Elizabeth Linos
@elizabethlinos.bsky.social
Professor of Public Policy & Management, Harvard Kennedy School
Faculty Director, The People Lab
ElizabethLinos.com
peoplelab.hks.harvard.edu
Faculty Director, The People Lab
ElizabethLinos.com
peoplelab.hks.harvard.edu
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
*Women receive substantially lower "potential" ratings despite receiving higher performance ratings
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
Forthcoming in the AER: "“Potential” and the Gender Promotion Gap" by Alan Benson, Danielle Li, and Kelly Shue. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
“Potential” and the Gender Promotion Gap
(Forthcoming Article) - We show that subjective assessments of employee “potential” contribute to gender gaps
in promotion and pay. Using data on 29,809 management-track employees from a
large retail ...
www.aeaweb.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
*Women receive substantially lower "potential" ratings despite receiving higher performance ratings
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
*Differences in potential ratings account for half of the gender promotion gap
*Women’s lower potential ratings do not reflect future performance: women subsequently outperform male colleagues
How - and I truly mean *how* is it possible to have lived through the DOGE failures and the "run government like a business" debacles, acknowledge the gross disinvestment in public sector workers, and then still go back to the old and tired "maybe if we privatize?" routine.
Almost everyone agrees that the US air traffic control system is broken.
Longstanding staffing shortages. Antiquated technology. And now, air traffic controllers are caught in the middle of a political tug of war that has nothing to do with their operations. https://cnn.it/47VlxSG
Longstanding staffing shortages. Antiquated technology. And now, air traffic controllers are caught in the middle of a political tug of war that has nothing to do with their operations. https://cnn.it/47VlxSG
November 9, 2025 at 3:18 PM
How - and I truly mean *how* is it possible to have lived through the DOGE failures and the "run government like a business" debacles, acknowledge the gross disinvestment in public sector workers, and then still go back to the old and tired "maybe if we privatize?" routine.
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
Zohran Mamdani will become New York City's next mayor, CNN projects, after a meteoric rise in Democratic politics. Follow live updates. https://cnn.it/43gCYeJ
November 5, 2025 at 2:39 AM
Zohran Mamdani will become New York City's next mayor, CNN projects, after a meteoric rise in Democratic politics. Follow live updates. https://cnn.it/43gCYeJ
Ughhh so many people worked so hard on this.
👀 Scoop: IRS Direct File, the free government-backed program that let you file your taxes for free, is dead.
IRS wrote to state tax agencies saying it would not be operational this coming tax season, per records I've obtained.
IRS Direct File: 2023-2025.
(Story from when the pilot launched.)
IRS wrote to state tax agencies saying it would not be operational this coming tax season, per records I've obtained.
IRS Direct File: 2023-2025.
(Story from when the pilot launched.)
IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax-prep giants
The tax agency has quietly built its own prototype system for filing tax returns digitally and free of charge, according to current and former officials.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Ughhh so many people worked so hard on this.
There is no way to understand what is happening around SNAP without talking about the deep and pervasive stigma against being poor in America.
November 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
There is no way to understand what is happening around SNAP without talking about the deep and pervasive stigma against being poor in America.
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
Pleased to share that the Kennedy School has been authorized to conduct a faculty search in American politics
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
Professor of Public Policy (American Politics)
Harvard Kennedy School seeks a scholar of the highest distinction to appoint as a professor of public policy, focusing on American politics, elections, and policy. We particularly welcome applications...
academicpositions.harvard.edu
October 23, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Pleased to share that the Kennedy School has been authorized to conduct a faculty search in American politics
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
This is as an extraordinary opportunity for us - please share widely with your networks and consider applying
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15418
Very thought-provoking piece by an excellent scholar and colleague. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/22/o...
The left knows how to have huge protests. The right knows how to win elections. - The Boston Globe
Democrats seem to have forgotten a crucial aspect of what sustains political movements.
www.bostonglobe.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Very thought-provoking piece by an excellent scholar and colleague. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/22/o...
Hiring for a research associate to join the team! Please only apply if you have over two years of work experience post-undergrad (this is not entry level!) and a genuine interest in the work that we do. We're so excited with how our team is growing!
Join The People Lab! We’re hiring a Research Associate Fellow to run RCTs, design survey experiments, & study evidence use in gov’t.
2+ yrs of post-grad experience in applied behavioral science or public management research required.
👉 Apply: peoplelab.hks.harvard.edu/careers/
2+ yrs of post-grad experience in applied behavioral science or public management research required.
👉 Apply: peoplelab.hks.harvard.edu/careers/
Careers
peoplelab.hks.harvard.edu
October 21, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Hiring for a research associate to join the team! Please only apply if you have over two years of work experience post-undergrad (this is not entry level!) and a genuine interest in the work that we do. We're so excited with how our team is growing!
A beautiful day in Boston!
October 18, 2025 at 7:46 PM
A beautiful day in Boston!
Apparently it needs to be said one more time: the way to keep our cities safe is to invest in the people who keep us safe. The people who make sure our water is safe, our roads are safe, our food is safe, our kids are safe...
