Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

  • Applied Microeconomics, including Labor Economics and the Economics of Education

Publications
  • Peer Quality and the Academic Benefits to Attending Better Schools (with Pierre Mouganie and Yaojing Wang), forthcoming in Journal of Labor Economics (pdf)

  • Illegal Immigration, State Law, and Deterrence (with Sandra Orozco-Aleman), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2017, 9(2): 225-252 (pdf)

  • Vehicle Miles (Not) Traveled:  Why Fuel Economy Requirements Don't Increase Household Driving (with Jeremy West, Jonathan Meer, and Steven L. Puller), Journal of Public Economics 2017, 145: 65-81 (pdf)

  • Cash for Corollas: When Stimulus Reduces Spending (with Steven L. Puller and Jeremy West), American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2017, 9(3): 1-35 (pdf) (VoxEU column)

  • Are School Counselors an Effective Education Input? (with Scott E. Carrell), Economics Letters 2014, 125(1): 66-69 (pdf)

  • Bank Privatization, Finance, and Growth (with Daniel Berkowitz and Koen Schoors), Journal of Development Economics 2014, 110: 93-106 (pdf)

  • Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crime or Escalate Violence?  Evidence from Expansions to Castle Doctrine (with Cheng Cheng), Journal of Human Resources 2013, 48 (3): 821-854 (pdf) (Stata files) (homicide data in Excel format) (illustration of methodology)

  • Family Business or Social Problem?  The Cost of Unreported Domestic Violence (with Scott E. Carrell), Journal of Policy Analysis & Management 2012, 31 (4): 861-875 (pdf)

  • Is Poor Fitness Contagious?  Evidence from Randomly Assigned Friends (with Scott E. Carrell and James West),  Journal of Public Economics 2011, 95 (7-8): 657-663 (pdf)

  • The Ticket to Easy Street?  The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery (with Scott Hankins and Paige Marta Skiba),  Review of Economics and Statistics 2011, 93 (3): 961-969 (pdf)

  • Does Drinking Impair College Performance?  Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Approach (with Scott E. Carrell and James West),  Journal of Public Economics 2011, 95 (1-2): 54-62 (pdf)

  • Does High School Quality Matter?  Evidence from Admissions Data (with Daniel Berkowitz), Economics of Education Review 2011, 30 (2): 280-288 (pdf)

  • Lucky in Life, Unlucky in Love?  The Effect of Random Income Shocks on Marriage and Divorce (with Scott Hankins),  Journal of Human Resources 2011, 46 (2): 403-426 (pdf)

  • Externalities in the Classroom: How Children Exposed to Domestic Violence Affect Everyone’s Kids (with Scott E. Carrell),  American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2010, 2 (1): 211-228 (pdf)

  • The Effect of Attending the Flagship State University on Earnings: A Discontinuity-Based Approach, Review of Economics and Statistics 2009, 91 (4):  717-724 (pdf) (appendices)

Working Papers

  • The Impact of College Diversity on Behavior Toward Minorities (with Scott E. Carrell and James West) (pdf)

  • The Long-Run Effects of Disruptive Peers (with Scott E. Carrell and Elira Kuka) (pdf)

  • When Should We Trust Weighted Least Squares Estimates? (with Cheng Cheng)

Work in Progress

  • The Electoral Impact of Voter Identification Laws (with Vijetha Koppa)

  • Safer Cars or Safer Drivers?  The Effect of Vehicle Size on Passenger Safety (with Steven L. Puller and Jeremy West)

  • Assessing the Causal Link between Low Incomes and Domestic Violence: Evidence from Random Income Shocks (with Cheng Cheng)

  • Gender Discrimination in Jury Conviction Decisions (with Brittany Street)

Teaching