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Photograph of Claudia Persico

Claudia Persico Associate Professor Public Administration and Policy

Degrees
Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University
M.A. in Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University
M.A. in Philosophy of Religion, University of Chicago
  B.A. in Biology, Boston University

Bio
Claudia Persico is an Associate Professor of public policy whose research focuses on environmental policy, inequality, health and education policy using causal inference methods. Persico is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), an IZA Institute of Labor Economics Research Affiliate, and a Research Affiliate with the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. Her research has recently been featured in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Labor Economics, and the Journal of Human Resources. Her current work examines the social and biological mechanisms underlying the relationships between poverty, the environment, and children’s cognitive development and health. In particular, much of her current research focuses on how early exposure to environmental pollution can cause inequality by affecting child and adult health, development, behavior, and academic achievement. She has also studied how school funding impacts long term outcomes, how school segregation affects racial disproportionalities in special education, and how childhood exposure to pollution affects academic outcomes. Her research has been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the Atlantic, and many other major media outlets. She was formerly an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
See Also
Personal Website
Twitter Profile
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Spring 2025

  • PUAD-685 Topics in Policy Analysis/Mgmt: Education/American Policy Syst

Partnerships & Affiliations

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Publications

  1. Gazze, Ludovica, Persico, Claudia and Spirovska, Sandra. (2022). “The Spillover Effects of Pollution: How Exposure to Lead Affects Everyone in the Classroom.” (forthcoming)  Journal of Labor Economics
  2. Aizer, Anna and Persico, Claudia. (2022). “The COVID Pandemic and Child Well-Being: Lessons for Policymakers.” Recession Remedies: Lessons Learned from the U.S. Economic Policy Response to COVID-19. Brookings Institution Press.

  3. Heissel, Jennifer, Persico, Claudia and Simon, David. (2022). “Does Pollution Drive Achievement? The Effect of Traffic Pollution on Academic Performance.” Journal of Human Resources. 57 (3): 747-776.

  4. Suhay, Elizabeth, Soni, Aparna, Persico, Claudia and Marcotte, Dave. (2022). “Americans’ Trust in Government and Health Behavior amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.” (in press) Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.

  5. Persico, C. and Johnson, K. (2021). “The Effects of Increased Pollution on COVID-19 Cases and Deaths” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. Volume 107, May 2021, 102431. SSRN Working paper 
  6. Persico, C. and Venator, J. (2021) “The Effects of Local Industrial Pollution on Students and Schools.” (free working paper) The Journal of Human Resources. 56 (2): 406-445.
  7. Elder, T., Figlio, D., Imberman, S., and Persico, C. (2021) “School Segregation and Racial Gaps in Special Education Identification." Journal of Labor Economics. 38 (S1): S151-S197.
  8. Persico, C., Figlio, D., Roth, J. (2020) “The Developmental Consequences of Superfund Sites”. The Journal of Labor Economics, 38 (4): 1055-1097
  9. Elder, T., Figlio, D., Imberman, S., and Persico, C. (2020) “The Role of Neonatal Health in the Incidence of Childhood Disability.” The American Journal of Health Economics 6, no. 2: 216–50.
  10. Jackson, C.K., Johnson R.C., and Persico, C. (2016) “The Effects of School Spending on Educational and Economic Outcomes: Evidence From School Finance Reforms,” Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Other Publications

  1. Persico, Claudia. (2021) “How Exposure To Pollution Quietly Shapes The American Workforce And Economy.” Progressive Policy Institute, Innovation Frontier Project. p. 1-23

  2. Persico, Claudia. (2021) “Now is the time to invest in school infrastructure.” Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard.

  3. Elder, Todd, David Figlio, Scott Imberman, and Claudia Persico. (2021). Segregation and Racial Gaps in Special Education.” Education Next, Vol. 21, No. 2.
  4. Persico, C. “How exposure to pollution affects educational outcomes and inequality.” Brookings Institution, Brown Center Chalkboard.
  5. Persico, C. “Inequality before birth: Effects of in utero pollution exposure on children’s development.” Institute for Research on Poverty Policy Brief, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  6. Jackson, C.K., Johnson R.C., and Persico, C. “Boosting Educational Attainment and Adult Earnings: Does School Spending Matter After All?” Education Next, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2015.
  7. Jackson, C.K., Johnson, R., Persico, C. “How Money Makes a Difference: The Effects of School Finance Reforms on Outcomes for Low Income Students.” Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.

Working Papers

  1. Marcotte, Dave and Persico, Claudia. (2022). “Air Quality and Suicide.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 15087.
  2. Persico, C. “Can Pollution Cause Poverty? The Effects of Pollution on Educational, Health and Economic Outcomes” IZA Discussion Paper No. 12965.