Roddy Theobald

Line graph showing cumulative state adoption of chiropractic boards over time

I'm John Fallon, a labor economist on the job market. My JMP uncovers something wild: when chiropractors got licensed in the early 1900s, medical boards responded by making it HARDER to become a doctor.

Why would competition lead to stricter regulations?
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john-fallon-econ.com

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I'm on the #EconJobMarket! I study how policies and childhood environments shape outcomes of low-income & vulnerable kids.

In my JMP, I study the effects of allowing youth who would have aged out of foster care at 18 to stay until 21—offering support their peers not in foster care get from parents.

✨What does the #SpecialEducation teacher workforce look like within and across states? Our new interactive data visualizer tool looks at the composition, stability, and distribution of the workforce in our seven partner states.

Explore the tool: sparccenter.org/data-explore...

@edsustainable.bsky.social is hosting our first annual interdisciplinary conference!

Research at the intersection of education and the environment. 🎓🌎

May 1st, 2026

Providence, RI

Easy one paragraph abstract submission ⬇️
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Please share w/ your networks!

💡“Our shortages aren’t really from not having enough people; it’s having people teaching the wrong thing.” - @afgilmour.bsky.social

Check out this article from Education Week which features research from our recent working paper on the #SpecialEducation teacher workforce.

Group of five people collaborating over documents on a table in a modern office setting.

College may feel out of reach, but early college programs can change that. Students earn credits (even an associate's degree) in high school, saving time and money.

AIR's Krissy Zeiser shares how these programs can boost college success. Read more in U.S. News & World Report: https://bit.ly/3KdcZhZ

👋 I'm a health and labour economist on the #EconJobMarket!

My JMP explores a factor that often comes up when talking to people about having children - childcare costs

🗣️ “It’s frustrating to read articles asking why people aren’t having kids - have they looked at the cost of childcare?”

🧵…

Screenshot from the SPARC Center Data Explorer. The graph looks at the percentage of special education teachers (SETs) who changed schools by school-poverty level. Seven states are included: Hawai‘i, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. For each state, there are three dots showing the percent of SETs moving schools at low-poverty schools, middle-poverty schools, and high-poverty schools. In all states except Hawai‘i, the rate is highest for high-poverty schools.

Did you know recruitment and retention of #SpecialEducation teachers varies widely by school contexts, including by poverty level, enrollment demographics, and location?

🔎Explore more with our data visualizer: sparccenter.org/data-explore...

School Funding and Outcomes Explore the impact of school spending on student outcomes. Discover key research findings, policy trends, and evidence-based insights.

Beware the misguided use of scatterplots to infer causation from correlation.

"Newer, quasi-experimental research finds more consistent evidence that past funding increases had positive effects on student outcomes."

via @aefplivehandbook.bsky.social: livehandbook.org/k-12-educati...

I’m on the #EconJobMarket! I study labor, extreme weather adaptation, and inequality.

My JMP addresses an under-studied aspect of the labor market: schedule unpredictability among hourly workers in the service sector.

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Yakima Rotary: School Finance in Washington State | Yakima Rotary Club (Downtown) posted on the topic | LinkedIn 💙 Rotary Recap: Understanding School Finance in Washington 🎓 Last week, Yakima Rotary welcomed Dr. David Knight as our featured speaker, introduced by Trevor Greene, for an insightful presentation on...

It was an honor and privilege to share some of our research on K-12 school finance with the Yakima Rotary Club in Yakima, WA: www.linkedin.com/posts/yakima...
Fun fact! The Yakima Rotary Club is the 31st largest Rotary club in the world!

Really excited to have this piece out on the Brown Center Chalkboard blog with @lmasonwms.bsky.social, @afgilmour.bsky.social, & @lizbettini.bsky.social on the importance of targeted solutions to special education teacher staffing challenges. See below!

Going to #APPAM2025?

Come to our panel where @bertabartoli.bsky.social will present our paper on the impact of sleep and time policy on student disciplinary outcomes. Paper draft (with a title we are very proud of) linked

⏰Friday, November 14, 3:30 to 5:00pm
📍Room: 504 - Foss
tinyurl.com/3earym6n

It's really interesting to compare nursing and teaching. Nursing is arguably the profession most similar to teaching, but there's not been a decline in interest in becoming a nurse whereas there clearly has been a decline in wanting to be a teacher: edworkingpapers.com/sites/defaul...

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Here's my thread of this year's new scholars in Economics of Education and Education Policy.

These PhD students and postdocs are on the job market, so take a look (and spread the word to others who might benefit from exposure).

And now onto the scholars... 👇

👋 I'm Danielle, and I'm on the #econjobmarket this year!

Let's start with a student describing her segregated school:

"The school felt temporary. Built like a warehouse with aluminum siding . . . I had a slipshod education"

The twist? The student is white, and her school is private.

