Faculty bio | Research website

Jonathan Davis is an academic expert in crime, inequality, labor markets and social policy. He uses field experiments to understand how to improve efficiency in markets without negotiable prices. Jonathan conducted several large-scale field experiments to test whether social programs like summer jobs programs, high-intensity tutoring programs and structured conversations in juvenile detention centers can reduce crime and improve academic achievement. These studies show that social programs can be a cost-effective crime prevention strategy. He has also partnered with Teach For America and the United States Army to run two of the first experiments evaluating whether algorithmic matching can improve matching between workers and positions within large organizations. Jonathan also serves as a research economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research, an invited researcher in the J-PAL North America Social Policy research initiative, and an affiliated researcher at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, the University of Chicago Urban Labs, and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.

Recent Media:
What to know about Knoxville's new violence reduction effort: a summer jobs program (Knoxville News Sentinel, June 28, 2021)
Opinion: OLCC price increases wrong for struggling economy (Portland Tribune, April 8, 2021)
OLCC could raise floor price of hard liquor in Oregon (KOBI, April 5, 2021)