Henry Downes

PhD Candidate

The University of Notre Dame

I am a PhD candidate and applied microeconomist in the Economics Department at the University of Notre Dame. In Fall 2025, I will join the Economics Department at the University of Georgia as an Assistant Professor.

I am interested in labor economics, public economics, and economic demography, with applications in both historical and contemporary settings. My Job Market Paper explores how the rise of organized labor shaped economic and demographic outcomes during the American Baby Boom.

I have worked as a Research Associate at the Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economics Opportunities, and in 2023-2024 I was a Graduate Fellow of the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. My work has been supported by the Economic History Association and the Smith Richardson Foundation.

Education

• PhD, Economics (expected 2025)
  University of Notre Dame

• MA, Economics (2020)
  University of Notre Dame

• BA, Economics, Political Science, and History (2015)
  The University of Alabama