Christopher Oconnor is 4th year Economics PhD student at The University of Alabama. Before starting his PhD studies, he worked for 4 years at a policy research institute in Jamaica where he worked as a poverty and inequality economist. This experience has led him into the field of Development Economics, which is his main area of specialization for his PhD. His research is focused on issues surrounding individual vulnerability to, and resilience against, welfare shortfalls. As a part of his dissertation, he also does some research in experimental and public economics.