Seb Jilke
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sebjilke.bsky.social
Seb Jilke
@sebjilke.bsky.social
1.7K followers 510 following 83 posts
Assoc Prof at Georgetown McCourt & Co-director Better Government Lab \\ Evidence-based Policy Implementation, Behavioral Public Administration \\ Otherwise mediocre whitewater gnar 🌊🛶

http://www.sebastianjilke.net

https://www.bettergovernmentlab.org
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sebjilke.bsky.social
Seb Jilke @sebjilke.bsky.social · Nov 12
New here? Or not really using the platform much? Get started by following these Public Administration scholars 👇🏻👇🏻

go.bsky.app/44RAXUc
Reposted by Seb Jilke
donmoyn.bsky.social
Don't talk about it much on here, but I co-direct a research lab, and here is an update of what we are up to.

cc @sebjilke.bsky.social @pamherd.bsky.social @giannella.bsky.social @jbarofsky.bsky.social @jaeyeonkim.bsky.social
bettergovernmentlab.org/so/c6PeDbgsR...
October Newsletter
The Better Government Lab (BGL) monthly newsletter keeps you up-to-date with the latest research, conversations, and news from the world of civic tech, state capacity, and public policy. Comments or q...
bettergovernmentlab.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
tummers.bsky.social
🚨 Course PhD students interested in Behavioral Science, Public Policy & Public Administration 🚨

This November (10–12), I will be teaching a PhD course on Behavioral Science & Public Policy at Utrecht University.

📚 3 ECTS | 📍 Utrecht University | 🗓 Nov 10–12
September 24, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
neosheeling.bsky.social
First single-authored paper finally published in @bppjournal.bsky.social! 🎉

With 3 experiments, I tested whether perceiving corruption leads to corrupt intentions & dishonest behaviors among 1,356 pub employees.
I found: NO overall causal relationship.

Paper➡️ lnkd.in/eJyCyVrC

Find out more! 👇
July 3, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
sebjilke.bsky.social
Better Government Lab received support from Arnold Ventures to study social programs that improve economic mobility through investments in state capacity.

Grateful for @mccourtschool.bsky.social & @umfordschool.bsky.social who make this work possible.

mccourt.georgetown.edu/news/bgl-arn...
BGL Recieves New Grant - McCourt School - Public Policy
Better Government Lab receives grant from Arnold Ventures to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs designed to improve economic mobility.
mccourt.georgetown.edu
August 25, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
lakens.bsky.social
If you are preparing your bachelor statistics course and would like to add optional material for students to better understand statistics on a conceptual level (see topics in the screenshot) my free textbook provides a state of the art overview. lakens.github.io/statistical_...
August 25, 2025 at 4:54 AM
sebjilke.bsky.social
Better Government Lab received support from Arnold Ventures to study social programs that improve economic mobility through investments in state capacity.

Grateful for @mccourtschool.bsky.social & @umfordschool.bsky.social who make this work possible.

mccourt.georgetown.edu/news/bgl-arn...
BGL Recieves New Grant - McCourt School - Public Policy
Better Government Lab receives grant from Arnold Ventures to evaluate the effectiveness of social programs designed to improve economic mobility.
mccourt.georgetown.edu
August 25, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
donmoyn.bsky.social
Come work with us at The Better Government Lab! Looking for a postdoc/ABD to join a team studying how to reduce administrative burdens in public services, particular focus on the role of tech tools. Evaluation skills valued. Starting ASAP. @sebjilke.bsky.social www.bettergovernmentlab.org
The Better Government Lab at Georgetown University/University of Michigan is seeking a one-year post-doc or position for an ABD PhD student. Our preference is fulltime, but it would be possible to combine with a nearly completed dissertation. We are seeking someone to start ASAP. The position can be remote. We are seeking candidates with an interest in public policy, strong quantitative or qualitative methodological skills, and a particular interest in a) efforts to reduce administrative burdens in the delivery of public services, especially the safety net, and b) the role of technology in public service delivery, including AI. No formal application is needed. Send a CV and email about qualifications/interest to either dmoyn@umich.edu or sj821@georgetown.edu.
August 25, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
emilytav.bsky.social
1/ 📚 Today we're sharing something we've been working on since 2019: an oral history of how the U.S. Digital Service came to be.

