Gracie Plonisch

M.S. economics student at Florida Atlantic University working on monetary economics, political economy, and the economics of space.

View CV Current research
Gracie Plonisch standing in front of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in London

About

I graduated from FAU High School and earned my B.S. in Economics from Florida Atlantic University at the same time, in May 2026.

I am now finishing my M.S. in Economics with a concentration in econometrics and will graduate in December 2026. My research is in monetary economics, political economy, and space economics, and I plan to continue into a PhD in economics.

Fellowship
Don Lavoie Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Fall 2026
Research interests
Monetary economics, price theory, econometrics, political economy, and space economics
Skills
Stata, R, Python, SQL, Tableau, Power BI, Excel, LaTeX, and Claude Code. Methods include time-series and panel data econometrics, difference-in-differences, and machine learning.
Relevant coursework
Real Analysis (MAA 5228), Advanced Mathematical Economics (ECO 6403), Advanced Econometrics (ECO 6426), Advanced Panel Data Analysis (ECO 6427), and Matrix Theory (MAS 2103)

Education

  1. Dec 2026 (expected)

    M.S. in Economics

    Florida Atlantic University

    Concentration in econometrics. Coursework in econometrics, macroeconomic theory, matrix theory, and linear algebra.

  2. May 2026

    B.S. in Economics

    Florida Atlantic University

    Minors in Japanese Language and Culture and in Operations Management.

  3. May 2026

    High School Diploma

    FAU High School

    Completed alongside undergraduate and graduate coursework at FAU.

Research

Current projects in monetary economics, space economics, political economy, and health economics.

The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C.
Working paper

How Quickly Does Money Demand Adjust? Evidence from Divisia Monetary Aggregates, 1967–2026

with Bryan P. Cutsinger

This paper estimates long-run U.S. money demand for the Divisia aggregates and measures how quickly money balances adjust back to equilibrium, using cointegration and error-correction methods. The apparent stability of Divisia money demand depends on how the user cost of money is measured.

A 34-meter antenna at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
In progress

Allocation Without Prices: The Statutory Ban on Satellite Spectrum Auctions

Since 2000, Section 647 of the ORBIT Act has barred the FCC from assigning satellite orbital locations and spectrum by auction. This paper is, to my knowledge, the first empirical evaluation of that ban, using a difference-in-differences design, and it traces where the forgone auction revenue shows up later: secondary sales, relocation payments, and free grants of terrestrial rights.

The west front of the United States Capitol
In progress

How Much of a Political Connection Is a Definition? Measuring Corporate Political Connections in the United States

Mentored by Mark Packard and Siri Terjesen

This project builds a panel of politically connected U.S. public firms, starting from Faccio (2006), and shows that how common political connections appear depends on where the definitional line is drawn.

Aerial view of the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland
In progress

Regulation and Healthcare Entrepreneurship

Mentored by Mark Packard and Siri Terjesen

This project studies how government regulation, lobbying, and subsidies affect the entry of new healthcare firms, using state reforms such as certificate-of-need repeals as natural experiments.

Spaceconomics

The economics of space, with the numbers attached.

I write Spaceconomics, a Substack on the economics of the space sector. I cover launch costs, orbital property rights, and how public and private money funds space. It launched in July 2026.

Read Spaceconomics

Contact

Boca Raton, Florida