“Hitting Where It Hurts Most: COVID-19 and Low-Income Urban College Students” 

Economics of Education Review 2022 

COVID-19 significantly disrupted CUNY students' educational and economic outcomes during 2020, with low-income students (Pell Grant recipients), first-generation students, &/or transfer students experiencing disproportionately severe impacts including higher rates of job loss, food insecurity, and academic disruption. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102233 

“COVID-19, College Academic Performance, and the Flexible Grading Policy: A Longitudinal Analysis” 

Journal of Public Economics 2022

Students used the flexible grading policy based on their financial and academic needs. During COVID-19, lower-income students with weaker academic records outperformed higher-income peers by strategically using pass/fail options, while top-performing lower-income students used the pass/fail options to maintain their high GPA as they struggled more with online learning than their wealthier peers.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2022.104606 

“Resilience-Thinking Training for College Students: Evidence from a Randomized Trial”

with Rafael de Balanzo Joue and Alan Secor

European Economic Review. Special Issue on Field Experiments to Reduce Inequality, 2025 

A 90-minute resilience workshop at CUNY improved students' resilience by 5% of a standard deviation, with lasting effects primarily driven by enhanced collaboration and vision skills, though it showed no impact on academic performance or mental health outcomes. 

The intervention was most effective for students with weaker individual protective factors at baseline (the most vulnerable students, those with lower resilience, and with higher mental health problems), and for those with stronger community protective factors, suggesting that individual and community factors mediate differently within this intervention. 

 (forthcoming)

“Unintended Effects of the Flexible Grading Policy”

 with Mehlika Ozsoy

Students who used flexible grading policies (credit/no credit options) during COVID-19 (spring &/or fall 2020 semesters) experienced persistent academic underperformance up to spring 2023 and were 27% less likely to graduate on time, suggesting these accommodations may have hindered long-term learning outcomes. 

Submitted to a journal, 2025

"Inflation and Human Capital Investment Decisions" 

with Kerstin Westergren

First paper to estimate empirically how inflation impacts college students' decisions to invest in human capital:

Inflation caused over half of CUNY university students to alter their graduation plans. Of these, nearly 60% reduced their human capital investment due to higher direct costs, while the rest increased investment due to labor market uncertainty. 

Submitted to a journal, 2025

"Gender, Perceived Discrimination and the Overruling of Roe v. Wade"

with Alan Secor

 Information about abortion restrictions and the overturning of Roe v. Wade increased women's perceptions of discrimination and unfair treatment by 11.5% of a standard deviation, widening the gender gap in fairness perceptions by 21.8% compared to men. 

Source Figure: Guttmacher Inst.

Submitted to a journal, 2025

" Short- and Long-Term Effects of the Chancellor's Emergency Relief Fund: Evidence from a $500 CUNY Lottery-Based Grant "

Lottery winners stayed longer in college than non-winners, with Associate degree students more likely to pursue higher degrees and Bachelor's students more likely to remain enrolled, primarily due to reduced financial stress. 

Submitted to a journal, 2025