Jonathan Smith
@jonisaacsmith.bsky.social
W.J. Usery, Jr. Chair of the American Workplace @ Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Economics Department | Co-editor Economics of Education Review | https://sites.google.com/site/jonathansmithphd/
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
"high-achieving underrepresented minority college-goers were up to 10 percentage points less likely to enroll in highly selective colleges... “cascading” down the college selectivity distribution into less selective colleges with lower graduation rates and earnings." edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1392
College Enrollment Patterns After SFFA v. Harvard
We study how U.S. high school students’ patterns of college entry changed in the first year after the Supreme Court’s 2023 SFFA v. Harvard ruling. Drawing on a rich dataset linking more than 12 millio...
edworkingpapers.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:04 PM
"high-achieving underrepresented minority college-goers were up to 10 percentage points less likely to enroll in highly selective colleges... “cascading” down the college selectivity distribution into less selective colleges with lower graduation rates and earnings." edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1392
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Thrilled to kick off the Spring 2026 Economics Seminar Series at @gsueconomics.bsky.social 🎉
If you’re in Atlanta and would like to join one of the talks, feel free to reach out!
If you’re in Atlanta and would like to join one of the talks, feel free to reach out!
February 2, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Thrilled to kick off the Spring 2026 Economics Seminar Series at @gsueconomics.bsky.social 🎉
If you’re in Atlanta and would like to join one of the talks, feel free to reach out!
If you’re in Atlanta and would like to join one of the talks, feel free to reach out!
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
🚨📢 Call for papers - IV Workshop on Economics of Education, Valle Nevado 🇨🇱⛷️
📅 August 18-21
📍Valle Nevado, Chile
Keynotes by Josh Goodman (
@buwheelock.bsky.social ) and Chris Neilson (Yale)
Submit by March 6 👇
bit.ly/49QSsd3
@joshua-goodman.com @christopherneilson.bsky.social
📅 August 18-21
📍Valle Nevado, Chile
Keynotes by Josh Goodman (
@buwheelock.bsky.social ) and Chris Neilson (Yale)
Submit by March 6 👇
bit.ly/49QSsd3
@joshua-goodman.com @christopherneilson.bsky.social
January 14, 2026 at 6:42 PM
🚨📢 Call for papers - IV Workshop on Economics of Education, Valle Nevado 🇨🇱⛷️
📅 August 18-21
📍Valle Nevado, Chile
Keynotes by Josh Goodman (
@buwheelock.bsky.social ) and Chris Neilson (Yale)
Submit by March 6 👇
bit.ly/49QSsd3
@joshua-goodman.com @christopherneilson.bsky.social
📅 August 18-21
📍Valle Nevado, Chile
Keynotes by Josh Goodman (
@buwheelock.bsky.social ) and Chris Neilson (Yale)
Submit by March 6 👇
bit.ly/49QSsd3
@joshua-goodman.com @christopherneilson.bsky.social
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
"The College Backlash Is a Mirage"
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the value of a degree—but enrollment keeps going up.
By @rosehorowitch.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the value of a degree—but enrollment keeps going up.
By @rosehorowitch.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The College Backlash Is a Mirage
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the value of a degree—but enrollment keeps going up.
www.theatlantic.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM
"The College Backlash Is a Mirage"
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the value of a degree—but enrollment keeps going up.
By @rosehorowitch.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Americans are more pessimistic than ever about the value of a degree—but enrollment keeps going up.
By @rosehorowitch.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
MDRC's THE-RCT data file, an individual-level data file including 33 higher ed RCTs and 80k students, is now available on OpenICPSR with a couple updates:
-Two new studies (MMA and ASAP Westchester)
-More years of data for three studies (EASE, DPP, and ModMath)
www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/pr...
-Two new studies (MMA and ASAP Westchester)
-More years of data for three studies (EASE, DPP, and ModMath)
www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/pr...
MDRC's The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trials Restricted Access File (THE-RCT RAF)
www.openicpsr.org
December 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
MDRC's THE-RCT data file, an individual-level data file including 33 higher ed RCTs and 80k students, is now available on OpenICPSR with a couple updates:
-Two new studies (MMA and ASAP Westchester)
-More years of data for three studies (EASE, DPP, and ModMath)
www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/pr...
-Two new studies (MMA and ASAP Westchester)
-More years of data for three studies (EASE, DPP, and ModMath)
www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/pr...
