Danyao Li

Welcome,

I am an Assistant Professor at Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California. I earned a PhD in Public Affairs from The Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Bloomington. 

My research focuses on how policy design and implementation impact outcomes, particularly in law enforcement. I examine critical issues on police performance and disparities in policing. I study organizational practices by law enforcement agencies such as recruitment, training, diversity, asset forfeiture, mental health response, and public communication. I am also interested in individual officer decision-making when implementing laws such as in traffic policing. My work seeks to improve understanding of effectiveness and equity in public safety.

My dissertation studies one of the most pressing social equity concerns in the United States -- racial disparities in policing. I use individual-level data on millions of traffic stops across multiple states over years to :

1) assess the degree to which minority representation on police force changes the behavior of majority white officers, and further contributes to racial equity in stop outcomes;

2) estimate the conditions under which white officers' behavioral alteration occurs  as critical mass of minorities on force is achieved;

3) examine the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender in predicting individual officer behavior and shaping policy implementation on the ground.