Angela Shoulders

Economist. Teacher. Change-maker.

My Research Interests

Health Economics

Substance Use Disorder

Policy Evaluation

I'm passionate about using my economics skills to do research that will inform policymakers and help make peoples’ lives better.

About Me

My name is Angela Shoulders

I am a 5th-year economics PhD candidate. I am a health economist researching mental and behavioral health policy. Most of my time is spent in the Economics Department in the Darla Moore School of Business, but I also do research on substance use disorder and Medicaid coverage for the Health Service Policy and Management Department in the Arnold School of Public Health. Between my work for these two departments, I have two first-authored publications, two single-authored working papers, and three co-authored working papers, and I have presented at seven conferences.

In addition to being a researcher, I am a talented and devoted instructor, and I have taught Introduction to Economics (Fall 2022) and Intermediate Microeconomics (Fall 2023). I was fortunate enough to have wonderful economics teachers in high school and college, and I am doing my best to make the subject come alive for my students as my professors did for me.

Outside of work, you can find me spending time with my pets, playing pickleball, or reading fiction.

Download CV

Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Shoulders, Angela and Alicia Plemmons (April 2024) "Supply of mental health practices after prescriptive authority expansion for psychologists." Contemporary Economic Policy.
Shoulders, Angela, Christina M. Andrews, Melissa A. Westlake, Amanda J. Abraham, and Colleen M. Grogan (August 2023) “Changes in Medicaid Fee-for-Service Benefit Design for Substance Use Disorder Treatment During the Opioid Crisis, 2014 to 2021.” JAMA Health Forum.
- Media mentions: Behavioral Health Business, Healthcare Finance, MedPage Today

Works in Progress

"Medicaid Health Home Design and Buprenorphine Receipt, 2009-2020" with Christina Andrews, Theodoros Giannouchos, and Melissa Westlake (USC, UAB). Under Review
"Unintended Consequences of Naloxone Co-prescription Laws" Under Review
"Determinants of Opioid Use Disorder Diagnosis, Treatment, and Retention in South Carolina's Medicaid Program'' with Christina Andrews and Theodoros Giannouchos (USC, UAB)
"The Effects of Medicaid Expansion on Substance Use Disorder Treatment Capacity and Infrastructure" with Sam Maloney, Christina Andrews, Amanda Abraham, and Felipe Lozano-Rojas (USC, UGA)
"Mandated Limited Wait Times and Mental Health Outcomes"

Teaching

ECON 224 - Introduction to Economics

Fall 2022

Evaluation 4.66/5

Evaluation

Syllabus

ECON 321 - Intermediate Microeconomics

Fall 2023

Evaluation 4.6/5

Evaluation

Syllabus

“She is WONDERFUL at teaching in a way that feels genuine and engaging with students. Best class I have had at the University during my time here.”

ECON 224 (Fall 2022)

Professional Experience

Research Positions

University of South Carolina, Columbia SC

Research Assistant, Economics Department - August 2020 - Present

Cleaned, gathered, and analyzed data in Python and Stata
Proofread and copyedited manuscripts to prepare for publication

Research Assistant, Health Service Policy and Management Department - May 2022 - Present

Contributed to NIH funded projects on Medicaid programs and substance use disorders
Advised the research team on use of econometric models and usage of Stata programming
Managed and led products from initiation and implementation to submission and publication

South Carolina Center for Excellence in Addiction, Columbia SC

Research Assistant - August 2023 - Present

Authored technical specification documentation for creation of opioid Cascade of Care metrics for the state of South Carolina
Managed various projects related to data collection, management, and analysis on the opioid crisis
Wrote language for a general audience describing methodology and data for publication on the public-facing data dashboard

Davidson College, Davidson SC

Research Assistant - Summer 2022

Collected data on timing and details of megachurch sexual assault and financial scandals
Cleaned quantitative and qualitative data in Stata and R for use in analysis

Corporate and Industry Positions

Red Oak Sourcing, Foxborough MA

Analyst, Strategy and Analytics Team - June 2019 - August 2020

Forecasted potential generic drug launches to assist in developing a multibillion-dollar budget
Closely tracked legal developments of a portfolio of 50+ products to guide the Sourcing Team
Researched public policy changes and analyzed potential risks and benefits to the organization

Cardinal Health, Dublin OH

Internal Audit Intern, Sarbanes-Oxley Team - Summer 2018

Contributed to fiscal year-end testing of internal controls to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Prepared substantive testing of large corporate accounts in preparation for year-end reporting

Honors and Awards

American Psychological Association Patrick H. DeLeon Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy, 2024
National Bureau of Economic Research Mentee for Health and Aging Economics, 2024
Darla Moore School of Business Doctoral Fellowship, 2024
American Society of Health Economists Diversity Scholar, 2024
Alfred G. Smith, Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching, one award granted to a graduate student per year in the Darla Moore School of Business, 2023
CSWEP Women and Nonbinary Students In Economics Mentoring Participant, 2022 and 2023
Institute for Humane Studies Hayek Fund Grant, 2022
University of South Carolina Graduate School Travel Grant, 2022
Institute for Humane Studies Workshop Grant, 2022

Conference Presentations

Unintended Consequences of Naloxone Co-prescription Laws - Institute for Humane Studies and Knee Occupational Research Center Paper Workshop, Morgantown WV, June 2024
Naloxone Co-prescription Laws - The 93rd Southern Economics Association, New Orleans LA, November 2023
Mandated Limited Wait Times: Mental Health and Access Effects - The 92nd Southern Economics Association, Fort Lauderdale TX, November 2022
Quality and Access to Mental Health Services after Prescriptive Authority Expansion for Psychologists - The Effect of Regulating Healthcare Workers Institute for Humane Studies Paper Workshop, Portland OR, July 2022
Quality and Access to Mental Health Services after Prescriptive Authority Expansion for Psychologists - American Society of Health Economists Annual Conference, Austin TX, June 2022
Temporary Provisions Affecting Scope of Practice and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic - The 91st Southern Economics Association, Houston TX, November 2021
Prescriptive Authority for Psychologists and Mental Health Outcomes - Scope of Practice and Medical Licensure Conference, Virtual, May 2021

On A Personal Note...

4

Types of pets I own - dog, guinea pigs, fish, and snake

1,227

Yards of yarn were used to complete my last crochet project

45

Average seconds to solve a standard Rubik's cube

Email

angela.shoulders@grad.moore.sc.edu