Research

Social Interaction and College Retention in the Smartphone Era: Evidence from Dining Data

with John Krieg and Darius Martin.

Abstract: Using data from university dining halls, we document a pronounced decline in the propensity of college students to dine together. We extract a measure of social engagement and show that more socially connected first-year students are significantly more likely to be retained into the second year at a medium sized public university. Each additional friend raises the retention probability by 0.6 percentage points, an effect size equivalent to 55 SAT points. Our counterfactual exercise indicates that a recent decline in retention over time can be entirely explained by decreasing social integration. If levels of social connection had remained unchanged since 2010, retention rates would have remained at around 84%, rather than steadily falling to 79% for the Fall 2022 entering cohort.

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.

Patton-Nelson Consumption Tables 2018-19

(2024) with John Krieg , Robert Patton, and David Nelson. Journal of Legal Economics, 30(1–2), 5–24.

Abstract: The Patton-Nelson Personal Consumption Tables, a source widely referenced by forensic economists were last updated using 2016-17 data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2018-19 was used to recalculate the consumption percentage tables for adult males and females. The 2018-19 study reveals slight increases in consumption percentages for moderate income levels with relative little change among very low and higher income brackets depending somewhat on family size.

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.

Social Networks and College Performance: Evidence from Dining Data

(2020) with John Krieg and Darius Martin. Economics of Education Review, 79: 102063.

Abstract: We investigate the effect of friends in class on academic performance in college using unique data on dining card swipes at a medium-sized public university. We deﬁne friendships by academic quarter as repeated meetings among students in the same dining hall. To identify the impact of having a friend in class, we employ models with student- and class-level ﬁxed effects and find having a friend in class has large and positive effects on grades. Our analysis of heterogeneous friend effects reveals that the positive friend effect exists across all types of friend characteristics, suggesting the unconditional importance of social connections.

Getting into the Weeds: Does Legal Marijuana Access Blunt Academic Performance in College?

(2020) with John Krieg. Economic Inquiry, 58(2), 607-623.

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of legal access to marijuana on student performance stemming from a voter-approved initiative legalizing marijuana for those 21 and older in the State of Washington. Using panel data from a medium-sized public university, we use a within-student and within-class estimator to show that legalization reduces students’ grades, with an effect size about one-half the impact of gaining legal access to alcohol. Consistent with how marijuana consumption affects cognitive functioning, we find that students’ grades fall furthest in courses that require more quantitative skills. These effects are largely driven by men and low performers.

Other Publications

Same-Race Student-Teacher: Comparing Outcomes for Kindergartners with and without Disabilities (2019) with Michael Gottfried and J. Jacob Kirksey. Remedial and Special Education, 40(4), 225-235.

A Kindergarten Teacher Like Me: The Role of Student-Teacher Race in Social-Emotional Development (2017) with Michael Gottfried and Vi-Nhuan Le. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 78-101.

Press coverage:

Unpublished Manuscripts

Teachers' Perceptions of Students' Disruptive Behavior: The Effect of Racial Congruence and Consequences for School Suspension

Press coverage:

Brown Center Chalkboard (Brookings Institution) part 1