Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications (with hyperlinks)

"Help Really Wanted? The Impact of Age Stereotypes in Job Ads on Applications from Older Workers" (with Ian Burn, Daniel Ladd, and David Neumark), Forthcoming at The Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 44 (4), October 2026. [NBER Working Paper 30287] Media Coverage: The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Barron's, MarketWatch
- Summary: Subtle ageist language in job ads deters older workers from applying, shifting the applicant pool’s age distribution roughly as much as direct age discrimination in hiring.

"Do Tuition Subsidies Raise Political Participation?" (with Igor Geyn), Forthcoming at The American Economic Journal: Economic Policy Vol. 17 (4), pg. 354-378, November 2025. [Working Paper]
- Summary: Tuition-free college and the Pell Grant boost recipients’ voter turnout rates, highlighting the large civic returns to education subsidies.

"Economic Distress and Electoral Consequences: Evidence from Appalachia" (Sole Author), The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 106 (3), pg. 778-793, May 2024. [A. Kimball Romney Award]
[Open Access Manuscript] Media Coverage: The Boston Globe
- Summary: County-level economic distress declarations raised Democratic candidate vote share in subsequent elections, demonstrating that salient information about local poverty can change votes.

"The Impact of Post-Admission Merit Scholarships on Enrollment Decisions and Degree Attainment: Evidence from Randomization" (Sole Author), The Economics of Education Review Vol. 84, 102221, February 2022.
- Summary: Merit scholarships effectively recruit disadvantaged students, but reduce graduation rates for others by reducing the quality of campuses they attend, suggesting merit aid is more effective when means-tested.

Special Issues, Invited Submissions, and Book Chapters

"Machine Learning and Perceived Age Stereotypes in Job Ads: Evidence from an Experiment" (with Ian Burn, Daniel Ladd, and David Neumark), The Journal of Pension Economics and Finance Vol. 22 (4), pg. 463 - 489, October 2023. Published as a Book Chapter in the NBER's "The Labor Market for Older Workers"
- Summary: Using machine learning, this study shows that job-ad language resembling ageist stereotypes is perceived as biased against older workers, suggesting such methods could help flag age discrimination.

"Age Discrimination and Age Stereotypes in Job Ads" (with Ian Burn, Daniel Ladd, and David Neumark), Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letters, March 2023.
- Summary: Job ads containing subtle ageist language significantly deter older applicants, with a discouragement effect comparable to direct age discrimination in hiring.

Working Papers

"Education and Partisanship"

Revise and Resubmit at The American Economic Journal: Applied Economics

(Sole Author) [SOCAE 2022 Best Paper Award] [Working Paper]

Previously circulated as: "The Effect of Selective Colleges on Student Partisanship"

Media Coverage: The Boston Globe, Marginal Revolution

Abstract: Education weakens the historical link between income and partisanship across democracies, challenging classical models of political economy. Using administrative data on millions of voters exposed to discontinuities in compulsory schooling laws and college admissions in Florida and California, I show that both the extensive margin of years of schooling and the intensive margin of institutional quality can reduce affiliation with the Republican Party. Effects generalize across generations (1969 to present), settings, and institutions. Results are consistent with peer socialization shaping sociocultural attitudes alongside career-path channels, rather than deliberate instructor-driven persuasion.

"Nonresident Tuition and Human Capital Flows: Evidence from a Lottery"

Revise and Resubmit at The American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

(Sole Author) [Working Paper]

Abstract: I use a randomized controlled trial to study how nonresident tuition affects where highly skilled workers eventually live and work. For every $10,000 of tuition relief, the university receives $1,903 from increased enrollment and loses $2,738 from reduced tuition, yielding a small $835 loss. Treated students are more likely to stay in-state 12 years later and eventually earn $25,302 more in present value within the local economy, showing that the university's profit-maximizing tuition level is suboptimal from the state's perspective. The effects are driven by higher retention of inframarginal students and by out-of-state U.S. nationals rather than international students.

"Rational Inattention and the Size of Government" (with Quinten Carney)

Works in Progress

"Partisan Costs of Unfulfilled Student Loan Forgiveness" (with Michael Patrick Span)

"From Training to Employment: A Multi-Inquiry Study of Noncredit Workforce Training Programs" (with Di Xu, Benjamin Castleman, Catherine Finnegan, Betsy Tessler, Kelli Bird, and Sabrina Solanki)