Causal Inference

Social scientists often seek to estimate causal effects using observational data, where treatment assignment is not under the researcher’s control. My methodological research develops and extends tools for addressing the biases that can arise in these settings, especially when exposures, confounders, and mediating processes evolve over time. In particular, this work develops methods for estimating causal effects in longitudinal studies, and extends these methods to investigate effect heterogeneity and causal mediation. More broadly, this research aims to provide flexible and accessible tools for answering complex causal questions with nonexperimental data.

 

Neighborhood Effects

Growing up in an impoverished neighborhood is thought to have a harmful impact on child development above and beyond the well-documented negative effects of family poverty. My research in this area considers the temporal and developmental dimensions of so-called “neighborhood effects.” Specifically, this research program adapts novel methods of causal inference to study how residence in different neighborhood environments throughout the life course may impact individual outcomes, such as educational attainment and adolescent childbearing.

 

Racial Attitudes

An important theoretical perspective in the study of racial attitudes is that they are shaped by intergroup conflict over material resources and the group interests that emerge within this competition. My research in this area investigates the empirical implications of this theoretical framework for understanding the effects of institutions, such as the formal education system, and individual faculties, like cognitive ability, on different types of racial attitudes.

 

Income Inequality

Income inequality has increased in America since the early 1980s. My research in this area investigates how growing income inequality may be linked with ownership and authority relations within the workplace. Using data from multiple different sources, I examine temporal changes in the ownership and authority structure of the American economy, estimate shifts in the income returns to workplace authority over time, and link these changes to growth in aggregate income inequality.