Nearly 50 conversations with the people who were there from 2009-2015, telling their stories in their own words. 🧵
US Digital Service Origins
An oral history documenting how the United States Digital Service came to exist, and the initial days of building its foundation.
usdigitalserviceorigins.org
June 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
syeducation.bsky.social
I have been editor for many Registered Reports and many traditional articles, and it is truly amazing how null results suddenly appear all over the place in Registered Reports. Almost as if there is some problem with our traditional approach. Someone should look into that.
lakens.bsky.social Daniel Lakens @lakens.bsky.social · May 29
If you work in psychology in a research area without Registered Reports, you will see that the main hypotheses in papers are almost always supported. If your peers publish Registered Reports, you will also have access to null results, which should be very common. doi.org/10.1177/2515...
May 29, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
davekarpf.bsky.social
Y’know there’s really nothing more Econ than reproducing something that happened in polisci a decade ago and claiming it as original.
May 17, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
donmoyn.bsky.social
It's not just health policies that matter to mortality. See this paper (w @pamherd.bsky.social @sebjilke.bsky.social @traceesaunders.bsky.social) that shows that enrollment in Supplemental Security Income reduces mortality rates.
osf.io/download/67e...
Many eligible individuals do not enroll in social safety net programs because of burdensome administrative procedures, ranging from confusion about eligibility guidelines to complicated paperwork. But what happens when eligible individuals don't take up benefits for which they’re eligible? While we know the short-term impacts, such as forgone income and benefits, the long-term consequences of these losses remain poorly understood. We examine the mortality impacts of burden reduction – particularly learning costs associated with understanding eligibility and benefits – for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Using data from a large-scale randomized controlled trial (N=4,016,461) in which informational letters were sent to older adults likely eligible but not enrolled in SSI, we estimate the mortality effects of older adults’ subsequent enrollment in SSI. The intervention increased SSI awards by an estimated 1.8 percentage points (or a 340 percent increase from a baseline enrollment rate of 0.5 percent). Among those who enrolled in SSI, we estimate a meaningful reduction in mortality (Hazard Ratio=0.6101, 95% CI=0.5127 - 0.7075). These results demonstrate that burden reduction increased access to social welfare programs like SSI in the short-term and may have significant downstream impacts by reducing beneficiaries’ mortality risk.
May 14, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
donmoyn.bsky.social
New in @jpam-dc.bsky.social: required interviews are an administrative checkpoint that reduces SNAP participation. Communicating flexible interview policies increases take-up. W @jaeyeonkim.bsky.social @sebjilke.bsky.social @pamherd.bsky.social
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
In this study we describe the potential of human-centered design principles to identify burdens, reducing the effects of administrative checkpoints. Administrative checkpoints—mandatory requirements that must be satisfied in order to progress in an administrative process—have disproportionate negative effects in excluding the public from receiving public services. Mandatory interviews are one such checkpoint. Based on consultation with safety net clients and caseworkers, we designed a field experiment (N = 1,554) to minimize the exclusionary effects of mandatory interviews for SNAP applicants. Compared to a control group that received a traditional mailer reminder, SNAP applicants who also received texts reminding them of the interview and communicating flexible “interview anytime” scheduling options had a higher interview completion rate by 10 percentage points, a higher benefit-approval rate by 6 to 7 percentage points, and also completed interviews 3 to 4 days sooner. Follow-up surveys show that the text reminders reduced learning costs about the interview requirement and increased applicant confidence about their ability to manage the process.
April 2, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
billresh.bsky.social
Hey folks, I'm chairing this committee, and we have not yet received any applications. This is a great opportunity for junior scholars!! Deadline is April 1, so get your applications in!!!
apsa.bsky.social APSA @apsa.bsky.social · Mar 11
Deadline April 1st! Apply for the Paul Volcker Junior Scholar Research Grant! Section 6, Public Administration, invites applications from junior scholars researching public administration issues affecting governance. Learn more buff.ly/oFAuKIq @apsapublicadmin
buff.ly
March 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
stevenvdwalle.bsky.social
Rankings are used throughout the public sector to present performance information.

