Time Is of The Essence: Experimental Evidence on The Effects of Job Application Timing
Abstract: LUsing a large-scale resume correspondence experiment (Kline, Rose and Walters, 2022), I provide novel causal evidence on the impact of job application timing. Holding applicant attributes fixed within vacancies, submissions in the first half are 1.16 percentage points more likely to receive contact, equivalent to 57% of the racial contact gap in the same setting. Submitting one day earlier raises contact probability by 0.40 percentage points. Using within-vacancy contact histories, I show that recruiters begin evaluating before the full pool arrives: initiating contacts sharply reduce the contact probability of comparable later applications, consistent with sequential screening and early stopping. These dynamics are racial and gender group-specific. The early application advantageis larger in tighter labor markets. I formalize these patterns in a model of sequential screening with endogenous contact initiation, estimate it by simulated moments, and quantify economically meaningful speed-quality tradeoffs, with rushing losses of 6.55% in proxied match quality, equivalent to $3,088 per vacancy-year. Together, the results link within-vacancy recruiting behavior to macro labor market conditions and highlight application timing as an important margin in job searching. draft | slides | poster
presented at: All-California Labor Economics Conference 2024 (poster), PolMeth Europe 2025, WEAI 100th Annual Conference, 3rd Annual AEA CSQIEP Mentoring Conference, 6th World Labor Conference, 20th EGSC at WashU St. Louis, Oligo Workshop 2025 (scheduled, poster), 90th Annual MEA Meeting (2026), 5th AMIE Workshop in Applied Microeconomics
Judicial Learning from Feedback: Evidence from U.S. Asylum Courts
Abstract: We study how immigration judges learn from appeal feedback in a setting with substantial discretion and noisy feedback. Using comprehensive EOIR and BIA administrative data, we construct high-dimensional prediction models to proxy judges' expected reversal probabilities and identify surprise reversals where the appeal outcome sharply deviates from judicial expectations. Event-study estimates show that surprise reversals increase grant rates by 1.57 percentage points in the following week, with no evidence of reduced procedural diligence. An attention-based learning model rationalizes these dynamics, predicting that only attentive judges update strongly in response to unexpected feedback. Reduced-form and Marginal Treatment Effect (MTE) analyses confirm this heterogeneity: attentive judges converge to appellate standards, while inattentive judges remain threshold-misaligned. Learning operates through both appeal filing and appeal success, and is stronger in high-salience defensive cases. Our findings highlight attention as a key channel through which appeal courts effectively discipline lower-court decision-making. draft | slides | poster
presented at: ALEA 2026 Meeting
All the Things We Could Have Been: Labor Market Outcomes of Not Getting into the Ideal Major
Abstract: Education and major selection have an enduring impact on labor market outcomes. Leveraging the quasi-experimental setting of the College Entrance Exam in China and a mix of administrative, survey, and online labor market data, I provide causal evidence on the impact of being marginally excluded from one's preferred major on long-term career development for elite college students. Those narrowly missing their ideal majors invest more in career-focused skills and industry reputation both before and after graduation. Over time, they self-select into industries aligned with their preferred majors but face significantly higher job instability and slightly lower wages. A policy reform in the major application process supports these findings, linking them to over-inference and the frustration of narrowly missing their ideal majors. draft | slides | poster
presented at: All-California Labor Economics Conference 2023 (poster), USC Economics PhD Alumni Conference (poster).
More exicting projects to be listed :)