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About me
About me
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at the University of Missouri, and I will be on the job market in 2026-2027. My research interests are in applied microeconomics, with a particular focus on the economics of crime and health economics. You can find my CV here.
Education
University of Missouri — Ph.D. in Economics, Expected May 2027
University of Missouri — M.A. in Economics, May 2025
University of South Dakota — B.B.A. in Economics, May 2022
Job market paper: The Effects of Citations in Lieu of Arrests: Evidence from Maryland
(click title for draft)
I examine the effects of replacing arrests with criminal citations for low-level offenses on defendant outcomes and future criminal charges. Using Maryland court records, I implement a difference-in-discontinuities design that exploits a 2013 policy shock encouraging citations in lieu of arrest. I find the policy increased citation issuance by 48.5% and decreased pretrial detention by 36.3% among eligible defendants, with little evidence of increases in failures to appear or re-offending. However, reduced pretrial detention among eligible defendants is offset by increased detention among defendants charged with more serious, citation-ineligible offenses, leaving aggregate pretrial detention unchanged.
Working papers
The Effects of Restricting Police Chases on Public Safety
Revise & Resubmit at Journal of Human Resources
This paper examines the effects of police departments implementing restrictive vehicular pursuit policies that limit chases to suspects of violent felonies. Using stacked difference-in-differences models and synthetic control methods, I analyze the impact of these policy changes on fatal police chase accidents and motor vehicle theft. I compile an original dataset of restrictive pursuit policy enactments, linked to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and Uniform Crime Reporting program. I estimate a 41.3% reduction in fatal police chase accidents following the policy adoption. Motor vehicle theft increases by an imprecise 3.5%, while its clearance rate declines by 10.5%
Publications
Standardizing the Measurement of Cigar Tax Rates in the United States, 2010–2024 with Abigail Friedman, Rachel Y.L. Fung, and Michael F. Pesko. Tobacco Control, 2026.
Works in Progress
The Effects of Cigar Taxes on Cigar Prices and Tobacco Product Sales: Evidence from Retail Panel Data (with Rachel Y.L. Fung, Abigail S. Friedman, and Michael F. Pesko
Despite the health risks associated with cigar use, the effects of cigar taxes on prices and sales are less documented than those of taxes on cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and alcohol. Using NielsenIQ Retail Scanner data from 2010 to 2023, we estimate the effect of cigar taxes on cigar prices and sales. We find that 89% of large cigar taxes are passed onto large cigar retail prices for consumers using stacked difference-in-differences methods. Similarly, we find a 95% pass-through for little cigars. We do not find a statistically detectable effect of these tax increases on aggregate large-cigar or cigarette sales.
Revisiting Officer Discretion and Racial Disparities Using Maryland Speeding Tickets (with Davis Bell)
This paper examines how differences in speeding fines shape police discretion and whether that discretion differs by driver race. In Maryland, the fine for driving 10 mph over the limit only rises from $80 to $90 on roads with speed limits below 65 mph, but on 65-mph roads, the fine increases from $80 to $160. 40% of tickets are written at 9 mph over the limit on 65-mph roads, compared to 18% on lower-speed roads, consistent with officers reducing recorded speeds to spare drivers a higher fine. Racial differences also widen when the fine reduction is larger: White drivers are 31% more likely than non-White drivers to receive a ticket at 9 mph over on lower-speed roads, but 47% more likely on 65-mph roads.
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