When 22-year-old Ludovic Phalippou landed in Los Angeles in 1998 to pursue a PhD in economics at the University of Southern California, the new world he encountered left him with what can only be described as culture shock. Descended from several generations of farmers in a tiny village in Southwest France, he barely spoke English. Some members of his family had not finished high school. Phalippou himself had been able to attend the Toulouse School of Economics only because it was nearby — and free. Fortunately, the school had ties to the University of Southern California, and soon after graduation, Phalippou found himself on a plane traveling some 6,000 miles from home.