else.

331124381646

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

2nd job interview of the job market season! Already I’m having more callbacks this year than last. That’s highly encouraging!

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

I’m so sorry about your dad and yes, my committee is aware. I greatly appreciate the word of advice.

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Of course, I’m still dealing with a lot of grief, as is my family. I miss him a lot and there were so many great childhood memories of my uncle. I’m doing what I can to find the strength to keep going, but I’m also aware that the job search must go on.

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

To #EconSky: I need some advice. The day after posting my #JMP, my uncle passed away and I needed to leave urgently to go to Colombia for the funeral. I returned yesterday, but I missed the 11/30 and 12/1 application deadlines. I know it’s not all over, but I also have to find a job.

200

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

How life changes so quickly: just as I celebrating making the big push to get out my #JMP, I learn that my uncle is gravely ill in Colombia and I will now need to make the long trek from California to see him and my family. To my fellow JMCs on #EconSky, don’t forget to take care of yourselves.

060

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

And for anyone from #EconSky interested in my #JMP, here's the link to my website, and the PDF of the paper. www.henrybernal.com/research

henrybernal.com

Research — Henry Bernal

000

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

TL:DR; while offering free fares to students is low-cost (Metro only needed $20 million to fund GoPass in 2023-24) and welfare-improving, it does not provide the welfare benefits that travel time reductions can or the mode substitution away from cars that congestion pricing can.

040

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

3. Congestion charges on cars predictably reduced car mode shares and drove substitution from cars to transit and other modes. However, it was found to be welfare-damaging, and it is politically challenging to implement.

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

2. Reductions in travel time on transit improved transit shares considerably. For example, a 5 percent reduction in travel times increased the transit mode share by up to 3 percentage points. Moreover, a 5 percent reduction in travel times increased consumer surplus by over $2 per person per trip!

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

1. Making transit free does little to improve transit share, increasing it by 0.5 to 0.6 percentage points, which translates to anywhere between 20 and 60 cents per person per trip, of consumer welfare improvements.

100

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

In my policy analysis, I study three interventions: reductions in fares, reductions in travel time on transit, and congestion charges for car use. I look at two outcomes of interest: transit mode share and consumer surplus gains.

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Students predictably exhibit varying valuations in travel time savings by trip distance, ranging from $25/hour to as high as $54/hour. But fear not! This is common and seen in much of the travel behavior literature.

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

To model the DCE data, I used discrete choice models like multinomial and mixed multinomial logit models. So what do I find? First, students who had GoPass are more likely to select bus alternatives than other students, but this effect is not present among train alternatives.

100

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Instead, I employ a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that incorporates scenarios with travel times, travel costs, waiting time, and Wi-Fi availability with modes like bus, car, train, microtransit (like Metro Micro), and robotaxis. Each scenario represented a different trip distance.

110

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

First, LA Metro introduced the GoPass program, which made transit free for K-12 and community college students! But there's a problem: it started in 2021, when students of all levels were transitioning back to in-person instruction, so obtaining a relevant before picture is impossible.

100

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Hello, #EconSky, my #JMP is out and live on my website! It's called "Time or Cost? An experimental analysis of LA Metro's GoPass program". I study travel behavior among community college students and conduct a policy analysis studying different transit policy interventions. Here's a deep dive.

1194

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

And with that, my first job market interview is complete and my job market season has kicked off! #EconSky

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

I made this discovery upon realizing that every political post didn’t involve a KKK rally in the replies or some porn bots or both. And I just think that’s beautiful 🥹

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Currently on a break (job market demands), but I'm otherwise very active!

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

First job market interview is tomorrow morning! Wish me luck 😬

010

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Seeing the trends with BlueSky follower counts post-election, I wonder if there are good papers that anyone from #EconSky knows/has seen about social media app markets.

020

Henry Bernal @henrybernal.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

I love that #EconSky is a thing now. And we get 300 characters for free? 🥹

010