Research

Working Papers

Leading out of darkness or into the shadows? Uncovering the impact of populist rule on the shadow economy (with Aziz Berdiev and James Saunoris)
Frac Sand Mines and Increased Mortality: Evidence from a County-Level Analysis (with Caleb Mathison)

With the increase in fracking for oil and natural gas, the demand for inputs in this industry has risen. Thus, there has been an emergence of frac sand mining, the process of mining sand that is used to prop open fractures in the ground to extract the oil and natural gas in hydraulic fracking. This paper examines the relationship between health and frac sand mining sites. We combine two decades of county-level data on industrial sand mining and mortality rates to quantify the association between sand mining and health risks across demographic groups using two-way fixed effects models. We find significant, positive associations between frac sand mining activity and mortality rates. Specifically, we find that counties with active sand mines have higher mortality rates due to diseases of the circulatory system. These results suggest that increased particulate matter due to sand mining activity may be a mechanism through which sand mining affects public health.

Reading Resources and Student Achievement: Evidence from the Michigan Culture of Reading Program

This paper considers the effect of additional reading resources on third-grade student achievement by exploiting a quasi-experimental setting. In 2014, the Michigan Department of Education Culture of Reading campaign gave over 3,000 copies of a storybook, along with reading instructions, to children in 115 elementary schools and early childhood programs. I use student-level data to identify the effect of additional reading resources on third-grade English language arts (ELA) test scores.

Did the USDA Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program Improve Student Performance? Evidence from Illinois Elementary Schools

This paper examines the impact of the USDA Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program on academic achievement, attendance, and disiciplinary actions. Using a difference-in-differences estimation strategy with variation in treatment timing, I find suggestive evidence that FFVP participation reduces school-level average test scores, but the magnitude of the effect cannot be distinguished from a null effect. Further, I find no evidence of changes in attendance rates or suspensions that can be attributed to participation in the program.

Publications

Making FAFSA Mandatory: An Evaluation of Louisiana’s Financial Aid Submission Policy on College Enrollment and Pell Grant Awards. [Forthcoming in Education Economics].
Waddell, Glen R. and Putz, Jenni. (2025) What can we learn from student-performance measures? Identifying treatment in the presence of curves and letter grades, Journal of Human Capital, 19(2), 301-345.
Geyer, A., Putz, J. and Misra, K. (2017),The effect of short-term study abroad experience on American students’ leadership skills and career aspirations. International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 31 No. 7, pp. 1042-1053