Jonathan Tebes

Welcome to my homepage!

I am an Assistant Research Professor in the Economics Department at the University of Notre Dame and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO). I work primarily on topics in labor economics related to criminal justice, education, and economic mobility.

I have studied how voters respond to police violence, how reforming "stop and frisk" affected neighborhood crime rates, and whether racial differences in officer stopping decisions reflect racial bias.

Currently, I'm working on several quasi-experimental and randomized evaluations that explore the following questions:

• How does policing minor offenses affect the early-life trajectory of young men? We are combining administrative court, education, tax, and Census records to answer this question through the support of Arnold Ventures.

• Can emergency financial assistance prevent low-income Chicago residents from financial distress and falling into a debt-based poverty trap?

• Can intensive mentorship improve the educational, labor market, and criminal justice trajectory of students at risk of dropping out of high school (i.e. <10% HS graduation rate)?  See our research partner's website for more information.

• Can behaviorally-minded supports help adults overcome psychological barriers to taking up services? We are conducting a randomized evaluation of behavioral supports for adults who apply to an evidence-based high school diploma program.

• Can goal-oriented case management coupled with small financial incentives help public housing residents achieve economic self-sufficiency?  See our research partner's website for more information. 

• How about their kids?  We are implementing a separate randomized evaluation of a similar "2-gen" comprehensive case management model that was adapted to support young parents and their kids. 

If you'd like to learn more about me, check out my CV here. 

If you'd like to connect, shoot me an email at jtebes at nd.edu. You can also find me on X @jonathan_tebes, Bluesky @jonathan-tebes.bsky.social, or on Strava under "John Tebes".