About Me

I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at Florida State University. I will join the Social Science Research Institute and Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative at Penn State as an Assistant Research Professor in the summer of 2022.

I am an applied microeconomist working on topics related to public and labor economics and child welfare policy.

My current research focuses on how family structure impacts children's long-run outcomes and on critical issues in child welfare systems.

My job market paper focuses on the long-run effects of parental loss during early childhood. I combine linked U.S. Census data with a novel identification strategy that yields quasi-random variation in parental mortality due to historical mining accidents. I find that sons who lost their fathers during early childhood experienced a substantial loss of income during adulthood relative to sons of non-fatal accident victims. Most of the estimated earnings penalty can be attributed to differences in employment. Specifically, bereaved sons are more likely to be out of work, report unemployment assistance, and work fewer weeks.

The second chapter of my dissertation examines the sources of over-representation of Black children in foster care systems and the causal effects of one popular reform that seeks to reduce this over-representation. Finally, the last chapter of my dissertation is published in the Journal of Public Economics and highlights the link between educators and the reporting of child maltreatment allegations.

If you would like to get in touch with me, you can reach me at [email protected]