Cronin, Thomas, "The Effects of SNAP’s ABAWD Work Requirement on Food Security and Work Outcomes." May 2024. Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 2183. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/2183.
This paper is my honors thesis in Economics. Using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Current Population Survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and more, I leverage a two-way fixed effects triple differences model to estimate the effects of SNAP's work requirement on low-income Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). I find that the work requirement is associated with substantial increases in work indicators like job searching, employment, and full-time work in the short and long run, but at the cost of modestly higher incidences of food insecurity in the short run.
Cronin, Thomas. “Macroeconomic Implications of Climate Change for Fossil Fuel-Exporting Countries.” May 2023. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b95AiGezA6fdjiFa24w44vu5fbpU40sO/view?usp=sharing.
This paper is the product of my semester-long Independent Study under Professor Shahrokh Fardoust in Spring 2023. Complete with a review of existing macroeconomic and climate literature, original analysis using 39 indicators from the World Bank, United Nations Development Program, and more, and policy recommendations for avoiding fiscal collapse, I examine the macroeconomic effects of climate change and the global energy transition on fossil fuel exporters.
Cho, Will, Thomas Cronin, Joshua Link, Kelsi Putnam, and Samer Saffarini. “Market Concentration and Prices in Virginia Hospitals.” December 15, 2022. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KaOxAF1ywupeTVKK-rcNxKBKJwa2dHKa/view?usp=sharing.
This paper summarizes the findings of my team's work in the William & Mary Healthcare Policy Research Lab. We evaluated and described the effects of hospital market concentration on the price levels and price variation of imaging services in Virginia using recently-available data following national and state price transparency regulations. We found a mixed effect of market concentration on each price levels and variation, largely dependent on whether a hospital was the dominant provider in the region.
Peter, Tobias, and Edward J. Pinto. “Does Building Light-Touch Density Housing Lower Single-Family Home Values? Evidence from Seattle, WA and Charlotte, NC.” American Enterprise Institute, June 26, 2025. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/does-building-light-touch-density-housing-lower-single-family-home-values-evidence-from-seattle-wa-and-charlotte-nc/. Acknowledged for substantial research assistance.
Opponents of Light-touch Density (LTD) infill argue that it will lead to outright home price declines or, at the very least, slower home price appreciation (HPA). However, evidence from Charlotte and Seattle shows that the construction of LTD housing—such as duplexes and townhomes—does not adversely impact HPA of single-family detached (SFD) homes in the LTD infill neighborhoods compared to the HPA of SFD homes in SFD-only neighborhoods. In both cities, LTD development added tens of thousands of new homes while having no adverse effect on the HPA of adjacent SFD properties.
Cronin, Thomas. “Fixing SNAP’s Work Requirements.” City Journal, October 30, 2024. https://www.city-journal.org/article/fixing-snaps-work-requirements.
This is an op-ed briefly summarizing the findings and recommendations of my Manhattan Institute report “Why SNAP Work Requirements Aren’t Working: A Case for Waiver Reform” for a more general audience. I outline the economic theory motivating waivers to the ABAWD work requirement in high unemployment areas, identify policy problems that have enabled states to deviate from federal guidelines, and outline policy solutions to ensure the policy promotes economic mobility without hurting SNAP recipients.
Cronin, Thomas. “Why SNAP Work Requirements Aren’t Working: A Case for Waiver Reform.” Manhattan Institute, October 24, 2024. https://manhattan.institute/article/why-snap-work-requirements-arent-working-a-case-for-waiver-reform.
This is an issue brief I independently wrote and published on SNAP work requirements while at MI, where I was recognized as their only intern to ever have a policy piece published by the organization. Based on research I did for my honors thesis in economics last year, I identify widespread state misuse of ABAWD work requirement waivers. To ensure that individuals in areas with limited opportunities aren’t unfairly penalized while continuing to promote work, I propose reforms that would more effectively tie waiver implementation to job availability. These changes would better achieve the policy's dual goals of supporting economic mobility and protecting vulnerable populations.
Cronin, Thomas, Irene Entringer García Blanes, Susan Peterson, and Michael J. Tierney. “IR Faculty Weigh In on Campus Protests.” Foreign Policy, September 9, 2024. https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/09/09/campus-student-protests-gaza-israel-divestment-faculty-expert-poll/.
This is a policy piece I co-authored with the TRIP Principle Investigators, in which we report and interpret the results of a nationally representative survey we conducted on IR experts' opinions of university protests on the war in Gaza. I was involved in all stages of the piece, including suggesting and revising survey questions, analyzing the resulting data, and drafting and revising the article through publication. We found that although IR scholars broadly disapprove of Israel's military actions in Gaza, they also expressed a pessimistic view of student protests and their policy goals.
Cronin, Thomas. “Climate Change Poses Major Threat to Fossil Fuel-Exporting Countries' Economies, But There is a Way Out.” Teaching, Research, & International Policy Research Assistant Posts, October 25, 2023. https://tripblogs.pages.wm.edu/2023/10/25/climate-change-poses-major-macroeconomic-challenges-to-fossil-fuel-exporters-but-there-is-a-way-out/
This entry to the Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) blog is an article summary of my paper on the macroeconomic effects of climate change for fossil fuel exporters. I outline the unique challenges that climate change poses to fossil fuel exporters in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, first in inducing lower global demand for fossil fuels and second in the environmental degredation that will have the most severe ramifications for the MENA region. I conclude by summarizing policy options that fossil fuel exporters should pursue to ensure their continued economic success no matter what condition in which the world finds itself in the coming decades.
Cronin, Thomas. “Should the U.S. Have Joined TPP? Evaluating the Short-Run Labor Market Effects of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Teaching, Research, & International Policy Research Assistant Posts, January 1, 2023. https://tripblogs.pages.wm.edu/2023/01/27/should-the-u-s-have-joined-tpp-evaluating-the-short-run-labor-market-effects-of-the-comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership/.
In this article for the Teaching, Research, & International Policy (TRIP) blog, I compare the labor market outcomes of CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) member countries to those of non-CPTPP countries. Finding generally better employment outcomes in member countries after the deal's enactment in 2018, I conclude that, at least in the short run, the deal has not led to the mass elimination of jobs predicted by its opponents in the United States, and that as a result, the United States would have likely been better better off remaining a member of the trade deal.
“The Effects and Persistence of Evictions During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
This is a journal article I am co-authoring with Professor Caroline Hanley as part of my work with William & Mary's Public Policy Department. In it, we analyze evictions filings in the Williamsburg-James City County from 2019-2022 to determine how pandemic-era evictions restrictions and income-replacement programs, and their expirations, changed evictions patterns during and after the pandemic. We hope this research will shed light on the effectiveness of these programs and help policymakers target subsequent policy efforts towards those most in need.