Sarah P Sylvester

Sarah P Sylvester

Sarah P Sylvester

Graduate Research Assistant

Experimental Economics

Sarah Sylvester is a fourth-year Ph.D. student, ICES research assistant and Mercatus PhD Fellow at George Mason University. Her research specializes in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) mechanisms and understanding the composition and motivation of using DeFi tools.

Current Research

Current research focuses on decentralized exchanges, escrow mechanisms, and blockchain technology with a specific emphasis on automated market makers and smart contracts.

Selected Publications

Working Paper. Survey on Trust in Cryptocurrencies, with Johanna Mollerstrom

Working Paper. Modeling Automated Market Makers as Microeconomic Systems, with Kevin McCabe, Nalin Bhatt, and Aleksander Psurek

Working Paper. The Adaptive Rationality of Markets, with Kevin McCabe, Stephen Kunath, and Aleksander Psurek

Working Paper. The Efficiency of Escrow Mechanisms on Online Exchange, with Kevin McCabe and Nalin Bhatt

Grants and Fellowships

Agoric Summer Research Grant, 2022 

Mercatus Center Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship, 2022

Mercatus PhD Fellow 2019-present

Graduate Research Assistant with ICES 2019-present

Courses Taught

1. Computational Methods for Economists. Co-taught with Kevin McCabe in Fall 2021

Education

George Mason University, Ph.D. Economics, 2019-present

George Mason University, M.A. Economics, 2021

University of Arizona, B.A. Mathematics and Economics, 2015-2019

Recent Presentations

April 2022. APEE Conference Oral Presentation, Analyzing Arbitrage Behavior in Automated Market Makers, Las Vegas, NV

March 2022. Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Sciences Oral Presentation, Analyzing Arbitrage Behavior in Automated Market Makers, George Mason University

October 2021. Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Sciences Oral Presentation, Modeling Automated Market Makers as Microeconomic Systems, George Mason University

April 2021. APEE Conference Oral Presentation, The Efficiency of Escrow Mechanisms on Online Exchange, Fort Lauderdale, FL

April 2021. Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Sciences Oral Presentation, The Efficiency of Escrow Mechanisms on Online Exchange, George Mason University