Jason Enia - Research & Projects

Thematic Pillars

Higher Education & Student Success

Applying the tools of institutional analysis to evaluate policy, student retention strategies, and the integration of emerging technologies like AI in the academy.

Nuclear Weapons & International Security

Analyzing the transaction cost barriers and institutional rules that complicate international cooperation over catastrophic weaponry and global security.

The Political Economy of Disasters

Investigating how structural incentives and political behavior dictate our collective response to major catastrophes and systemic shocks.

Current Book Project

Relative to What?

8 Questions That Make You Smarter Every Day

This book is the culmination of a decade spent teaching research methods and 25 years of thinking like an economist. Clarity in an increasingly complex world comes from asking better questions.

Part I: Make the Implicit Explicit

01.

How are they measuring that?

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Clarity begins by recognizing that what we think we are measuring isn't always what the data actually reflects. By scrutinizing our definitions and measurement choices, we bridge the gap between our assumptions and the actual evidence.

02.

Relative to what?

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In isolation, a number or a policy outcome tells us very little. By forcing ourselves to identify the baseline, we uncover the opportunity costs and trade-offs that absolute narratives often hide.

03.

Is this just one piece—or the whole picture?

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This question forces a critical distinction between a sample and a population. It challenges us to recognize when we are looking at an isolated fragment rather than a representative snapshot of the whole picture.

Part II: Trace the Logic

04.

How could this have happened?

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Outcomes are the product of specific rules, incentives, and mechanisms. By thinking in models, we can reverse-engineer the logic of an event to identify the exact factors that allowed a result to emerge.

05.

What else could be causing this?

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In an interconnected world, the most obvious cause is rarely the only one. This question acts as a control for everyday thinking, training us to look for the hidden factors that simpler explanations overlook.

06.

Could it be the other way around?

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We often mistake effects for causes. By flipping the script on our assumptions, we can recognize reverse causality and circular reasoning before they lead to faulty conclusions.

Part III: Think Ahead and Think Again

07.

What would convince me I’m wrong?

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The ultimate guardrail against bias is falsifiability. By identifying the evidence that would change our minds, we cultivate the intellectual humility required for true analytical rigor.

08.

And then what?

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Strategic thinking requires looking past the immediate fix. This question follows the chain of consequences to uncover the second-order effects and unintended outcomes of any decision or policy.