Research
Working Papers
"Cosmetology Gets a Trim: The Impact of Reducing Licensing Hours on Colleges and Students," with Nicolas Acevedo and Kathryn J. Blanchard.
"The Graying of Student Loan Debt," with Rajeev Darolia and Dubravka Ritter.
Articles & Reports
“Where do Colleges Advertise? Demographic Targeting by U.S. Colleges,” with Latika Chaudhary, Economics of Education Review, 94, June 2023.
“Cosmetology Schools Everywhere: Most Cosmetology Schools Exist Outside the Federal Student Aid System,” with Bianca Onwukwe, Postsecondary Equity and Economics Research Project, PEER Paper Series, August 2022.
"Occupational Licensing and Student Outcomes," with Nicholas Acevedo and Kathryn J. Blanchard. Postsecondary Equity and Economics Research (PEER) Project, February 2022.
"Hair and Taxes: Cosmetology Programs, Accountability Policy, and the Problem of Underreported Income," with Kathryn J. Blanchard. Postsecondary Equity and Economics Research (PEER) Project, January 2022.
"Using a High School Earnings Benchmark to Measure College Student Success," with Kathryn J. Blanchard, Postsecondary Equity and Economics Research (PEER) Project, February 2022.
"Quick College Credentials: Student Outcomes and Accountability Policy for Short-Term Programs" with Kathryn J. Blanchard, The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Education Policy Report, July 22, 2021.
"Student Learning in Online College Programs," with Hernando Grueso, AERA Open, May 2021 [NBER Working Paper No. 28552].
“Credit Standards in the PLUS Student Loan Program: Examining Access and Equity,” with Rajeev Darolia, and Dubravka Ritter, The Brookings Institution, Center on Regulation and Markets, October 2020.
“Commercials for College? Advertising in Higher Education,” with Latika Chaudhary, The Brookings Institution, Brown Center on Education Policy Report, May 19, 2020.
"Where Do Students Go When For-Profit Colleges Lose Federal Aid?” with Rajeev Darolia and Lesley J. Turner, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, May 2020, 12(2): 46-83. [NBER Working Paper No. 22967]
"Gainfully Employed? Assessing the Employment and Earnings of For-Profit College Students Using Administrative Data,” with Nicholas Turner, Journal of Human Resources, Spring 2019, 52(4): 342-370. [Appendix A, Appendix B, state & CIP data tables] [NBER Working Paper No. 22287]
“The Case for Limiting Federal Student Aid to For-Profit Colleges,” with Cory Koedel, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management: Point/Counterpoint, Fall 2017, 36(4): 934-942.
“Response to Gilpin and Stoddard,” with Cory Koedel, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management: Point/Counterpoint, Fall 2017, 36(4): 950-953.
“High Costs, Low Resources, and Missing Information: Explaining Student Borrowing in the For-Profit Sector,” with Rajeev Darolia, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, May 2017, 671(1): 92-112.
“Different Degrees of Debt: Student Borrowing in the For-Profit, Non-Profit, and Public Sectors,” with Rajeev Darolia, The Brookings Institution, Brown Center on Education Policy Report, June 23, 2016.
“The Labor Market Returns to a For-Profit College Education,” with Latika Chaudhary, Economics of Education Review, December 2014, 43: 125-140. [NBER Working Paper No. 18343]
“Does Federal Student Aid Raise Tuition? New Evidence on For-Profit Colleges,” with Claudia Goldin, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, November 2014, 6(4): 174-206. [NBER Working Paper No. 17827]
“School Quality and Information Disclosure: Evidence from the Housing Market,” with Paul Carrillo and Richard Green, Economic Inquiry, July 2013, 51(3): 1809-1828.
“For-Profit Higher Education: An Assessment of Costs and Benefits,” National Tax Journal, March 2012, 65(1): 153-180.
“Financial Aid and For-Profit Colleges: Does Aid Encourage Entry?” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Summer 2010, 29(3): 526-552.
“The Value of School Facility Investments: Evidence from a Dynamic Regression Discontinuity Design,” with Fernando Ferreira and Jesse Rothstein, Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 2010, 125(1): 215-261. [NBER Working Paper No. 14516]
Reprinted in The Economics of Evaluation in Public Programs, edited by Albert N. Link and John T. Scott. Williston, VT: Edward Elgar, 2012.
