The @aefpweb.bsky.social EdDev group meets this F Apr 10, 11am US eastern. Presenters:
@wsandholtz.bsky.social (NOVA): Information & the Politics of School Quality
@adautheville.bsky.social (NHH): Private & Social Returns to Public University Scholarships
Contact me for Zoom link. #econsky #edusky
New in Journal of Population Economics w/ @rnajamr + Raja Kattan: Education pays—even more for women in Afghanistan. Each year of schooling raises income by 3–7%, but bans on women’s education/work turn gains into large economic losses. Human capital denial = national loss. shorturl.at/HW0uK
Impacts of the Four‐Day School Week on Juvenile Crime onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
"decision-makers should be cognizant of the potential increase in juvenile crime that may result from the four-day school week"
scales in public employment
- The costs of the ban on women's education are immense: lost opportunity, forgone income, reduced productivity, and long-term erosion of human capital
Joint work with great colleagues @hpatrinos.bsky.social + Raja Bentaouet Kattan
Key findings:
- Each additional year of schooling increases earnings by 3–7%, with higher returns for women
- Returns are present in both the broader labor market and among public sector employees, though the gender gap is larger in the labor market, likely due to the structured pay
This week marks the beginning of a new academic year across much of Afghanistan and four years since the ban on women's education and employment. Our work on returns to schooling and the economic costs of this ban is now out in the Journal of Population Economics.
📄 doi.org/10.1007/s001...
Read my latest #research on women's education in Afghanistan, published with
@SpringerNature
in JOPE
nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...
Four-day school weeks may ease budgets and staffing—but new evidence shows they can increase juvenile property & violent crime, esp in larger, non-rural areas, underscoring real trade-offs for policymakers.
New article by @rnajam.bsky.social + Thompson in JPAM
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
As more districts adopt this model to address budget pressures, teacher shortages, and attendance challenges, policymakers should weigh these unintended consequences carefully.
- Drug- and alcohol-related crimes during school hours decline—suggesting a shift from public spaces to private residences on the day off
- Effects spill over beyond the extra day off—we observe changes on remaining weekdays and weekends too
spreading rapidly across the US in recent years.
Key findings:
- Four-day school weeks are associated with significant increases in juvenile property and violent crime, concentrated in non-rural and large agency settings
New paper out today in @jpam-dc.bsky.social with Paul Thompson—this one started as a chapter of my PhD dissertation and it's great to see it out!
We examine what happens to juvenile crime when schools switch to a four-day school week using agency-level data from six states—a policy that has been
The EdDev Community Group will meet on December 12 at 11 AM ET. Alejandro Ganimian will present work in progress. Join the EdDev Community Group today aefpweb.org/communit...
5. Anushka Mullick (Binghamton Univerity) - Maternal Working Hours and Children’s Cognitive Outcomes in India: Evidence from Bunching Designs
6. Shailee Manandhar (Rutgers University) - The impact of the 2015 earthquake on internal and international migration in Nepal
3. Tahmeed Hossain (Southern Methodist University) - Historical Religious Conflict and the Persistence of Communal Divisions: Evidence from Temple Destruction in Medieval
4. Matthew McKetty (University of Wisconsin – Madison) - Sun, Sand, and Services: Tourism and Household Welfare in Jamaica
2. Jesugnon Ezechias DJIMA (University of Huston) - Rethinking Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from West Africa Beyond the Co-Residence Sample Bias
This panel includes an impressive set of research presentations on development topic:
1. Tewodros G. Gutema (Howard University) - Conflict, Climate Shocks, and Food Insecurity: Evidence from a Dynamic Event Study Analysis
Join the Global Labor Organization 2025 Job Market Sessions (North America) this Friday, Dec 5! The sessions kick off at 1:00 PM EST.
Register here: glabor.org/program-deta...
I will chair a session at 3:30 PM EST.
environmental policy, international development, or poverty—or its intersections—consider applying!
I would be very happy to answer questions and chat about the department, the school, and the community.
Come work with us in Chapel Hill!
UNC–Chapel Hill Public Policy is a vibrant community of scholars and an excellent place for interdisciplinary research with a strong focus on policy-relevant work. If you are on the academic job market and your research focuses on
Exciting news. We are hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Public Policy. Focus areas: environmental policy, international development, or poverty.
Link:
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...
Submission Deadline: November 3, 2025.
Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Econ instructors: considering running an RCT but unsure where to start?
My new working paper (w/ @lizschroeder.bsky.social) can guide you.
We walk you through all the steps to run an RCT: design, setup, implementation & analysis, w/ many examples along the way. 1/2 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
How different researcher decisions, data cleaning, research design, and interpretations of a policy question, affect variation in estimated treatment effects, from Huntington-Klein, Portner, McCarthy, and The Many Economists Collaborative on Researcher Variation https://www.nber.org/papers/w33729
Check out a short summary of our article on @voxdev.bsky.social, where we examine how exposure to conflict impacts children in the long run.
w/ @girayaslim @erdaltekin.bsky.social
Thank you, Erdal, for the kind words. It’s been an invaluable experience working with you-I look forward to many more collaborations!
Thank you, Todd, for your invaluable advising and support.
Grateful for your guidance and mentorship, Dave!
, mentors, co-authors, colleagues, and family. Thanks to so many of you for your guidance and support—especially @hpatrinos.bsky.social, @davemarcotte.bsky.social, and @erdaltekin.bsky.social. Thrilled to start this new chapter!
I will be joining the Department of Public Policy at the @PublicPolicyUNC @UNC this summer as an Assistant Professor of Public Policy (TT). Grateful to the many incredible people who made this possible—my advisors (@toddpugatch.bsky.social, Alison, Paul, Patrick)
ICYMI: We're offering Travel Grants for APPAM members who will be presenting at the Annual Fall Research Conference this year in Seattle. Learn more about this opportunity and how to apply: ow.ly/8TYt50Vzfq8