Highlighted Publications




 

Persico (2026) asks whether prenatal exposure to industrial pollution causes worse long-term economic, educational, and health outcomes. She uses geocoded longitudinal data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), comparing siblings exposed in utero to pollution from nearby Toxic Release Inventory sites with unexposed siblings  . She finds large negative effects: exposed children have about 23% lower wages, 0.76 fewer years of education, and ar

Aboaba et al. (2026) ask whether a low-cost messaging intervention can deter crime among high-risk parolees. They analyze data from a randomized controlled trial in New York, using administrative records on arrests, parole violations, and neighborhood crime. The authors find no meaningful reduction in arrests or violent crime. However, they report a 3 percentage point decline in parole violations—a 15% reduction—and a 2 percentage point decline in absconding violations, a 25%

Morgan et al. (2025) examine whether large, effectiveness-based financial incentives combined with improved hiring authority can attract and retain high-quality educators in low-performing schools. They analyze administrative data from the Dallas Independent School District, including student test scores, teacher evaluations, and staffing records. Using a difference-in-differences design, they find that the reform substantially increased teacher quality and student achievemen

Garthwaite et al. (2025) examine who benefits from the economic rents generated by college sports under amateurism. They ask how revenue from football and men’s basketball is redistributed within athletic departments. They analyze panel data on revenues and expenditures from Power Five athletic programs (2006–2019), along with player-level demographic data. They find substantial rent-sharing: about $0.31 of each additional dollar is reinvested in revenue sports, while roughly