Derek Neal’s Research

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Derek Neal, William C. Norby Professor in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. Much of Professor Nealʼs recent research explores how different aspects of criminal justice policy impact black-white inequality in the US.  Much of his prior work addresses the design of incentive and accountability systems for educators. In 2018, he published Information, Incentives, and Education Policy (Harvard University Press). This book employs standard tools from information economics to examine a range of education reform agendas, from assessment-based accountability and centralized school assignments to charter schools and voucher systems. Professor Neal demonstrates how these programs have been successful, how they have failed, and why. Earlier in his career, his research focused on the causes and consequences of measured skill gaps between blacks and whites in the United States.  He is a past President of the Midwest Economics Association, a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a former Editor of the Journal of Human Resources, the Journal of Labor Economics and the Journal of Political Economy.

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VITA

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The Prison Boom and the Lack of Black Progress After Smith and Welch – with Armin Rick

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The Role of Policy in Prison Growth and Decline with Armin Rick

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Early Predictors of Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice Involvement w/ Andrew Jordan and Ezra Karger

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The Provision of Information and Incentives in School Assignment Mechanisms w/ Joseph Root

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2022 NASEM Report: Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice, National Academies Press

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2018 BOOK: Information, Incentives, and Education Policy, Harvard University Press.

JEL Review

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Heterogeneous Impacts of Sentencing Decisions – with Andrew Jordan and Ezra Karger

forthcoming in Journal of Labor Economics

NBER-WP-31939

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Educator Incentives and Educational Triage in Rural Primary Schools – Journal of Human Resources, 2022

(w/ Gilligan, Karachiwalla, Kasirye, and Lucas)

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Allocating Effort and Talent in Professional Labor Markets – Journal of Labor Economics, 2019 – with Gadi Barlevy

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The Prison Boom and Sentencing Policy – Journal of Legal Studies, 2016 – with Armin Rick

For Additional Results – NBER WP 20283

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Pay for Percentile – American Economic Review, 2012 – with Gadi Barlevy

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The Design of Performance Pay in Education – Handbook of Economics of Education, 2011

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Left Behind By Design: Proficiency Counts and Test-Based – Review of Economics and Statistics, 2010 – with Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach

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Why Has Black-White Skill Convergence Stopped? – Handbook of Economics of Education, 2006

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The Measured Black-White Wage Gap Among Women Is Too Small – Journal of Political Economy, 2004

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The Complexity of Job Mobility Among Young Men – Journal of Labor Economics, 1999

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The Effects of Catholic Secondary Schooling on Educational Achievement – Journal of Labor Economics, 1997

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Industry-Specific Human Capital – Journal of Labor Economics, 1995

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