Faculty Research

Expand allChildcare Markets

• Secure communities as immigration enforcement: How secure is the child care market? [PDF]
• An Equilibrium Model of the Impact of Increased Public Investment in Early Childhood [PDF]
• Minimum Wage, Worker Quality, and Consumer Well-Being: Evidence from the Child Care Market [PDF]
• Does Public Pre-K Have Unintended Consequences on the Child Care Market for Infants and Toddlers? [PDF]

Education

• Book matters: The effect of Cocky’s Reading Express on student performance [PDF]
• Free Lunch for All! The Effect of the Community Eligibility Provision on Academic Outcomes [PDF]
• Higher education: The impact of recreational marijuana on college applications [PDF]
• The relationship of opioid prescriptions and the educational performance of children [PDF]

Environmental Policy and Sustainability

• The economic impact of school closures during the 2015 flood in Richland County, South Carolina [PDF]
• Electric vehicle subsidies: Time to accelerate or pump the brakes? [PDF]
• Evaluating Electric Vehicle Policy Effectiveness and Equity [PDF]

Healthcare

• Just a Minute: The Effect of Emergency Department Wait Time on the Cost of Care [PDF]
• Swamped: Emergency Department Crowding and Patient Mortality [PDF]

Tax Policy

• The impact of state taxes on pass-through businesses: Evidence from the 2012 Kansas income tax reform [PDF]
• A Risky Venture: Income Dynamics among Pass-Through Business Owners [PDF]

Miscellaneous

• Social Influence and News Consumption [PDF]

Policy Briefs

• March 2025: Crowded Emergency Rooms Are Deadly
• April 2025: Why Does Trade Credit Matter?
• May 2025: Do Subsidies for Electric Vehicles Do Any Good?
• June 2025: Can Incentives Really Move Foreign Manufacturers?
• July 2025: Unintended Costs of Tuition Freezes and Caps
• August 2025: Alcohol Consumption and Risk Tolerance
• September 2025: Stimulus Checks Pack Unequal Punches
• October 2025: Free School Meals Reduce Pressure on Food Banks
• November 2025: A Farewell to Mass Factory Jobs
• December 2025: Online Cheating During COVID-19
• January 2026: Taxes on Sugar Affect the Price of Diet Soda
• February 2026: Higher Minimum Wages Improve Child Care Quality
• March 2026: Distance to College Matters
• April 2026: Using A.I. to Predict People's Responses to Taxes
• May 2026: Cocky's Reading Express
• June 2026: Game Theory and Data Centers
• July 2026: Private "Likes," Public Consequences
• August 2026: Marijuana Attracts Out-Of-State College Students

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Increasing Energy Capacity and Impact of Potential Large Load (PLL) Energy Customers on Residential Rates

Santee Cooper — one of South Carolina’s largest energy providers — has identified a potential 2,488 MW - 3,509 MW energy shortfall by 2040 unless capacity is significantly increased. Read the report  |  Read the in-depth research

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Newsletter

• Quarter 2, 2025
• Quarter 3, 2025
• Quarter 4, 2025
• Quarter 1, 2026
• Quarter 2, 2026
• Quarter 3, 2026

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Program Evaluation

• An Economic Impact Report: Multipliers for the Effects of Preventing Unplanned Pregnancies: Socioeconomic Effects of New Morning’s No Drama Program in South Carolina

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Recent Press

• Is the pandemic over? We asked an economist, an education expert, and a public health scholar their views. 
• Why is inflation so high? Is it bad? An economist answers 3 questions about soaring consumer prices. 
• America’s cost of ‘defending freedom’ in Ukraine: Higher food and gas prices and an increased risk of recession. 
• When does it Count? The Timing of Food Stamp Receipt and Educational Performance in Mathematics NPR, Hidden Brain, Morning Edition. 
• Eat (and Drink) Better Tonight: Food Stamp Benefit Timing and Drunk Driving Fatalities NPR, Hidden Brain, Morning Edition. 
• Does the Timing of Food Stamp Distribution Matter? A Panel-Data Analysis of Monthly Purchasing Patterns of US Households Wall Street Journal, Real Time Economics.