Valerie Boctor

I am an economist specializing in consumer behavior and its implications for business strategy and public policy. My research focuses on how individuals make financial and purchasing decisions and how organizations can leverage those insights to improve decision-making. As a Research Data Scientist at Google, I analyze large-scale consumer data and use causal inference and experimental methods to optimize the Ads marketplace.

I earned my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2025. My dissertation focused on consumer finance and empirical macroeconomics, examining how households respond to financial stress, credit access, and policy interventions, as well as the broader macroeconomic consequences of consumer behavior. Across my work, I am particularly interested in questions at the intersection of data, consumer decision-making, and organizational strategy: how people process information, what choices they make, and how institutions can respond more effectively.

Prior to Google, I held roles at Capital One, the Bank for International Settlements, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. In 2021, I collaborated with economists at the Bank for International Settlements to analyze the impact of fiscal deficits on inflation risk during the COVID-19 crisis. Our work was featured in the International Monetary Fund Seminars Recommended Reading.

Before beginning my doctoral studies, I graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, Political Science, and Modern Foreign Languages, with concentrations in Arabic and French. While at Syracuse, I also served as a Compliance Risk Policy Analyst in the Compliance Risk Policy Division at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where I focused on regulatory compliance and risk management policies for commercial banks.

Outside of work, I enjoy developing recipes and creating bespoke cakes and desserts for special occasions. You can learn more in the ‘Other’ tab of this website.