Adrienne Lucas
Biography
Adrienne Lucas is a professor of economics in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a faculty affiliate of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and a research network member of Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). She is a development economist specializing in the economics of education and disease. Her current research focuses on the importance of information in school choice decisions, using existing school system personnel and resources to increase student learning, and external validity across contexts. Lucas has published research on malaria, free primary education, HIV/AIDS, secondary school choice, the return to school quality, teacher incentives and improving early primary school literacy. Prior to joining the University of Delaware, she was an assistant professor of economics at Wellesley College. She received her Ph.D. and A.M. in economics from Brown University and her B.A. in economics from Wesleyan University.
Watch Professor Lucas explain her work on the intergenerational effects of HIV, improving student learning in existing schooling systems and the importance of school leaders.
Education
- Ph.D. in economics, Brown University, 2006
- A.M. in economics, Brown University, 2004
- B.A. with honors in economics, Phi Beta Kappa, Wesleyan University, 1998
Select Publications
- “Experimental Evidence on Alternative Policies to Increase Learning at Scale” with Annie Duflo and Jessica Kiessel. The Economic Journal, forthcoming.
- “Engaging Teachers with Technology Increased Achievement, Bypassing Teachers Did Not,” with Sabrin Beg, Waqas Halim, and Umar Saif. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, May 2022, 14(2): 61-90.
- “Educator Incentives and Educational Triage in Rural Primary Schools” with Daniel Gilligan, Naureen Karachiwalla, Ibrahim Kasirye, and Derek Neal. Journal of Human Resources, Winter 2022, 57(1): 79-111.
- “Health knowledge and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa” with Anne Fitzpatrick, Sabrin Beg, Laura Derksen, Anne Karing, Jason Kerwin, Natalia Ordaz Reynoso, and Munir Squires. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2021, 190: 33-53.
- “Gender Bias in Assessments of Teacher Performance” with Sabrin Beg and Anne Fitzpatrick. American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, May 2021, 111: 190-95.
- “The Impact of Adult Health on Children’s Schooling: Evidence on the Intergenerational Effects of HIV/AIDS Treatment” with Nicholas L. Wilson and Margaret Chidothe. Economics of Education Review, October 2019, 72: 107–120.
- “Does Television Kill Your Sex Life? Microeconometric Evidence from Over 80 Countries” with Nicholas L. Wilson. B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, October 2019, 19(4).
- “Schooling, Wealth, Risky Sexual Behavior, and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa” with Nicholas L. Wilson. Journal of Development Studies, October 2019, 55(10): 2177-2192.
- “Can Antiretroviral Therapy At Scale Improve the Health of the Targeted in Sub-Saharan Africa?” with Nicholas L. Wilson. American Journal of Health Economics, Summer 2018, 4(3): 358-382.
- “The Importance of Information Targeting for School Choice” with Kehinde Ajayi and Willa Friedman, American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, May 2017, 107(5): 638-643.
- “Improving Early-Grade Literacy in East Africa: Experimental Evidence from Kenya and Uganda” (PDF), with Patrick J. McEwan, Moses Ngware, and Moses Oketch, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2014, 33(4): 950-976.
- “Effects of School Quality on Student Achievement: Discontinuity Evidence from Kenya” (PDF), with Isaac M. Mbiti, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, July 2014, 6(3): 234:263.
- “Adult Antiretroviral Therapy and Child Health: Evidence from Scale-up in Zambia” (PDF), with Nicholas L. Wilson, American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, May 2013, 103(3): 456-461
- “The Impact of Malaria Eradication on Fertility” (PDF), Economic Development and Cultural Change, April 2013. 61(3): 607-631
- “Does Free Primary Education Narrow Gender Differences in Schooling Outcomes? Evidence from Kenya” (PDF), with Isaac M. Mbiti, Journal of African Economies, November 2012, 21(5): 691-722.
- “Access, Sorting, and Achievement: the Short-Run Effects of Free Primary Education in Kenya” (PDF), with Isaac M. Mbiti, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, October 2012, 4(4): 226-253.
- “The Determinants and Consequences of School Choice Errors in Kenya” (PDF), with Isaac M. Mbiti, American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings, May 2012, 102(3): 283-288.
- “Malaria Eradication and Educational Attainment: Evidence from Paraguay and Sri Lanka” (PDF), American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, April 2010, 2(2): 46-71.