My research is grounded in economic sociology, public policy, and quantitative methods. I seek out topics of conceptual relevance to both sociology and economics, look for fruitful data sets, and aspire to apply advanced statistical methods in intuitive ways.  My dissertation was on the non-pecuniary costs of unemployment. I also study model uncertainty, millionaire migration, and the market for medicine.

My recent op-ed in the Boston Review, "Momentum for a Millionaire's Tax" was translated into Hebrew and published in the Israeli business daily, Calcalist.

Some Published works:

Methodology:

"Model Uncertainty in Sociological Research: An Application to Religion and Economic Growth. " American Sociological Review. June 2009.

Millionaire Taxes:

"Millionaire Migration and State Taxation of Top Incomes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment." National Tax Journal. June, 2011. (with Charles Varner) (Won Dentler Award from the ASA section on Public Sociology.)

Recent press: this was reported in the Wall Street Journal, plugged in the New York Times; the Trenton Times (NJ) and the Trentonian (NJ) ran editorials on the study, there was a front page story in the Star-Ledger (NJ), some passing attention in Minnesota, and the Philadelphia Inquirer included NJ Governor Chris Christie's response: "when you're dealing with professors, certain things that are theoretical are interesting, but guys like me... have to deal with what's real."

The paper is getting some attention in California, in the Sacramento Bee.

History of Economics and Sociology:

"The Emergence of Sociology from Political Economy in the United States: 1890 to 1940." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. Spring, 2009. (Won best graduate student paper award from ASA History of Sociology section.)

"The Politics, Mathematics, and Morality of Economics." Socio-Economic Review. 2005.

Working papers:

"Unemployment Insurance and Job Search Activity: Evidence from Random Audits"

"Losing a Job: The Non-Pecuniary Cost of Unemployment in the United States"

"Quality Uncertainty in the Market for Medicine: The Disconnect Between Patient Satisfaction and Hospital Quality" (with Xinxiang Chen)

"Religion and Economic Growth in Western Europe: 1500-2000"

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