He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2012 and a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College in 2004. Ariel's research focuses on the interaction of finance and the macroeconomy, including an examination of the causes of financial crises and the quantitative effects of disturbances in financial markets on broader economic activity. Ariel's research on the nature of collapses in secondary loan markets (e.g., the market for mortgage-backed securities) was recently published in the American Economic Review. Additionally, Ariel is a co-organizer of the Tepper-LAEF "Advances in Macro-Finance" Conference.