Independent Economics Researcher

Cole Phillips is an independent economic researcher based in Chicago, Illinois. His work focuses on labor economics, agriculture economics, industrial organization, and how institutional forces shape market outcomes in unseen ways. He is the author of three working papers published under his independent research series.

His first working paper; Tariff Shocks and FUDflation: Testing the Disconnect Between Firm Costs and Consumer Prices, introduced the term FUDflation and presented a behavioral framework for understanding expectation-driven inflation. This was presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Economic Scholars Conference in April 2025.

His second working paper; Concentration at the Top: Labor Access and Agricultural Production in the United States, examines how H-2A employer concentration of the temporary agricultural visa program relates to patterns of agricultural production as well as wages across 49 U.S. states using original labor and commodity concentration ratios, as well as offering the first compiled state-by-state H-2A data atlas. This paper was presented at the 2026 Midwest Institutes Conference at Ball State University.

His third and most recent working paper; Withering on the Vine: A Formal Theory of Modern Hiring Practices and Labor Market Failures, presents a formalized theory on the effects that modern hiring practices (Ghost job listings, AI resume filters, long unpaid online assessments & AI recorded interviews,) can have on job seekers ability to find their job of best fit.

In September 2026 Cole will begin a Masters program in Economics at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.