“Crowded Colleges and College Crowd-Out: The Impact of Public Subsidies on the Two-Year College Market,” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, August 2009, 1(2): 1-30.
“The Dynamics of Poverty in the United States: A Review of Data, Methods, and Findings,” with Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Summer 2008, 27(3): 577-605.
“Causal Inference and Omitted Variable Bias in Financial Aid Research: Assessing Solutions,” Review of Higher Education, Spring 2008, 31(3): 329-354.
“Smoothing the Transition to College? The Effect of Tech-Prep Programs on Educational Attainment,” Economics of Education Review, August 2006, 25(4): 394-411.
“School Quality, Neighborhoods, and Housing Prices,” with Thomas J. Kane and Douglas O. Staiger, American Law and Economics Review, Summer 2006, 8(2): 183-212. [NBER Working Paper No. 11347]
Books
Demography, Education, and the Workforce, with Robert I. Lerman, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2009: 167 pages. [Amazon]
Book Chapters & Scholarly Contributions
"For-Profit Colleges in the United States: Insights from Two Decades of Research,” for the Handbook of Education Economics, edited by Brian McCall, London, UK: Routledge. Forthcoming.
"For-Profit College Policy at the Crossroads," with Cory Koedel, Memos to Congress and the Administration on Higher Education, Urban Institute, September 19, 2017.
“Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit Analysis,” with James Edwin Kee, Chapter 24 of Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, Fourth Edition, edited by Joseph S. Wholey, Harry P. Hatry, and Kathryn E. Newcomer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2015: 636-672.
“College Costs and Financial Constraints: Student Borrowing at For-Profit Institutions,” with Rajeev Darolia, Ch. 6 of Student Loans and the Dynamics of Debt, edited by Brad Hershbein and Kevin M. Hollenbeck. Kalamazoo, MI: Upjohn Institute Press, 2015.
“Cost-Benefit and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis,” in Encyclopedia of Educational Theory and Philosophy, edited by D.C. Phillips. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2014: 183-186.
“Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit Analysis,” with James Edwin Kee, Chapter 21 of Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, Third Edition, edited by Joseph S. Wholey, Harry P. Hatry, and Kathryn E. Newcomer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010: 493-530.
“Vocational College Research: Case Studies of the United States,” Chapter 3.3.7.3. of Handbook of Vocational Education Research, edited by Felix Rauner and Rupert Maclean. Netherlands: Springer, 2008: 354-359.
“The Scope of Employer-Provided Training in the U.S.: Who, What, Where, and How Much?” with Robert I. Lerman and Signe-Mary McKernan, Chapter 7 of Job Training Policy in the United States, edited by Christopher O’Leary, Robert Straits, and Stephen Wandner. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2004: 211-243.
Policy Briefs and Other Writing
"Why Information Alone is not Enough to Improve Higher Education Outcomes," with Dominique Baker, Judith Scott-Clayton, and Lesley J. Turner. The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, December 14, 2021.
"Expanding Pell Grants to For-Profit Colleges Benefits Institutions, Not Students," The Hill, November 21, 2021.
How does virtual learning impact students in higher education?" The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, August 13, 2021.
"The Alarming Rise in For-Profit College Enrollment," The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, November 2, 2020.
"Gainfully Employed? New Evidence on the Earnings, Employment, and Debt of For-Profit Certificate Students," The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, February 9, 2018.
“Gainful Employment regulations will protect students and taxpayers. Don’t change them,” with Adam Looney, David Deming, and Jordan Matsudaira, The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, August 4, 2017.
"The Government is Sanctioning For-Profit Colleges. What Happens to the Students?" with Rajeev Darolia and Lesley J. Turner, The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, January 6, 2017.
“The For-Profit Student Debt Dilemma,” with Rajeev Darolia, The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, June 23, 2016.
“Does a For-Profit College Education Pay Off?” The Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard, July 16, 2015.
"For-Profit Colleges in the United States: Research, Data, and Policy Recommendations," with Nicole E. Davila and Meghan McHugh. Report to the Ford Foundation. January 2011.
“Transitioning In and Out of Poverty,” with Signe-Mary McKernan and Caroline Ratcliffe, Urban Institute Fact Sheet No. 1, Urban Institute, Washington, DC, September 2009.