Jonathan Davis is an academic expert in crime, inequality, labor markets, and social policy. He uses field experiments to understand how to improve efficiency in markets without negotiable prices. Jonathan conducted several large-scale field experiments to test whether social programs like summer jobs programs, high-intensity tutoring programs, and structured conversations in juvenile detention centers can reduce crime and improve academic achievement. These studies show that social programs can be a cost-effective crime prevention strategy. He has also partnered with Teach For America and the United States Army to run two of the first experiments evaluating whether algorithmic matching can improve matching between workers and positions within large organizations. Jonathan also serves as a research economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research, an invited researcher in the J-PAL North America Social Policy research initiative, and an affiliated researcher at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, the University of Chicago Urban Labs, and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.
The Economics of Scale-Up
National Bureau of Economic Research paper on a significant challenge in social program implementation – the dilemma of scaling up.
High-Dosage Tutoring: Research Partnership with Saga Education
Long before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools and induced a once-in-a-century education learning crisis for students, the Education Lab, in partnership with Saga Education and school partners in Chicago and New York City, began generating evidence on the efficacy of high-dosage tutoring.
Latest Updates
Make $15 an hour: Activists connecting Chicago youth with summer jobs
An Ed Lab analysis of One Summer Jobs found that programming lead to a reduction of 33-percent in arrest for violent crimes.
