Abstract: Since the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has surged in the U.S. This paper addresses two key questions: Who is participating in online learning, and how does enrollment in online learning impact labor market outcomes? Using data from the Current Population Survey, I construct a measure of occupational exposure to online learning and track the labor market outcomes of thousands of individuals from 2019 through 2022. I find that individuals engaged in online learning tend to be more educated, earn higher wages, and are typically employed in computer- and office-focused occupations. On average, exposure to online learning is associated with greater employment stability. Notably, women with young children are more likely to exit the labor force than those without; however, online learning is associated to a reduction in these excess exits. 

Abstract: Using a comprehensive definition of energy consumption that includes both residential energy and gasoline for transport, we identify 15% of households in the PSID as energy burdened (EB). Logit analysis reveals that being nonwhite, single with dependents, receiving public assistance, lacking post-secondary education, and unemployment significantly increase the probability of being EB. We document four key empirical facts: (1) EB status exhibits substantial persistence, with 49% of households remaining burdened 2 years later; (2) EB households have significantly higher marginal propensities to consume (19.4 vs 8.8 cents per dollar) and marginal propensities to consume energy (4.6 vs 0.9 cents per dollar); (3) EB households experience lower expected energy consumption growth despite higher expected income growth; and (4) EB households face more volatile income but similar consumption volatility after controlling for household fixed effects. From 1999 to 2019, energy consumption inequality increased by 80%, substantially exceeding income inequality growth (29%). Residential energy inequality rose and then declined, while transport energy inequality increased steadily by 40%. These findings inform theoretical modeling, suggesting the need for non-homothetic preferences, occasionally binding credit constraints, precautionary saving motives, and persistence mechanisms.

Abstract: Since the pandemic, the supply of workers with a disability has risen substantially, a trend largely attributed to the expansion of remote work opportunities. This paper examines how the rise in work from home (WFH) among individuals with a disability has affected productivity. Leveraging exogenous industry-level variation in WFH, I find that a one-standard deviation increase in disability WFH is associated with persistent declines in productivity—measured by output per worker and output per hour—ranging from about 2% in 2021 to 4% in 2024. These findings are consistent with a supply-side mechanism in which expanded access to remote work increases employment along the extensive margin, lowering average productivity through compositional effects.