Her research in the economics of crime asks how good design of criminal justice institutions and policies can make law enforcement fairer and more efficient. For example, Ouss has done research on how judicial policies and experiences in prison affect recidivism, and on the behavioral and economic determinants of sentencing. Ouss previously worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Crime Lab for two years. She has also worked as a research assistant for MIT's Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL), where she ran field experiments in rural Morocco on conditional cash transfers and microcredits. She holds a BA in economics and sociology from Ecole Normale Supérieure, an MA in economics from the Paris School of Economics and a PhD in economics from Harvard University.