Research

James X. Sullivan
Professor of Economics

Google Scholar Profile

Publications  Working Papers  Works in Progress

 

PUBLICATIONS


Personalizing Homelessness Prevention: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial (forthcoming), with David Phillips, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management

Do Homelessness Prevention Programs Prevent Homelessness? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial (forthcoming), with David Phillips, Review of Economics and Statistics.

Consumption and Income Inequality in the U.S. Since the 1960s (2023), with Bruce Meyer, Journal of Political Economy, volume 131:2, 247-284.

Real-Time Poverty, Material Well-Being, and the Child Tax Credit (2022), with Jeehoon Han and Bruce Meyer, National Tax Journal, Vol 75:4, December, p. 817-846.

The Effect of Emergency Financial Assistance on Healthcare Use (2022), with Henry Downes and David Phillips, Journal of Public Economics, Volume 208, April.

The Consumption, Income, and Well-Being of Single Mother Headed Families 25 Years After Welfare Reform (2021), with Jeehoon Han and Bruce Meyer, National Tax Journal, Vol 74:3, p. 791-824.

Income and Poverty in the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020), with Jeehoon Han and Bruce Meyer, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Summer, p. 85-118.

Increasing Community College Completion Rates among Low-Income Students: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of a Case Management Intervention (2020), with Bill Evans Melissa Kearney, and Brendan Perry, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Volume 39:4, Fall, 930-965.

A Cautionary Tale of Using Data from the Tail (2020), Demography.

Another Plea for Caution When Using Survey Income Data From the Far-Left Tail (2020), Demography.

Inequality in the Joint Distribution of Consumption and Time Use (2020), with Jeehoon Han and Bruce Meyer, Journal of Public Economics, Volume 191, November, 104106.

A Cautionary Tale about Emergency Financial Assistance without Services: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation at a Community College (2019), with Bill Evans, Melissa Kearney, and Brendan Perry, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 109: 218-22.

Does Emergency Financial Assistance Reduce Crime? (2019), with Caroline Palmer and David Phillips, Journal of Public Economics, Volume 169, January, 34-51.

The Role of Nonprofits in Designing and Implementing Evidence-Based Programs (2018), Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 678(1), 155-163.
Open access version
Abstract

The Impact of Homelessness Prevention Programs on Homelessness (2016), with Bill Evans and Melanie Wallskog, Science, 353(6300), 694-699.
Materials and Methods Supplementary text
Abstract
Data and Programs
Media coverage by Science Magazine
Media coverage by WGN Radio, Chicago

Household Surveys in Crisis (2015), with Bruce Meyer and Wallace MokJournal of Economic Perspectives, 29(4), 199-226.
For earlier version see NBER Working Paper # 21399.

The Validity of Consumption Data: Are the Consumer Expenditure Interview and Diary Surveys Informative? (2015), with Adam Bee and Bruce Meyer, in Improving the Measurement of Consumer Expenditures, Christopher Carroll, Thomas Crossley, and John Sabelhaus, editors. University of Chicago Press.

Consumption and Income Inequality and the Great Recession (2013), with Bruce MeyerAmerican Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 103(3): 178-83.

Winning the War: Poverty from the Great Society to the Great Recession (2012), with Bruce MeyerBrookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall, p. 133-183.
For earlier versions see NBER Working Paper # 18718 and NBER Working Paper # 14827.

Identifying the Disadvantaged: Official Poverty, Consumption Poverty, and the New Supplemental Poverty Measure (2012), with Bruce MeyerJournal of Economic Perspectives, 26(3), Summer, 111-136.

Consumption and Income Poverty over the Business Cycle (2011), with Bruce MeyerResearch in Labor Economics, vol. 32, 51-82.

Viewpoint: Further Evidence on Measuring the Well-Being of the Poor Using Income and Consumption(2011), with Bruce MeyerCanadian Journal of Economics, February, 44(1), pages 52-87.
For earlier version see NBER Working Paper # 13413.

Changes in the Consumption, Income, and Well-Being of Single Mother Headed Families (2008), with Bruce MeyerAmerican Economic Review, 98(5), December, 2221-2241.Download Auxiliary Tables here.

Borrowing During Unemployment: Unsecured Debt as a Safety Net (2008), Journal of Human Resources, 43(2): 383-412.

The Relationship between Income and Material Hardship? (2008), with Leslie Turner and Sheldon DanzigerJournal of Policy Analysis and Management, 27(1): 63-81.

Welfare Reform, Saving, and Vehicle Ownership: Do Asset Limits and Vehicle Exemptions Matter?(2006), Journal of Human Resources, 41(1): 72-105.

The Effects of Tax and Welfare Reform: The Material Well-Being of Single Mothers in the 1980s and 1990s (2004), with Bruce MeyerJournal of Public Economics, 88(7-8): 1387-1420.
For earlier version see NBER Working Paper # 8298.
Summary of this paper in NBER Digest.

Measuring the Well-Being of the Poor Using Income and Consumption (2003), with Bruce MeyerJournal of Human Resources, 38(S): 1180-1220.
For earlier version see NBER Working Paper # 9760.

 

WORKING PAPERS


Fighting Poverty One Family at a Time: Experimental Evidence from an Intervention with Holistic, Individualized, Wrap-Around Services (2023), with Bill Evans, Shawna Kolka and Patrick Turner, NBER Working Paper No. 30992.

Consumption and Expenditures During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2022), with Bruce Meyer and Connor Murphy.

Who is Poor, How Poverty has Changed, and Why it Matters: Poverty Measurement in the U.S. and its Implications for Policy (2022), with Bruce Meyer and Jeehoon Han.

Comprehensive Approaches to Increasing Student Completion in Higher Education: A Survey of the Landscape (2020), with Rachel Fulcher Dawson and Melissa Kearney, Research Report, Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities. (Also, NBER working paper 28046, November).

Levels and Changes in Income Poverty, Consumption Poverty and Material Well-Being: A Response to Shaefer and Rivera (2017) (2018), with Bruce Meyer, working paper.

The Material Well-Being of the Poor and the Middle Class Since 1980 (2011), with Bruce Meyer.

 

WORKS IN PROGRESS


Staying on Track: Comprehensive Case Management to Prevent High School Dropout, with Tom Dee and Chloe Gibbs.

The Effect of Emergency Financial Assistance on Employment and Earnings, with Dan Hungerman, David Phillips and Kevin Rinz.

Understanding Differences between Income and Consumption using Linked Survey and Administrative Data, with Bruce Meyer and Derek Wu.

Consumption and Income Poverty for Those 65 and Overwith Bruce Meyer.

Under-reporting, Take-up, and the Distributional Effects of the Food Stamp Program, with Bruce Meyer.