Tonga Ahokovi

T. M. Jensen Ahokovi

Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the STAX Lab (Stanford Initiative on Business, Taxation, and Society)

📧 Primary: tahokovi@stanford.edu

📧 Secondary: tonga.ahokovi@gmail.com

📧 Tertiary: tahokovi@hawaii.edu

📍 366 Galvez St | Stanford, CA 94305-6015

About

Welcome! I’m a predoctoral research fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the STAX Lab (Stanford Initiative on Business, Taxation, and Society), where I work with Professors Ran Abramitzky and Rebecca Lester.


My interests lie at the intersection of labor and urban economics, public finance, and economic history. I'm particularly interested in how labor markets and cities evolve over time—and how government interventions through taxation, regulation, and social programs shape both individual trajectories and broader economic outcomes.


Previously, I was a research assistant in the Economic Policy Studies department at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where I primarily supported the work of PhD economists and Senior Fellows Stan Veuger, Vincent Smith, and Paul Kupiec.


I earned my BA in the Quantitative Economics Concentration from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in summer 2024. Before AEI, I held research roles at the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (UHERO), the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education at Hawai‘i Pacific University, and the Grassroot Institute of Hawai‘i. I plan to pursue a PhD in economics and/or public policy in the near future.