Research

Working Papers

Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in the Labor Market for Child Care Teachers (with Casey Boyd-Swan).
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The Demand for Teacher Characteristics in the Market for Child Care: Evidence from a Field Experiment. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10702
(with Casey Boyd-Swan).
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The Impact of Quality Rating and Improvement Systems on Families' Child Care Choices and the Supply of Child Care Labor. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10383.
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The Rising Cost of Child Care in the United States: A Reassessment of the Evidence. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9072.
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Publications

Universal Child Care, Maternal Employment, and Children's Long-Run Outcomes: Evidence from the U.S. Lanham Act of 1940. (2017). Journal of Labor Economics , 35(2), 519-564.
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Are Parental Welfare Work Requirements Good for Disadvantaged Children? Evidence from Age-of-Youngest-Child Exemptions. (2017). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management , 36(2), 327-357.
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Offline Effects of Online Connecting: The Impact of Broadband Diffusion on Teen Fertility Decisions. Forthcoming in Journal of Population Economics (with Melanie Guldi).
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Happy in the Hood? The Impact of Residential Segregation on Self-Reported Happiness. (2016). Journal of Regional Science, 56(3), 494-521 (with Joanna Lucio).
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The Increasing Happiness of U.S. Parents. (2016). Review of Economics of the Household, 14(3), 529-551 (with John Ifcher).
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The Impact of Child Care Subsidies on Child Development: Evidence from
Geographic Variation in the Distance to Social Service Agencies. (2016). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 35(1), 94-116 (with Erdal Tekin).
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The Earned Income Tax Credit, Mental Health, and Happiness. (2016). Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization , 126, 18-38 (with Casey Boyd-Swan, John Ifcher, and Homa Zarghamee).
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Child Care Subsidies, Maternal Well-Being, and Child-Parent Interactions: Evidence from Three Nationally Representative Datasets. (2014). Health Economics , 23 (8), 894-916 (with Erdal Tekin).
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The Impact of Non-Parental Child Care on Child Development: Evidence from the Summer Participation "Dip." (2013). Journal of Public Economics, 105 , 86-105.
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Can We Trust Parental Reports of Child Care Subsidy Receipt? (2013). Children and Youth Services Review, 35 (6), 984-993 (with Anna Johnson).
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Welfare Reform and the Subjective Well-Being of Single Mothers. (2013). Journal of Population Economics, 26(1), 203-238.
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Pain at the Pump: Gasoline Prices and Subjective Well-Being. (2012). Journal of Urban Economics, 72 (2-3), 160-175 (with Casey Boyd-Swan).
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Footloose and Fancy Free? Two Decades of Single Mothers' Subjective Well-Being. (2012), 86 (2), 189-222. Social Service Review .
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The Geographic Accessibility of Child Care Subsidies and Evidence on the Impact of Subsidy Receipt on Childhood Obesity. (2012). Journal of Urban Economics, 71 (1), 37-52 (with Erdal Tekin).
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The Earned Income Tax Credit and Abortion. (2011). Social Science Research, 40 (6), 1638-1651.
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‘Paradoxical’ Decline? Another Look at the Relative Reduction in Female Happiness. (2011). Journal of Economic Psychology, 32 (5), 773-788.
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Do Child Care Subsidies Influence Single Mothers’ Decision to Invest in Human Capital? (2011). Economics of Education Review, 30 (5), 901-912 (with Erdal Tekin).
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Child Care Subsidies and Childhood Obesity. (2011). Review of Economics of the Household, 9 (3), 349-378 (with Erdal Tekin).
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The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Marriage and Divorce: Evidence From Flow Data. (2011). Population Research and Policy Review, 30 (1), 101-128.
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Child Care Choices and Childhood Obesity. (2010). Contributions to
Economic Analysis, 290 (with Resul Cesar and Erdal Tekin).
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Child Care Subsidies and Child Development. (2010). Economics of Education Review, 29 (4), 618-638 (with Erdal Tekin).
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The Labor Supply Effects of Child Care Costs and Wages in the Presence of Subsidies and the Earned Income Tax Credit. (2010). Review of Economics of the Household, 8 (2), 199-230.
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The Impact of Local Labor Market Conditions on Work and Welfare Decisions: Revisiting an Old Question Using New Data. (2010). Population Research and Policy Review, 29 (4), 453-479. (with David Stevens).
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Do Social Policy Reforms Have Different Impacts on Employment and Welfare Use As Economic Conditions Change? (2008). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 27 (4), 867-894.
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Who are the Eligible Non-Recipients of Child Care Subsidies? (2008). Children and Youth Services Review, 30 (9), 1037-1054.
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Public Policy and Residential Segregation: A Critique of Iris Young’s Strategy of Differentiated Solidarity. (2008). Philosophy and Public Policy Quarterly, 28 (1/2), 13-18.
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Close to Home: A Simultaneous Equations Model of the Relationship Between Child Care Accessibility and Female Labor Force Participation. (2008). Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 29 , 128-151 (with Burt S. Barnow).
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