1. Donald Hirasuna
2821 Ottawa Ave. So.
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
(952) 848-0685
TYPE OF POSITION SOUGHT To use my managerial, decision-making, communication,
regulatory enforcement, research and quantitative skills
SKILLS
Managerial
• Identifying key issues by seeing the big picture and identifying risks
 Communicated new area of research by working with university researchers on early
childhood education issues noting they should simultaneously consider the effect of
policies on interrelated outcomes. For example, the outcomes for at-risk female teens
of graduating high school, become a teen parent, and ending-up on welfare are
interrelated and correlated
 Early identification of decreased applications for home purchase loans, especially
among minorities, and the effects of prolonged slow employment growth for the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
 Identified and produced much work related to earnings inequality and other current
issues
• Develop and implement strategic plans
 Developed and implemented a plan for reviewing credit risk models for Basel II for
US Bank
 Helped lead a Minnesota legislative task force developing a transparency procedure
for the award of economic development subsidies. Adopted by 47other states across
the nation
• Lead Others
 Recruited, managed and trained staff
 Kept contact with former employees
 Revitalized volunteer organizations
Communication
• Communicates well with technical and lay audiences
• Recognizes the needs of the customer
• Excellent writing skills
 Author of 8 journal articles, editor of a special issue in a journal and author of over
30 policy briefs
 Cited in academic writings and magazines like BusinessWeek
• Strong public speaking skills
 Invited speaker to presentations such as seminar on the making of policy
 Presented research at academic seminars for national associations
 Presented before non-profits, testified before state legislators and taught college level
courses
• Negotiation skills
 Helped representatives negotiate politically sensitive plans by providing information

2. on the costs and benefits. Several efforts by legislators were written into State Law
 Gained access to highly sensitive private data by negotiating with several state
agencies
Research
• Asks useful questions-praised by the IRS, US Census Bureau and others
• Conducts logically sound, nonpartisan, non-agenda driven research
• Conducts research independently
Quantitative Analysis
• Qualitative dependent response models
• Binary and multivariate regression models
• Selection bias techniques including inverse probability weighting and Heckman
techniques
• Quasi-experimental techniques including regression models, nearest neighbor matching,
propensity scores and clustered sampling problems
• Single and simultaneous equation models
• Fixed and random effects models
• Survival analysis
• Computable general equilibrium and input-output models
• Linear and nonlinear programming
• Loess smoothing and generalized additive models
SUBJECT AREA EXPERTISE
• Long, consistent history of taking on new subjects and making substantive contributions
relatively soon including early childhood education, mortgage discrimination, Basel II
regulations, healthcare, smoking bans, and tax policy
• Welfare and low-income policies
• State and local economic development
• Regulatory compliance
• Public policy and legislation
EDUCATION
1994 Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Agricultural and Applied Economics
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
• 2010–present. Researcher, Human Capital Research Collaborative, University of
Minnesota
• 1994–Present. Legislative Analyst, House Research Department, House of
Representatives, State of Minnesota
• 2009-2010. Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
• 2007-2009. Senior Risk Manager, U.S. Bank