Economics Ph.D. student Asal Pilehvari from Stanford University “boot camp”

Asal Pilehvari, a doctoral student in the Department of Economics, recently won a "with distinction" designation from the 2019 Hoover Institution Summer Policy Boot Camp, hosted by Stanford University

Pilehvari won for her policy proposal, “Social Network, Retirement and Health.” In her study, Pilehvari wrote the pending surge in the number of senior citizens in America as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age. “In U.S., by 2020, there will be more Americans over the age of 65 than under 15 years old, causing deep social and political transformations, and challenging society in many aspects,” she wrote.

Addressing deep concerns with the stability of the Social Security Administration and risign health care costs, Pilehvari suggested “government can improve health of elderly by investing in their social capital.”

Among her action suggestions: provide education on technologies that can minimize social network size shrinkage in retirees, and provide subsidies to promote elderly’s social capital formation, including the creation of community elderly activities targeting groups with members having shared similar occupation histories.

According to the Stanford University website, “the boot camp is an intensive, one-week residential immersion program in the essentials of today’s national and international United States policy. Its goal: train students and recent graduates on the economic, political and social aspects of U.S. public policy.