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Hire Masayuki A.

Japan

USD 150 /hr

Econometrician | Causal inference for pricing, LTV & marketing ROI | U-Tokyo MA, U-Michigan doctoral coursework

Profile Summary

I help companies and researchers turn messy observational, transactional, survey, and public data into defensible decisions. My specialties are econometrics, causal inference, experiment and measurement design, pricing, LTV and retention, marketing ROI, and Japan market research. I currently work in Business Planning & Operations at SmartNews, supporting business KPI, unit economics, retention, and growth-investment analysis. In parallel, I manage data-analysis projects for Payke, a Japanese inbound-retail data platform, using app behavior, product-interaction, and location data. I have also supported a housing-sector startup with market sizing, regional prioritization, business planning, and management reporting. Typical engagements include: Assessing whether the available data can answer the business or research question Designing A/B tests, quasi-experiments, KPIs, guardrails, and sample sizes Analyzing panel and observational data using regression, cohort analysis, difference-in-differences, event studies, and matching Estimating market size and demand using Japanese-language primary sources and official statistics Auditing analyses, figures, and public-facing claims for statistical and source validity Delivering reproducible code, decision-ready tables and charts, and concise management reports I am especially useful when the data are imperfect, the initial question is broad, or stakeholders need a clear distinction between descriptive findings, conditional relationships, and causal effects. I document assumptions, limitations, and reproducible steps rather than overstating what the data support. Education: M.A. in Economics, University of Tokyo. Completed doctoral coursework and qualifying examinations in economics at the University of Michigan; no PhD awarded. Tools: Python, R, SQL, Tableau, Excel, and Google Sheets. Languages: Japanese native; professional English.

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Data Analysis
• ☆ Business Analytics
• ☆ Development Economics
• ☆ Science Fiction
• ☆ Japanese History
• ☆ Economic History
• ☆ Fantasy Literature
• ☆ Business Operations
• ☆ Business Strategy
• ☆ Business Statistics
• ☆ Data-Driven Decision Making
• ☆ Political Economy
• ☆ Consumer Behavior & Theory
• ☆ Econometrics
• ☆ Microeconomics
• ☆ Economic Evaluation
• ☆ Behavioural Economics
• ☆ Business Intelligence

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting
• Data & AI

Writing Technical Writing, Business & Legal Writing

Research Market Research, User Research, Meta-Research, Fact Checking, Gap Analysis, Systematic Literature Review

Consulting Business Strategy Consulting, Go-to-Market Strategy Consulting, Digital Strategy Consulting

Data & AI Statistical Analysis, Data Visualization, Big Data Analytics, Data Mining, Data Insights

Work Experience

Senior Analyst

Smartnews

July 2026 - Present

Business Analyst / Project Manager

Payke, inc

March 2026 - Present

Education

Doctoral Studies in Economics (coursework completed)

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

September 2009 - June 2014

M.A. in Economics

University of Tokyo

April 2007 - March 2009

B.A. in Economics

University of Tokyo

April 2003 - March 2007

Certifications

• TOEFL iBT 102

  Toefl

  June 2008 - June 2010

Publications

PREPRINT

Masayuki Arai Operationalizing "structure-preserving": a Monte Carlo audit of size and power in trading-skill tests.