Education
PhD, University of Maryland, 2018
MA, University of Maryland, 2016
BA, Brigham Young University, 2013
Affiliations
CESifo Research Affiliate, 2023-Present
IZA Research Fellow, 2025-Present
IZA Research Affiliate, 2021-2025
Research and Professional Experience
Riley's research is at the intersection between public and labor economics, and explores topics such as households' decisions to move to economic opportunity, responses to government market interventions and government policy, and economic determinants of marriage and fertility decisions. His work examines the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), early childhood education programs, and disability insurance and has been published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Labor Economics, and Journal of Public Economics. His work has been cited in the Washington Post, the Freakonomics Podcast, Marginal Revolution, and The Economist. He received his Ph.D. from the University Maryland in 2018 and earned BA in Economics and Russian from Brigham Young University in 2013. He is a Research Affiliate at the CESifo and Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
Selected Publications and Working Papers by Topic
Social Insurance and Safety Net Programs:
"A Matter of Time? Measuring Effects of Public Schooling Expansions on Families" 2024 with Chloe Gibbs and Jocelyn Wikle. Revise and resubmit at American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
"The Self-Employment Effects of the EITC in the Gig Economy," 2024 revise and resubmit at National Tax Journal
"Access to Head Start and Maternal Labor Supply: Experimental and Quasi-experimental Evidence," 2022 with Jocelyn Wikle. Journal of Labor Economics
"Representative Compensation and Disability Claimant Outcomes," 2024 with Cody Tuttle. Accepted at Journal of Public Economics
(Previous title, "The Impact of Claimant Representation Fee Schedules on the Disability Applicant Process and Recipient Outcomes")
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College WP#2021-12
"Workplace Disruptions, Judge Caseloads, and Judge Decisions: Evidence from SSA Judicial Corps Retirements," 2022, Journal of Public Economics, 205(2022), with Clayson Shumway*
data and code
"Disability Insurance in the Great Recession: Ease of Access, Program Enrollment, and Local Hysteresis," 2021, AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 486-490, with Melissa Kearney and Brendan M. Price.
"The Impact of Social Networks on EITC Claiming Behavior," 2020, Review of Economics and Statistics
"The EITC and Employment Transitions: Labor Force Attachment and Annual Exit," 2020, National Tax Journal, 73(1): 11-46
Mobility and Migration:
"DACA, Mobility Investments, and Economic Outcomes of Immigrants and Natives," 2024 with Mena Villanueva*
"The Winners and Losers from Immigration: Evidence from Linked Historical Data," 2024 with Joe Price and Christian vom Lehn.
"The Isolated States of America: Home State Bias and the Impact of State Borders on Mobility," 2024. Accepted at Journal of Labor Economics
(Previously titled, "Isolated States of America: The Impact of State Borders on Mobility and Regional Labor Market Adjustments")
Upjohn Institute Working Paper #21-358
Upjohn Institute Research Brief, Upjohn project #15815
"Moving to Economic Opportunity: The Migration Response to the Fracking Boom," 2022, Journal of Human Resources, 57(3): 918-955.
data and code
"Moving to Jobs: The Role of Information in Migration Decisions," 2021, Journal of Labor Economics 39(4):1083-1128
Family Economics:
"Sheltering in Place and Domestic Violence: Evidence from Calls for Service during COVID-19," 2020, Journal of Public Economics, with Emily Leslie.
"Male Earnings, Marriageable Men, and Non-Marital Fertility: Evidence from the Fracking Boom," 2018, Review of Economics and Statistics, 100(4): 678-690, with Melissa Kearney.
*Undergraduate coauthor
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