CLOSUP Visiting Scholars
Visiting Scholars for the 2007-08 Academic Year
Isaac McFarlin Jr.
September, 2007 - May, 2009
Isaac McFarlin Jr. received his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University. He also holds a bachelors degree from Boston University. He is a labor economist who uses large-scale administrative databases to investigate the systemic impacts of education policy on student wellbeing. His research interests include evaluations of policies that help shape college access and student retention as well as labor market success.
Dr. McFarlin's research is supported by several organizations, including the Spencer and Smith Richardson Foundations, and the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. McFarlin is a Postdoc Fellow at the Ford School's National Poverty Center for the period 2007-2009. While at the Ford School, Dr. McFarlin is also collaborating with CLOSUP in education research activities.
Jonah Rockoff
January - February, 2008
Jonah E. Rockoff is Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance at the Columbia Graduate School of Business and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Professor Rockoff's interests center on local public finance and the economics of education. He has done research on the determinants of property taxation and expenditure in local public school districts, the relation between crime risk and local property values, the impact of teachers and teacher certification on student achievement, and measuring the educational quality of charter schools. His current work focuses on identifying pre-employment indicators of effective teachers, and how teacher induction programs and mentoring can improve outcomes for new teachers. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 2004 and a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College.
Jacob Vigdor
November - December, 2007
Jacob Vigdor is Associate Professor of Public Policy Studies and Economics at Duke University, and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He received a B.S. in Policy Analysis from Cornell University in 1994 and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1999. His research interests are in the broad areas of education policy, housing policy, and political economy. Within those areas, he has published numerous scholarly articles on the topics of residential segregation, immigration, housing affordability, the consequences of gentrification, the determinants of student achievement in elementary school, the causes and consequences of delinquent behavior among adolescents, teacher turnover, civic participation and voting patterns, and racial inequality in the labor market. Vigdor has taught at Duke since 1999.