October 11, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Apparently it needs to be said one more time: the way to keep our cities safe is to invest in the people who keep us safe. The people who make sure our water is safe, our roads are safe, our food is safe, our kids are safe...
Go check out the HUD website.
September 30, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Go check out the HUD website.
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
Many thanks to @elizabethlinos.bsky.social for speaking today
@taubmancenter.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social. So many insights into using cutting-edge research to improve government performance!
@taubmancenter.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social. So many insights into using cutting-edge research to improve government performance!
September 29, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Many thanks to @elizabethlinos.bsky.social for speaking today
@taubmancenter.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social. So many insights into using cutting-edge research to improve government performance!
@taubmancenter.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social. So many insights into using cutting-edge research to improve government performance!
Really looking forward to talking about the work of @thepeoplelab.bsky.social and thinking together about what comes next!
Looking forward to @elizabethlinos.bsky.social's Politics & Policy talk to @brown.edu students next Monday, hosted by @taubmancenter.bsky.social @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social
events.brown.edu/taubman/even...
events.brown.edu/taubman/even...
Politics & Policy Lunch: Public Sector Innovation with Professor Elizabeth Linos
Join us for the Politics & Policy Lunch series featuring Professor Elizabeth Linos, Faculty Director of The People Lab at Harvard Kennedy Schoo...
events.brown.edu
September 26, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Really looking forward to talking about the work of @thepeoplelab.bsky.social and thinking together about what comes next!
Super interesting interview on the use of AI in the classroom by the expert on AI and pedagogy at HKS @tedsvo.bsky.social - he's right, this is the big AI question we need to talk about more. www.wbur.org/upnext/2025/...
How one college professor uses AI in the classroom
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Teddy Svoronos is mostly optimistic on the benefits of AI in higher education.
www.wbur.org
September 26, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Super interesting interview on the use of AI in the classroom by the expert on AI and pedagogy at HKS @tedsvo.bsky.social - he's right, this is the big AI question we need to talk about more. www.wbur.org/upnext/2025/...
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
New in @pnas.org! Light-touch government outreach boosted take-up of the Child Tax Credit & stimulus payments among very low-income families—while higher-touch strategies added little.
By: @elizabethlinos.bsky.social, J. Lasky-Fink, V. Dorie, @jrothst.bsky.social
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
By: @elizabethlinos.bsky.social, J. Lasky-Fink, V. Dorie, @jrothst.bsky.social
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Interventions to bolster benefits take-up: Assessing intensity, framing, and targeting of government outreach | PNAS
Behaviorally informed “nudges” are widely used in government outreach but are often
seen as too modest to address poverty at scale. In four field e...
www.pnas.org
September 9, 2025 at 7:48 PM
New in @pnas.org! Light-touch government outreach boosted take-up of the Child Tax Credit & stimulus payments among very low-income families—while higher-touch strategies added little.
By: @elizabethlinos.bsky.social, J. Lasky-Fink, V. Dorie, @jrothst.bsky.social
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
By: @elizabethlinos.bsky.social, J. Lasky-Fink, V. Dorie, @jrothst.bsky.social
🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
This was never about performance
NEW: US Treasury watchdog finds that of the 7,315 IRS workers terminated by DOGE, just 43 were documented underperformers. Almost 50% of the fired employees had been appraised as working at or above expectations. www.icij.org/news/2025/09... via @icij.org
Watchdog report finds overwhelming majority of IRS employees fired by DOGE for performance had no documented issues - ICIJ
A new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration notes that the termination letters were written for the agency by the OPM and its cuts failed to follow internal IRS procedures.
www.icij.org
September 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM
This was never about performance
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
This morning 9 former CDC Directors, whose tenures date back to 1977, published this warning in the NYT:
RFK Jr is a danger to public health.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
RFK Jr is a danger to public health.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2025 at 10:45 AM
This morning 9 former CDC Directors, whose tenures date back to 1977, published this warning in the NYT:
RFK Jr is a danger to public health.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
RFK Jr is a danger to public health.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Reposted by Elizabeth Linos
CDC employees standing up and walking out in light of the mass shootings, firings, and *waves hands in the air* everything else.
#USAnotRFK
Lets gooooo
#USAnotRFK
Lets gooooo
August 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
CDC employees standing up and walking out in light of the mass shootings, firings, and *waves hands in the air* everything else.
#USAnotRFK
Lets gooooo
#USAnotRFK
Lets gooooo
The people of government doing what needs to be done to serve the nation.
The career civil service, among other things, is one of the most important bulwarks a democracy has against authoritarianism. Yet, we've maliciously programmed over ~50 years to believe that "unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats" are a threat to our constitutional order and individual freedoms.
CDC employees standing up and walking out in light of the mass shootings, firings, and *waves hands in the air* everything else.
#USAnotRFK
Lets gooooo
#USAnotRFK
Lets gooooo
August 28, 2025 at 9:34 PM
The people of government doing what needs to be done to serve the nation.
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August 28, 2025 at 4:47 PM
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