iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If you work on community colleges (or adjacent), consider submitting a proposal for a book chapter to present at our conference! Extended abstracts due Dec 10. Excited to be organizing with @riacton.bsky.social @camilantmorales.bsky.social @julia-turner.bsky.social and Kalena Cortes ✨

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Thrilled to be organizing this conference with Kalena Cortes, @loismiller.bsky.social, @camilantmorales.bsky.social, & @julia-turner.bsky.social, thanks to generous support from Ascendium! Send us any & all work on CCs! Descriptive, mixed methods, & interdisciplinary research encouraged. 🥳

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Julia Turner @julia-turner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Just in case you need something to look forward to in 2028 🥳 Super excited to organize this convening with Kalena Cortes, @riacton.bsky.social, @loismiller.bsky.social, and @camilantmorales.bsky.social Please send us your research proposals and come hang out!

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Thank you @j-palna.bsky.social for funding this work! Want to hear more this fall? You can catch: 📍 @julia-turner.bsky.social at AFE 📍 @camilantmorales.bsky.social in the virtual @asheassa.bsky.social seminar series 📍 me at the Northeast Econ of Ed conference 📍 @loismiller.bsky.social at APPAM!

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Orgul Ozturk @orgulozturk.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Join SC EPiC for Cradle to Career 2026—a day of research and discussion on education and workforce policy— on Sept 25th! Explore research on child care financing, chronic absenteeism in K-12, technology in the classroom and the markets, college access and success and immigration policy.

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Great 🧵 on our (yes, dream) team's latest research from my coauthor @julia-turner.bsky.social... who fails to mention that she will be on the market this fall with a killer JMP about the roll-out of these community college bachelor's degrees in Washington. 👀

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

New NBER working paper, joint with my amazing coauthors @riacton.bsky.social @camilantmorales.bsky.social @julia-turner.bsky.social and Kalena Cortes! See here for a summary thread: bsky.app/profile/juli...

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Check out my coauthor @julia-turner.bsky.social’s excellent summary of our new working paper!

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

It’s been a pleasure to get to know Luke the past 2 years, where he’s been a rockstar RA for me, @loismiller.bsky.social, @camilantmorales.bsky.social, @julia-turner.bsky.social, and Kalena Cortes. Look for him to apply to your PhD programs after a few years as a predoc with the West Point crew!

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

A summary of what @loismiller.bsky.social, @camilantmorales.bsky.social, @juliaturner.bsky.social, Kalena Cortes, and I are learning about community college bachelor’s degrees so far 👇

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Dr. Judith Scott-Clayton @jscottclayton.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Lots of great options for making donations via the site below. MN must not stand alone against this fascist administration. God bless Alex Pretti, Renee Good, and all those who are putting their lives, limbs, and eyes on the line to protect their neighbors 💔

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Growing phenomenon that you might not be aware of: a lot of community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees! This descriptive piece is the start of a research agenda with my wonderful coauthors @riacton.bsky.social @julia-turner.bsky.social @camilantmorales.bsky.social and Kalena Cortes

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NBER @nber.org · 20/01/2026

Community college bachelor’s degrees pay off in some fields but not all, offering higher earnings than associate degrees and mixed returns relative to traditional BAs, from Riley K. Acton, Camila Morales, Kalena Cortes, Julia A. Turner, and @loismiller.bsky.social www.nber.org/papers/w34684

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Happy to have this descriptive piece with @camilantmorales.bsky.social, Kalena Cortes, @julia-turner.bsky.social, & @loismiller.bsky.social out! Look for more causal work on this topic from our team in the near future 👀

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Natalie Millar @nataliemillar.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

My #EconJMP, “The Labor Market Returns to Customized Job Training”, examines how subsidized firm training that aligns skill supply with skill demand affects workers and whether subsidies generate benefits that justify public investment. Website: nataliemillar.net

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

Happy to have this paper with @loismiller.bsky.social @camilantmorales.bsky.social and Kalena Cortes accepted at Econ of Ed Review! And honored it will be in the special issue in memory of Rodney Andrews. ❤️

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Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 17/09/2025

To Attend a College Aligned With Their Politics, Students Would Pay Higher Price The study also explores the changing politics of student bodies over the past four decades, showing that liberal campuses have grown more liberal and conservative campuses more conservative. bit.ly/4nbiPPh

A student facing a forked path toward two different college campuses, one blue and the other red.

