He received a PhD. in Economics from the University of California Santa Barbara. His research focuses on education, health and labor topics with a particular focus on factors influencing human capital accumulation, adolescent and adult risky behavior, and crime. His research has appeared in the National Tax Journal, the Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and is forthcoming in the American Economic Journal and the Journal of Law and Economics. He will be presenting his research on changes in prisoner behavior in response to changes in good time credits within an American prison system.