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Recently accepted by #QJE, “Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges,” by Chetty (@Oppinsights), Deming, and Friedman: doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges*
Abstract. We use anonymized admissions data from several colleges linked to income tax records and SAT and ACT test scores to study the determinants and ca
doi.org
November 23, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Recently accepted by #QJE, “Diversifying Society’s Leaders? The Determinants and Causal Effects of Admission to Highly Selective Private Colleges,” by Chetty (@Oppinsights), Deming, and Friedman: doi.org/10.1093/qje/...
Thanks. And agreed, wide open.
November 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Thanks. And agreed, wide open.
I was excited when you posted this because I wanted to know too, but I don't see any public responses. Did you get any private responses?
November 4, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I was excited when you posted this because I wanted to know too, but I don't see any public responses. Did you get any private responses?
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition
www.vox.com/politics/466...
www.vox.com/politics/466...
The GOP’s top think tank just defended an open Nazi
Reasonable people can disagree about whether Hitler was good, says the Heritage Foundation.
www.vox.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition
www.vox.com/politics/466...
www.vox.com/politics/466...
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Econ of Ed (and other) friends: what are the best studies linking in-college interventions to labor market outcomes? Especially interested in those that improve outcomes via different mechanism than completion. E.g. if a college wants to improve earnings of grads, what should they do?
October 28, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Econ of Ed (and other) friends: what are the best studies linking in-college interventions to labor market outcomes? Especially interested in those that improve outcomes via different mechanism than completion. E.g. if a college wants to improve earnings of grads, what should they do?
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Meet the 2025–2026 job market candidates from GSU Economics! 🎉
@gsueconomics.bsky.social #econsky
👇 Here’s a quick introduction to each candidate.
@gsueconomics.bsky.social #econsky
👇 Here’s a quick introduction to each candidate.
September 22, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Meet the 2025–2026 job market candidates from GSU Economics! 🎉
@gsueconomics.bsky.social #econsky
👇 Here’s a quick introduction to each candidate.
@gsueconomics.bsky.social #econsky
👇 Here’s a quick introduction to each candidate.
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Huge thanks to @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social for arranging my visit.
GSU has an impressive econ department, full of great applied micro folks and the Georgia Policy Lab that supports work directly relevant to improving public policy.
GSU has an impressive econ department, full of great applied micro folks and the Georgia Policy Lab that supports work directly relevant to improving public policy.
What better way to end my trip to Georgia State University, then to run into Chloe Gibbs coming back from giving a talk at Duke!
When the Boston and South Bend gates are next to each other at ATL… great to see @joshua-goodman.com on his way home from Georgia State on my way home from Duke!
September 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Huge thanks to @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social for arranging my visit.
GSU has an impressive econ department, full of great applied micro folks and the Georgia Policy Lab that supports work directly relevant to improving public policy.
GSU has an impressive econ department, full of great applied micro folks and the Georgia Policy Lab that supports work directly relevant to improving public policy.
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Our 2nd annual @gsueconomics.bsky.social PhD Summer Symposium was a success! 🎉 It was great to showcase our GSU Economics JMCs for 2025–26.
Thanks to @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social y.social for co-organizing, and a big thank-you to our endowed chairs for sponsoring this event!
Thanks to @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social y.social for co-organizing, and a big thank-you to our endowed chairs for sponsoring this event!
August 17, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Our 2nd annual @gsueconomics.bsky.social PhD Summer Symposium was a success! 🎉 It was great to showcase our GSU Economics JMCs for 2025–26.
Thanks to @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social y.social for co-organizing, and a big thank-you to our endowed chairs for sponsoring this event!
Thanks to @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social y.social for co-organizing, and a big thank-you to our endowed chairs for sponsoring this event!
Sounds about right to me.
"[Black] students initially enrolling in a HBCU are 14.6 percentage pts more likely to earn a bachelor's degree and, ... have higher household income and more student loan balances... driven by relatively broad-access HBCUs in lieu of a two-year college or no college." www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
HBCU Enrollment and Longer-Term Outcomes
(August 2025) - Using data from nearly 1.2 million Black SAT takers, we find that students initially enrolling in a historically Black college and university (HBCU) are 14.6 percentage points more lik...
www.aeaweb.org
July 30, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Sounds about right to me.
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Hopkins shows clearly that this is not about wokeness, or antisemitism, or whatever other excuse they may claim. It’s about bringing universities to heel, following the playbook of authoritarians everywhere.
June 27, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Hopkins shows clearly that this is not about wokeness, or antisemitism, or whatever other excuse they may claim. It’s about bringing universities to heel, following the playbook of authoritarians everywhere.
