My research interest is in the field of Applied Microeconomics with a focus on Labor, Health, and Economics of crime.
1. Can information save lives? Effect of a victim-focused police intervention on intimate partner homicides. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Volume 217, January 2024, Pages 756-782 [Pre-publication version]
Abstract: Funded by the Department of Justice, the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP) is a domestic violence protocol that has been implemented in over 600 police agencies across the US. Exploiting the variation in the timing of implementation across agencies in Maryland, I find that the LAP significantly reduced female homicide victimization by males. The effect is concentrated on the homicides of girlfriends. A back-of-the-envelope analysis suggests that homicides are prevented because the most at-risk victims are nudged to take protective actions by the information effect of risk awareness and safety planning that they receive during the LAP intervention.2. School Reopenings, COVID-19, and Employment - with Jeremy West. Economics Letters, Volume 212, March 2022, 110310. [Pre-publication version]
Abstract: Using a panel of United States counties, this study compares outcomes before and during the 2020-2021 school year between locations that started K-12 instruction on campus, remotely, or through a hybrid approach. Corroborating recent studies, we find comparatively larger increases of COVID-19 cases and deaths in locations using any in-person instruction. Within the same empirical framework, we present robust new evidence that employment was unaffected by this choice, even in counties with more vulnerable populations. We posit that opening schools did not improve employment due to policy uncertainty, supported by the fact that one-quarter of schools changed teaching methods mid-year.3. Can justice system interventions prevent intimate partner homicides? An analysis of rates of help-seeking prior to fatality - with Jill Theresa Messing, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Volume 36, Issue 17-18, September 2021, pp. 8792–8816. (First published online in June 2019.) [Pre-publication version]
Abstract: When women are killed, they are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than anyone else, and a substantial proportion of women who are killed by an intimate were abused by that intimate partner before their death. The proportion of men killed by an intimate partner is much lower and prior research indicates that male homicide victims are likely to abuse their intimate partners prior to their deaths. Yet, limited research has examined the criminal and civil justice help-seeking of intimate partner homicide victims. This study examines administrative data from one large urban police jurisdiction to understand rates of help-seeking by homicide victims in the 1-3 years prior to the homicide. Across all intimate partner femicide victims, in the three years prior to the homicide, police had been in contact with the victim for a domestic violence complaint in 91% of cases (44.9% resulted in arrest), with an average of 6.2 visits per contacted victim. Among male intimate partner homicide victims, 73.3% had been the complainant on a domestic violence case (38.1% resulted in arrest). Fewer than 5% of victims sought protection orders before the homicide. The findings of this paper outline the high rate of engagement of police officers with intimate partner homicide victims before their deaths, and highlight the opportunity for homicide prevention through integration of risk assessment (to identify high risk cases) and social service interventions.4. (Almost) No One Votes Without ID, Even When They Can - with Mark Hoekstra, Economics Letters, Volume 205, August 2021, 109944. [Pre-publication version] (Research brief by CATO institute)
Abstract: This paper documents whether enacting a strict voter identification law could affect voter turnout and election outcomes. It uses historical data on more than 2,000 races in Florida and Michigan, which both allow and track ballots cast without identification. Results indicate that at most only 0.10% and 0.31% of total votes cast in each state were cast without IDs. Thus, even under the extreme assumption that all voters without IDs were either fraudulent or would be disenfranchised by a strict law, such a law would have only a very small effect on turnout and election outcomes.5. Housing Vouchers, Income Shocks and Crime: Evidence from a Lottery – with Jillian B Carr, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Volume 177, September 2020. pp. 475-493 (Pre-publication version) (Media coverage in NPR)
Abstract: Employing exogenous variation in randomized wait-list positions assigned using a lottery, we identify the causal effects of Section 8 housing vouchers on arrests of adult household heads. Based on administrative records from Houston, we find that voucher receipt has no effect on the likelihood of arrest. Even among the groups with the highest propensities for crime, the vouchers have no impact. Income effects for these adults are particularly large relative to neighborhood effects, leading us to believe that this large income shock does little to alleviate financial pressures that could lead to crime.6. The Effect of Alcohol Access on Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Evidence from the Minimum Legal Drinking Age, American Journal of Health Economics 2018, 4(2): 164-184 (Pre-publication version)
Abstract: This paper evaluates the effect of alcohol use on the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by exploiting the discrete change in legal access to alcohol at the Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) of 21 years. With administrative data from California, I implement a regression discontinuity model to compare the number of gonorrhea cases in men – an infection with a short incubation period of two weeks or less – contracted just before and after the 21st birthday. Results show no evidence of an increase in STDs in the overall population, or within racial and county subgroups with the highest infection rates. These results suggest that the relationship between alcohol and STDs, which is conventionally believed to be causal, is more likely to be driven by unobserved heterogeneity, at least among the college-age population.The effect of Supplemental Instruction on student performance - with Andrew Davis. SSRN working paper #3610625
Abstract: Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a practice of providing peer-assisted academic support for historically difficult courses in universities in the US and across the world. According to the Department of Education, participation in SI improves the course grade, likelihood of course completion, and students’ overall retention rates at the university. Research studies have also found evidence consistent with these claims. However, majority of the studies fail to account for the problem of selection of students into SI participation. To overcome this selection bias, we use administrative data from a mid-sized public university in Texas and exploit the within-professor-course variation in SI offerings arising from factors like administrative changes, lack of funding, or inability to match an SI leader to a course. Results from intent-to-treat models indicate small effects on course GPA and likelihood of course completion for the overall population. These effects are driven by improvements in outcomes for female students, students with below median SAT and ACT scores, and juniors and seniors.Byproducts of racial justice: Effect of Proposition 47 in California on DUIs - with Devika Hazra
Closing the ‘Boyfriend loophole’: Effect of stringent gun ownership regulations on intimate partner violence
Effect of alcohol access on domestic violence: Evidence from city-level alcohol laws in Texas
Do housing vouchers reduce domestic violence? Evidence from a lottery