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Check out my @peerresearch.bsky.social policy brief with Minseon Park about tuition caps and freezes!

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Happy to have our paper on distance to college & educational disparities covered in the @nber.org digest today! @loismiller.bsky.social @camilantmorales.bsky.social (& @ need to get Kalena Cortes on here!) www.nber.org/digest/20250...

nber.org

Distance to College Contributes to Educational Disparities

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Todd Jones @toddrjones.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Mississippi State Univ. is hiring a tenure-track Econ Assistant Prof w/ August start! Open field; pref. for applied micro & teaching PhD Micro I & II (Micro II this fall). Apply: MSU site & www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing.php?JOE_ID=2025-01_111475768 Please repost—it's an off-cycle search. Thanks!

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AEFP @aefpweb.bsky.social · 15/03/2025

A special thank you to Michal Kurlaender and the program committee for all of their work on an excellent conference program this year! We appreciate your time and service. #AEFP2025

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Join us bright and early tomorrow for the annual @aefpweb.bsky.social 5K! Meet in the Mayflower hotel lobby at 6:15 or at Lafayette Square at 6:30 #AEFP2025

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

It’s hard times for education research but I have been heartened connecting with so many people at my favorite conference/organization @aefpweb.bsky.social & am beyond honored to receive their dissertation award 🥲

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Starting bright & early Thursday AM, my coauthor @loismiller.bsky.social will present our joint work with @camilantmorales.bsky.social & Kalena Cortes on distance to college and postsecondary outcomes. And @bakerdphd.bsky.social will chair! What more do you need to kick off your conferencing!?

virtual.oxfordabstracts.com

OA Virtual conferences

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Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.blacksky.app · 06/01/2025

TLDR: White, Asian, and rich students who don't live near community colleges are more likely to go to 4-year colleges and are more likely to graduate from college while the exact opposite is true for Black, Hispanic, and poor students. #highered #education #econsky

Distance to Degrees: How College Proximity Shapes Students’ Enrollment Choices and Attainment Across Race-Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status
Riley K. Acton, Kalena Cortes, Lois Miller & Camila Morales
X
LinkedIn
Email
Working Paper 33337
DOI 10.3386/w33337
Issue Date January 2025
Leveraging rich data on the universe of Texas high school graduates, we estimate how the relationship between geographic access to public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions and postsecondary outcomes varies across race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We find that students are sensitive to the distance they must travel to access public colleges and universities, but there are heterogeneous effects across students – particularly with regard to distance to public two-year colleges (i.e., community colleges). White, Asian, and higher-income students who live in a community college desert (i.e., at least 30 minutes driving time from the nearest public two-year college) substitute towards four-year colleges and are more likely to complete bachelor’s degrees. Meanwhile, Black, Hispanic, and lower-income students respond to living in a community college desert by forgoing college enrollment altogether, reducing the likelihood that they earn associate’s and reducing the likelihood that they ultimately transfer to four-year colleges and earn bachelor’s degrees. These relationships persist up to eight years following high school graduation, resulting in substantial long-term gaps in overall degree attainment by race-ethnicity and income in areas with limited postsecondary access.

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

Happy to have this paper (coauthored with an amazing team: Kalena Cortes, @loismiller.bsky.social, & @camilantmorales.bsky.social!) out on NBER this morning! Take a look 👇

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Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Academically entitled students have stronger expectations that a female (vs male) professor will grant their special favor requests These expectations increased students’ likelihood of making these requests and exhibiting negative emotional and behavioral reactions to having these requests denied

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Gbenga Ajilore @gbenga-ajilore.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

"We Wish You A Merry Christmas" #QuarantineHobby 🎄 🎄🎄

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AEFP @aefpweb.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

Our keynote speaker for #AEFP2025 is Dr. Cecilia E. Rouse, President of the Brookings Institution 🎉