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
It's a paper about voting, yes. But really, it's a paper about peer effects.
We think we are uniquely able to identify causal peer effects in a vitally important behavior.
We think we are uniquely able to identify causal peer effects in a vitally important behavior.
Did you know that your siblings can influence whether you vote?
Well, because of our new working paper you do!
@mike-bloem.bsky.social, @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social, sam imlay
Well, because of our new working paper you do!
@mike-bloem.bsky.social, @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social, sam imlay
June 13, 2025 at 12:28 AM
It's a paper about voting, yes. But really, it's a paper about peer effects.
We think we are uniquely able to identify causal peer effects in a vitally important behavior.
We think we are uniquely able to identify causal peer effects in a vitally important behavior.
Deep cut. And better/accurate spelling of Marcia.
Greg voted for Pat Conway over Marcia :)
June 12, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Deep cut. And better/accurate spelling of Marcia.
Depends on whether Marsha voted. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha..
So did the Brady brunch always vote or never vote? Need to think about real world implications
June 12, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Depends on whether Marsha voted. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha..
The suspense is killing me...I hope it will last.
We are now!!
June 12, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The suspense is killing me...I hope it will last.
I'm lucky enough to have Alex as my new-ish colleague! Go @gsueconomics.bsky.social!
Super interesting column @equitablegrowth.bsky.social by Alex Bell on how identification by anti-instruments reveals attribute tradeoffs, applied to job quality.
Got to see him present it @upjohninstitute.bsky.social recently. New & interesting.
#EconSky
equitablegrowth.org/the-hidden-t...
Got to see him present it @upjohninstitute.bsky.social recently. New & interesting.
#EconSky
equitablegrowth.org/the-hidden-t...
The hidden trade-offs of nonwage job amenities for U.S. workers
Research shows that “amenity trade-offs” can account for as much as two-thirds of the gender pay gap.
equitablegrowth.org
June 10, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I'm lucky enough to have Alex as my new-ish colleague! Go @gsueconomics.bsky.social!
This looks familiar and great!
May 11, 2025 at 6:28 PM
This looks familiar and great!
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Very cool to see this paper (my former JMP!) forthcoming at one of my favorite journals!
Early view from JPAM: "Time to baccalaureate degree in the labor market: Evidence from a field experiment" by Michael Bloem (@mike-bloem.bsky.social) from College Board (@collegeboardpress.bsky.social).
doi.org/10.1002/pam.....
doi.org/10.1002/pam.....
Time to baccalaureate degree in the labor market: Evidence from a field experiment
I study whether the amount of time students take to complete their bachelor's degree affects labor outcomes after graduation using a resume-based field experiment. I randomly assign a time to degree ...
doi.org
April 22, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Very cool to see this paper (my former JMP!) forthcoming at one of my favorite journals!
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
Congrats to our own Economics faculty member @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social for receiving the 2025 GSU Ignite Faculty Research Partnership Award for his work with Achieve Atlanta !!!
Economist Jonathan Smith Receives Georgia State Ignite Research Award news.gsu.edu/2025/04/04/e...
Economist Jonathan Smith Receives Georgia State Ignite Research Award news.gsu.edu/2025/04/04/e...
Economist Jonathan Smith Receives Georgia State Ignite Research Award
The Faculty Research Partnership Award recognizes an individual who, in partnership with an external, non-academic entity, conducts research that makes a significant impact.
news.gsu.edu
April 5, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Congrats to our own Economics faculty member @jonisaacsmith.bsky.social for receiving the 2025 GSU Ignite Faculty Research Partnership Award for his work with Achieve Atlanta !!!
Economist Jonathan Smith Receives Georgia State Ignite Research Award news.gsu.edu/2025/04/04/e...
Economist Jonathan Smith Receives Georgia State Ignite Research Award news.gsu.edu/2025/04/04/e...
The chilling effect of canceling student visas is likely to go beyond the impacts of “typical” student visa restrictiveness, which my work shows pushes away the best and brightest students from the US. Not smart policy, but we seem to be way beyond that…
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Best and brightest? The impact of student visa restrictiveness on who attends college in the US
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, student F-1 visa applicants faced a 27 percent refusal rate that varies by time and region. Recent immigration policies …
www.sciencedirect.com
March 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The chilling effect of canceling student visas is likely to go beyond the impacts of “typical” student visa restrictiveness, which my work shows pushes away the best and brightest students from the US. Not smart policy, but we seem to be way beyond that…
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Jonathan Smith
March 28, 2025 at 10:41 AM