Publications & Acceptances
Publications & Acceptances
[1] High Schools Tailored to Adults Can Help Them Complete a Traditional Diploma and Excel in the Labor Market (with David Phillips and Patrick Turner), American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 16(4):34–67, November 2024
[2] Eliminating Fares to Expand Opportunities: Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Free Public Transportation on Economic and Social Disparities (with Matt Freedman and David Phillips), forthcoming at American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
[1] Effects of the Teacher Marriage Bar (with Wenni Yang)
Abstract: Women's increased participation in the workforce over the past century was the most significant change in the US labor market (Goldin, 2006). An often cited, but understudied, reason for women's increased LFP was the elimination of the marriage bar, a policy prohibiting married women from working. We gathered new data from 1900-1940 to document the prevalence of the marriage bar in teaching across US cities. Using the 1880-1940 Census and a difference-in-differences design, we show that marriage bars decreased the share of married female teachers by 2.3 percentage points (15%). This decrease was offset by an increase in single female teachers. We also find suggestive evidence that marriage bars increased retention among single teachers and possibly delayed or deterred marriage, particularly for older women and those exposed to the policy longer. These findings highlight the role of discriminatory employment policies in affecting work forces and workers' family decisions.
[2] Effects of money to block-grant programs: Evidence from WIC (with Grace Ortuzar)
Abstract: In this paper, we explore the benefits of additional money to block-grant safety net programs when enrollment is tied to funding availability. To do this, we study the effects of one of the largest cost-containment efforts in the WIC program -- the introduction of competitive bidding for infant formula contracts in the late 1980s (the "rebate system"). Prior to rebates, over 40% of the WIC food budget was spent on infant formula. Exploiting the staggered adoption of competitive bidding across states over time, we find that rebates led to a 2% reduction in the incidence of low birth weight and a 5.7-gram increase in average birth weight among those likely eligible for WIC. Effects are especially large among Black infants (3.6% decrease in LBW; 11 gram increase in BW). These magnitudes are comparable to the effects of introducing WIC to counties for the first time (Hoynes, Page, and Stevens, 2011; Bitler et al. 2024). Using newly digitized state-level WIC program data, we find suggestive evidence that improved health can be attributed to increased WIC enrollment, and not due to changes in the quality or quantity of the WIC package.
[3] Refugees' Economic Integration (with Dany Bahar and Giovanni Peri)
Abstract: The inflow of refugees and their subsequent integration can be an important challenge for both the refugees themselves and the host society. Policy interventions can improve the lives and economic success of refugees and of their communities. In this paper, we review the socioeconomic integration policy interventions focused on refugees and the evidence surrounding them. We also highlight some interesting topics for future research and stress the need to rigorously evaluate their effectiveness and implications for the successful integration of refugees.
[4] Citizenship policy and women immigrants' integration: Evidence from the 1922 Cable Act
Abstract: The 1922 Cable Act repealed automatic citizenship for foreign-born women marrying citizens after a certain date, effectively introducing naturalization requirements for first-generation female immigrants in the US. Using newly digitized marriage records and a regression discontinuity design around couples’ marriage date, I study the effects of naturalization requirements for women on their and their children’s integration outcomes. I find that naturalization requirements reduced married women’s probability of obtaining citizenship by 15-18 percentage points in the medium-run, but had no effect on citizenship status in the long-run. Naturalization requirements negatively affected women’s integration, decreasing their probability of speaking English by 3 p.p., and increasing the probability that daughters are given names common among immigrants, but otherwise had no effects on women's labor force participation or employment. I also find some evidence that sons are less socially integrated: they are 3 p.p. less likely to volunteer for WWII and possibly less likely to marry natives. These results highlight the unique role that mother’s access to citizenship plays in creating a home environment for social integration.
[1] The multigenerational effects of divorce: Evidence from divorce dismissals