Research

Lower Grades, Better Learning? Peer Effects of College Honors Students

with John Krieg and Brandon Dupont.

Abstract: College honors programs have long been argued to improve the college experience for academically advanced students, but how do honors students impact their non-honors peers? Using a large longitudinal dataset from a regional public university combined with a rich set of student characteristics derived from administrative data, we identify the peer effect of honors students with (i) a high-dimensional fixed effects model and (ii) an instrumental variable approach that uses course scheduling conflicts as an instrument for classroom-level honors composition. We find that more honors students reduce the grades of students in the same class section, but students exposed to more honors students in a prerequisite course perform better in follow-up courses. Taken together, these results suggest honors students lower the grades of non-honors students in the same class, likely due to instructors grading based on relative performance, but improve the grades of these students in follow-up courses, possibly through peer effects that positively influence student learning.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Financial Education Course Formats in Washington State: Findings from a Mixed-Methods Study of Instructional Models in Middle and High Schools

Abstract: This mixed-methods study, examines the impact of standalone versus embedded course formats for teaching financial education in Washington middle and high schools. Supported by a 2025 Washington state legislative appropriation (ESSB 6950.SL), the study draws on data from nearly 1,600 students and 39 educators across 30 schools. We show that standalone courses are associated with higher student knowledge, confidence, and engagement. However, when instructional time and educator experience are held constant, student learning is the same across both formats. The study highlights the importance of contact hours, educator preparation, relevant content, and access to supports in delivering high-quality, equitable financial education. 

Press coverage: 96.5 KGMI

Dude, Where's My (Summer) Job? Minimum Wages and Student Employment*

(2025) with John Krieg and Darius Martin. Contemporary Economic Policy, 1-16.

Abstract: We use rich administrative data to study the employment and income effects of minimum wage changes in Washington State for a group of workers with relatively low work experience who may be particularly sensitive to changes in the minimum wage: university students. Using a within-student estimator and quarterly work records, we consistently find that rising minimum wages negatively impact summer employment and income, the quarter in which students tend to work the most. However, students appear to offset reduced summer employment with higher earnings during the rest of the year.

Press coverage: The Last Show with David Cooper

*Selected for publicity in Wiley’s Research Headlines, a twice-monthly bulletin sent to over 1500 accredited journalists. 

Friends Don't Let Friends Drop Out

(2023) with John Krieg and Darius Martin. Education Economics, 32(2), 121-140.

Abstract: We combine administrative data from a regional public university with a novel revealed-preference indicator of student friendships to show that socially connected first-year university students are more likely to be retained into the second year. The impact of friends on retention is statistically and economically significant: each friend raises the probability of retention by about 0.6 percentage points, an effect size roughly equivalent to 66 SAT points. This effect occurs in the presence of a robust set of explanatory variables, including unique indicators of a student’s prior commitment to the university, and applies to a wide variety of student subgroups.