Research

The Unintended Cost of Distance Learning: An Analysis of Child Maltreatment

latest draft (September 2025); EdWorkingPaper: 25-1214 (June 2025)

This paper provides the first causal evidence on how the pandemic-induced remote learning disrupted schools' capacity to detect child maltreatment. Leveraging county-level variation in remote instruction during the 2020–21 school year, I find that counties with higher exposure to remote instruction experienced a 7.2% greater decline in child maltreatment reports involving school-aged children, but a 13.4% increase in maltreatment-related child fatalities within this group. The decrease in reports by education personnel primarily drove the overall decline. Effects on maltreatment-related fatalities persisted even after schools resumed in-person instruction. These results highlight an unintended cost of distance learning: remote instruction impaired the detection of child maltreatment, leading to fewer reports but more severe cases. Prompt policy interventions could safeguard children who remain undetected.

Gender Differences in Remote Learning amid COVID-19: Disruptive Peers and Self-Control 

latest draft (May 2023) - revised draft forthcoming

The shift to remote and blended learning during pandemic-induced school closures transformed the educational landscape, altering the significance of various educational inputs and their influence on student outcomes. This paper investigates gender disparities in achievement growth during the pandemic. Utilizing Kitagawa-Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition and Two-Stage Least Squares methods, I analyze the effects of exposure to disruptive peers and gender differences in self-control on learning trajectories. Findings reveal that both factors significantly contributed to student achievement during the pandemic, with variations in self-control and peer disruption explaining a notable portion of the gender achievement gaps. Additionally, during blended learning, math achievement gaps widened for students who remained remote, particularly among low-achievers, while no significant gaps were observed for those who returned to in-person instruction. The achievement gaps were most pronounced among low-achieving students.

Closing the Coverage Gap: The Impact of the ACA Medicaid Expansion on Low-Income Young Adults

-revised draft forthcoming

Low-income young adults are a vulnerable population with significant healthcare needs. While exposed to several physical and mental health problems, yet they often face barriers to accessing care due to their socioeconomic status. Although the "dependent coverage" provision of the ACA Medicaid expansion in 2010 was intended to enhance health insurance coverage for young adults by extending coverage for dependents aged up to 26, this provision is likely to have a greater impact on young adults in middle- to high-income households since only dependents whose parents with private health insurance coverage could benefit from it. Utilizing the March Current Population Survey (CPS), I investigate the impact of the ACA Medicaid expansion on young adults falling in a "coverage gap" by comparing impacts on poor young adults in expansion states and non-expansion states.

The Heterogeneous Effect of Universal Gaming Shutdown Policy in South Korea

-revised draft forthcoming

 [Georgia Policy Labs - Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education (MAPLE)]

The Effect of Dobbs: Reproductive Autonomy and Child Welfare (with Bogyung Kim and Janghyeok An)

De-Coding Wills: A Textual Analysis of End-of-Life Decisions (with David D. Shin)

Economic Support Meets Adversity: Evaluating EITC's Role in Shaping Future Economic Outcomes for Children with Adverse Childhood Experiences