What is the effect on information processing? New paper in @pmreview.bsky.social
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... with Lisa Hohensinn @profgeorgebert.bsky.social ebert.bsky.social @jurgenwillems.bsky.social
Performance rankings reduce cognitive processing of underlying performance information
Performance information is often presented in a ranked format. Rankings aggregate a multitude of performance dimensions into an overall score. Simultaneously, rankings may constrain cognitive proce...
www.tandfonline.com
February 14, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
appam.bsky.social
Starting soon: the next in our series of webinars covering the ongoing changes in the federal government. Today, we'll be joined by experts to discuss the future of access to federal data. Follow along here for live updates and register for free: tinyurl.com/4uysc4f8
March 4, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
pmra-1991.bsky.social
🚨 Only 2️⃣ Days Left to Vote! Don't Miss Your Chance! 🗳
pmra-1991.bsky.social Public Management Research Association @pmra-1991.bsky.social · Feb 22
🚨PMRA Board of Directors Election – Vote Today! 🗳️
🔗 Renew Membership: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
🔗 Learn about candidates: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
🌐 Vote Now: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
March 4, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
pmra-1991.bsky.social
🚨 Only 3️⃣ Days Left to Vote! Don't Miss Your Chance! 🗳
pmra-1991.bsky.social Public Management Research Association @pmra-1991.bsky.social · Feb 22
🚨PMRA Board of Directors Election – Vote Today! 🗳️
🔗 Renew Membership: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
🔗 Learn about candidates: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
🌐 Vote Now: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
March 3, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
pmra-1991.bsky.social
🚨 Only 9️⃣ Days Left to Vote! Don't Miss Your Chance! 🗳
pmra-1991.bsky.social Public Management Research Association @pmra-1991.bsky.social · Feb 22
🚨PMRA Board of Directors Election – Vote Today! 🗳️
🔗 Renew Membership: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
🔗 Learn about candidates: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
🌐 Vote Now: clicks.memberclicks-mail.net/ls/click?upn...
February 25, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
caulfieldtim.bsky.social
Sum: underwhelming & complex

"...financial incentives had no direct impact"

And had "a small negative social spillover effect was identified" (individuals living in same household < likely to get vaccinated).

Financial Incentives for COVID Vaccination jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Financial Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccination
This cluster randomized clinical trial evaluates the direct, spillover, and overall effects of giving adults a financial incentive to receive primary or booster COVID-19 vaccination.
jamanetwork.com
February 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
tummers.bsky.social
💸 Paying people to #vaccinate sounds smart... but it didn’t work.

🚫 No effect on vaccination rates.
🏠 Worse: people at the same address (who didn’t get paid) were less likely to get boosted.

⚠️ Incentives can backfire.

#BehavioralScience
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @sebjilke.bsky.social
Financial Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccination A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. See https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2830030
February 11, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
erezyoeli.bsky.social
Financial incentives fail to motivate prosocial behavior, exhibit #13,982:

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Financial Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccination
This cluster randomized clinical trial evaluates the direct, spillover, and overall effects of giving adults a financial incentive to receive primary or booster COVID-19 vaccination.
jamanetwork.com
February 7, 2025 at 6:59 PM
sebjilke.bsky.social
New RCT w Ternovski (lead), Keppeler & Vogel.

Contrary to prior work, we find $ incentives have 0 effect on COVID vax, but can have negative spillover for folks living at same address (not receiving $), possibly due to temporary larger demand at public vax events

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Financial Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccination
This cluster randomized clinical trial evaluates the direct, spillover, and overall effects of giving adults a financial incentive to receive primary or booster COVID-19 vaccination.
jamanetwork.com
February 7, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
drtiffanyaflowers.bsky.social
This is an essential pack to follow.
go.bsky.app/44RAXUc
February 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
pmra-1991.bsky.social
🎊 PMRA 2025 Award Nominations Are Now Open! 🎊
➡️ Best Dissertation Award
➡️ H. George Frederickson Award
➡️ Meier Travel Inclusion Award
🌐 More information: www.pmranet.org/awards
January 31, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by Seb Jilke
sebjilke.bsky.social
The Better Government Lab - a joint research center at @McCourtSchool & @fordschool - has a fresh website.

www.bettergovernmentlab.org

You can now follow us on LinkedIn --> www.linkedin.com/company/bett...

@pamherd.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social @jbarofsky.bsky.social @giannella.bsky.social
January 31, 2025 at 5:41 PM