A JMP 🧵 -->

📝 #EconSky I'm excited to announce that I am on the market this year! In my JMP, I (and Jose Montalban) study affirmative action in the context of school choice at age 3 —when skills are most malleable and returns are the highest! 👶🏫

Promotional image for AIR about a new research initiative, featuring three students using laptops in a classroom to explore how artificial intelligence is changing K-12 education. Visit AIR.org for more information.

AIR is launching the AI in Education Network, a new research initiative to study and inform how artificial intelligence is shaping K–12 education. Six studies will generate evidence on how AI is being used and how to maximize its potential benefits. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4oLHj2f

I'll be presenting our findings in The Impact of High-Dosage Tutoring on Student Achievement Outcomes? Evidence from Four Randomized Controlled Trials on Saturday, November 15, 1:45 to 3:15 pm
#APPAM2025

@sparccenter.bsky.social co-director @lizbettini.bsky.social challenging @ted-cec.bsky.social members to think critically about the #specialeducation teacher workforce

Heading to Seattle for #2025APPAM this week? Be sure to check out presentations from CALDER experts @roddy-theobald.bsky.social, @brbackes.bsky.social, & @cedr.bsky.social.

Click here to learn more about the conference: www.appam.org/conference-e...

"Varying patterns across states...suggest the need for policy responses targeted to state & local needs."

Check out recent @sparccenter.bsky.social findings, @lmasonwms.bsky.social, @afgilmour.bsky.social, @roddy-theobald.bsky.social

www.brookings.edu/articles/sta...

🔍Our new Working Paper uses consistent variables across states. Leveraging Common Education Data Standards and Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems enables meaningful cross-state comparisons of the #SpecialEducation Teacher workforce.

Read more: sparccenter.org/research-fin...

Creating Coherence: Does Instructional Alignment Affect the Impact of Tutoring? This study examines the impact of using instructionally aligned literacy tutoring with students in kindergarten through third grade under a Response to Intervention framework. We conducted a randomize...

Creating Coherence: Does Instructional Alignment Affect the Impact of Tutoring? (spoiler: yes!)

edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1332

Screenshot of working paper: The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct

📣 New NBER Working Paper out today 📣

"The Consequences of Faculty Sexual Misconduct"
Sarah Cohodes & Katherine Leu

💡SPARC Center’s @roddy-theobald.bsky.social is presenting at @appam.bsky.social this week. Explore his sessions at the link below.

Photo shows the title page for an academic paper titled "Driving Inclusion: The Effect of Improved Transportation for People with Disabilities" by Melissa Gentry. The abstract is as follows: People with disabilities face substantial barriers to economic and social participation. I explore the extent to which these barriers are overcome by the availability of reliable and flexible transportation, which may serve as ``reliability insurance'' in case other modes of transit fail. Leveraging the roll-out of Uber, I use a stacked difference-in-differences approach to show that the availability of reliable and flexible transportation leads to improvements in social and economic participation through increased marriage rates and labor force participation, and reduced reliance on public assistance. The reduction in public assistance outweighs expected rideshare costs, lending support to the recent push towards public-private partnerships in the transportation space.

I am excited to announce I am on the #EconJobMarket this year! 🎉 My research explores economic barriers for people with disabilities at the intersection of labor, public, and health economics.

My #EconJMP examines how reliable transportation transforms outcomes for this population. 🧵1/6

Promotional graphic for an upcoming conference. The background shows a twilight view of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. White bold text at the top reads: “Upcoming Conference.” Below, in smaller text: “Teacher Education Division 2025, Nov 11–14 | Kansas City, MO.” At the bottom, the SPARC logo appears with colorful starburst lines. The website “sparccenter.org” is displayed in blue on the lower right.

🌟SPARC Center researchers are presenting at @ted-cec.bsky.social next week. Check out this thread for their sessions:

Abstract of SPARC Working Paper No. 01-1025, titled "The Composition, Distribution, and Stability of the Special Education Teacher Workforce in Seven States." The abstract reads: Special education staffing challenges threaten the delivery of effective special education services to students with disabilities. We investigated the composition, distribution, and stability of the special education teacher (SET) workforce over time and across seven states. Some challenges were similar across states, such as trends in SET workforce stability over time, while other challenges (e.g., SET certification rates) varied considerably by state. Staffing challenges also varied within some states, contributing to considerable inequity in SET stability and in the distribution of novice SETs, SETs without full certification, and SETs of color. These findings suggest a need for policies and practices that vary by state context and target the districts and schools most affected by SET staffing challenges.

📢 Our new Working Paper provides important cross-state insights into the #SpecialEducation teacher workforce.

We highlight some of our major findings in this thread⬇️

Presentations from CALDER experts at 2025 APPAM Fall Research Conference

Heading to Seattle for #2025APPAM next week? Be sure to check out presentations from CALDER experts @roddy-theobald.bsky.social, @brbackes.bsky.social, & @cedr.bsky.social. Click here to learn more about the conference: www.appam.org/conference-e...