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Thanks @iza.org for including us on this fun Advent Calendar! ☺️ See below for a short non-technical summary of our paper 👇

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Journal of Political Economy @jpolecon.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

A new paper from the Journal of Political Economy investigates how PhD program ranking, department status, and other author connections impact peer review decisions. Read the full findings here: ow.ly/sfLx50UiGII #EconSky

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Here's my higher ed fact of the day for you (courtesy of Nick Hillman & the NPSAS)! Many academics are used to moving all over for education and work, but most students go to college VERY close to home. Looking forward to doing more work on this topic with a great team of coauthors 👀

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

First time talking to a reporter about my research ✅ Thanks so much to Lexi Lonas Cochran for the coverage, and to my coauthor @riacton.bsky.social for passing this one off to me to talk about our work with Kalena Cortes and Camila Morales 😊 thehill.com/homenews/edu...

thehill.com

Community ‘college deserts’ leave students stranded from higher education

Experts are increasingly sounding the alarm on community “college deserts” that leave students without readily accessible higher education options. The deserts, locations where h…

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Riley Acton @riacton.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Shoutout to my friend & coauthor @loismiller.bsky.social who is presenting her cool paper on college transfers at NBER this afternoon! Tune in to hear about it 👀

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Neil Lewis, Jr. @neillewisjr.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

There are many layers here, but I want to comment on one aspect of these findings for now--the editorial board representation. Some will see this and immediately think: we need to get more POC on our boards! I understand that impulse, but encourage you to think a few steps down the game tree 1/n.

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

6 days, 3 conferences, 4 presentations, 3 discussant pres, and a poster later, I am done conferencing 😅 wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing that much in one go but I loved connecting with so many of you at ED, #APPAM2024, and #SEA2024! Now time for some rest 😴

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Natalie Millar @nataliemillar.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Fantastic session on Pathways & Outcomes in Higher Ed at #SEA2024 today! Kudos to @loismiller.bsky.social, Lauren Russell, and others for sharing their work! Special thanks to Xiaozhou Ding for organizing! Check out Lois Miller’s paper on opening community colleges in Texas (see photo). #econsky

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Come find us hidden away in Columbia 8 if you’re at #SEA2024!

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Natalie Millar @nataliemillar.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Good morning @appam.bsky.social! We are starting off strong in the Building Human Capital in Underserved Populations session! Thank you to @riacton.bsky.social, @loismiller.bsky.social, @blakeheller.bsky.social, and others for sharing their work! #2024APPAM #APPAM2024 #econsky 📈📉

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

I’m in DC for a marathon week of conferences! First up, the US Dept of Education Office of the Chief Economist Inaugural Research Conference this afternoon. I’m excited to see lots of higher ed research from this awesome group!

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Jennifer Doleac @jenniferdoleac.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

For those attending APPAM this coming week: Join Arnold Ventures, the Russell Sage Foundation, Equitable Growth, & the Policy Academies for a big, fun, joint reception on FRIDAY 11/22, 6:30-8:30, at Fogo de Chão (very close to the conference hotel). 🥳 pages.equitablegrowth.org/2024-APPAM-R...

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Laura K Gee @laurakgee.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Submit your papers for the spring 2025 NBER Gender in the Economy meeting! The theme is "Women in the Digital World". Submission Deadline: 12/9/24 Meeting: 2/28/25 in Cambridge www.nber.org/conferences/...

nber.org

Gender in the Economy, Spring 2025

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Belinda Archibong @belindaarch.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Hey all, I created a starter pack with a list of Black economists and academics for an easily accessible list of folks doing research that we can all follow and cite #Blacksky #AddtoBlacksky #Econsky: go.bsky.app/RyKSzcb

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Katherine Knott @knottkatherine.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Hello new Bluesky friends! Here's where you can find the rest of the @insidehighered.bsky.social team . go.bsky.app/UkzHfDg

go.bsky.app

Inside Higher Ed Team Starter Pack

Join the conversation

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Lois Miller @loismiller.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Since I have some new followers I'll re-introduce myself 👋 📈📉 I'm an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of South Carolina. I research the economics of higher education with a focus on how college access & resources interact with inequality and social mobility.

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