Jacob L. Vigdor, Associate Professor of Public Policy Studies and Economics and Secondary Appointment of Economics  

Jacob L. Vigdor

Office Location: 252 Rubenstein Hall
Office Phone: 919.613.9226
Email Address: jacob.vigdor@duke.edu
Web Page:http://trinity.aas.duke.edu/~jvigdor
Note:On sabbatical during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Areas of Expertise:
Economics
Education
Immigration and Migration
Urban Affairs

Education:
PhD in Economics, Harvard University, 1999
BS with Distinction in Policy Analysis, Cornell University, 1994

Typical Courses Taught:

  • Pubpol 312, Statistics for policy makers
  • Pubpol 264s, Urban policy
  • Econ 330, Empirical public economics

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Cutler, D.M, E.L. Glaeser and J.L. Vigdor. "The Rise and Decline of the American Ghetto." Journal of Political Economy 107.3 (June, 1999): 455-506.
  2. J.L. Vigdor. "Community Composition and Collective Action: Analyzing Initial Mail Response to the 2000 Census." Review of Economics and Statistics 86.1 (February, 2004): 303-312.
  3. Clotfelter, C.T., H.F. Ladd, J.L. Vigdor and R.A. Aliaga. "Do School Accountability Systems Make It More Difficult for Low Performing Schools to Attract and Retain High Quality Teachers?." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 23.2 (Spring, 2004): 251-271. (Reprinted in Modern Classics in the Economics of Education, C. Belfield, ed. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.)
  4. J.L. Vigdor. "Other People's Taxes: Nonresident Voters and Statewide Limitation of Local Government." Journal of Law and Economics 47.2 (October, 2004): 453-477.
  5. J.L. Vigdor. "Liquidity Constraints and Housing Prices: Theory and Evidence from the VA Mortgage Program." Journal of Public Economics 90.8-9 (2006): 1579-1600.
  6. Clotfelter, C.T., H.F. Ladd and J.L. Vigdor. "Teacher-Student Matching and the Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness." Journal of Human Resources 41.4 (Fall, 2006): 778-820.
  7. Cutler, D.M., E.L. Glaeser, and J.L. Vigdor. "Is the Melting Pot Still Hot? Explaining the Resurgence of Immigrant Segregation." Review of Economics and Statistics  (Accepted, 2007).
  8. Cook, P., R. MacCoun, C. Muschkin and J.L. Vigdor. "The Negative Impacts of Starting Middle School in Sixth Grade." Journal of Policy Analysis and Management  (Accepted, 2007).
  9. Clotfelter, C.T., E. Glennie, H.F. Ladd and J.L. Vigdor. "Would Higher Salaries Keep Teachers in High-Poverty Schools? Evidence from a Policy Intervention in North Carolina." Journal of Public Economics  (Accepted, 2007).
  10. J.L. Vigdor. "The New Promised Land: Black-White Convergence in the American South, 1960-2000."   (March, 2006).
  11. J.L. Vigdor. "Is Urban Decay Bad? Is Urban Revitalization Bad Too?."   (March, 2007).

Curriculum Vitae

Bio/Profile
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.  These articles have been published in outlets such as The Journal of Political Economy, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Public Economics, The Journal of Human Resources, and The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. 

Vigdor's scholarly activities have been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Spencer Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Vigdor has taught at Duke since 1999.