Research

A full list of publications is also on my Google Scholar profile. My detailed research statement is here.

Ongoing Projects

Economic Recovery and Social Cohesion: A Field Experiment with Capital Grants in Post-Conflict Iraq
Andrea C. Caflisch, Daniel Masterson, Stephen D. O’Connell, Julia Smith-Omomo
Summary

Social and Distributional Effects of Capital Grants for Small and Medium Enterprises on Employers and Employees: Evidence from Post-War Iraq
Andrea C. Caflisch, Daniel Masterson, Stephen D. O’Connell, Julia Smith-Omomo
Summary

ML-based geographic sampling frames miss transitory populations in fragile regions
Andrea C. Caflisch, Daniel Masterson, Stephen D. O’Connell, Ettan Patel, Julia Smith-Omomo
Summary · PDF

Testing Threshold Criteria for Return Migration: A Survey with Forcibly Displaced Venezuelans
Mohammad Fidakar, Stephen D. O’Connell
Summary

Endogenous household reorganization and social program manipulation
Stephen D. O’Connell, Nicholas Skelley
Summary

Working Papers

Can political empowerment increase economic participation? Reservations, public works, and female labor force participation in India
Anandi Mani, Stephen D. O’Connell (2026)
In progress
Summary

Distributional preference divergence in targeting foreign aid: Experimental evidence from aid workers, refugees, and a proxy means test in a humanitarian setting
Zeynep Balcioglu, Stephen D. O’Connell, Aytug Sasmaz (2026)
Working paper
Summary · PDF

Geographic poverty targeting in social protection programs: Evidence from a nationwide policy experiment
Onur Altindag, Stephen D. O’Connell, Rim Achour (2025)
Working paper
Summary · PDF · HiCN Working Paper

Tell us what you need: Matching public job training to local skill demand with employers’ input
Stephen D. O’Connell, Lucas Ferreira Mation (2020)
Working paper
Summary · PDF

Published Papers

Gender Differences in Political Career Progression
Ryan Brown, Hani Mansour, Stephen D. O’Connell, James Reeves (2025)
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Summary · PDF · DOI · IZA Working Paper

Gender differences in the adequacy of poverty-targeted food assistance programs
Jackson Schneider, Stephen D. O’Connell (2025)
World Development
Summary · PDF · DOI

Strength in Numbers? Gender Composition, Leadership, and Women’s Influence in Teams
Christopher F. Karpowitz, Stephen D. O’Connell, Jessica Preece, Olga Stoddard (2024)
Journal of Political Economy
Summary · PDF · DOI · IZA Working Paper

The short-lived effects of unconditional cash transfers to refugees
Onur Altindag, Stephen D. O’Connell (2023)
Journal of Development Economics
Summary · PDF · DOI

Does local female political representation empower women to run for higher office? Evidence from state and national legislatures in India
Ryan Brown, Hani Mansour, Stephen D. O’Connell (2022)
World Bank Economic Review
Summary · PDF · DOI

Experience, institutions, and candidate emergence: The political career returns to state legislative service
Josh McCrain, Stephen D. O’Connell (2022)
Political Science Research and Methods
Summary · PDF · DOI

Targeting humanitarian aid using administrative data: model design and validation
Onur Altindag, Stephen D. O’Connell, Aytug Sasmaz, Zeynep Balcioglu, Paola Cadoni, Matilda Jerneck, Aimee Kunze Foong (2021)
Journal of Development Economics
Summary · PDF · DOI

The impact of a health facility construction campaign on health service utilisation and outcomes: analysis of spatially linked survey and facility location data in Ethiopia
Kevin Croke, Andualem Telaye Mengistu, Stephen D. O’Connell, Kibrom Tafere (2020)
British Medical Journal Global Health
Summary · PDF · DOI

Can quotas increase the supply of candidates for higher-level positions? Evidence from local government in India
Stephen D. O’Connell (2020)
Review of Economics and Statistics
Summary · PDF · DOI

Political Inclusion and Educational Investment: Estimates from a national policy experiment in India
Stephen D. O’Connell (2018)
Journal of Development Economics
Summary · PDF · DOI

On Measuring and Reducing Selection Bias with a Quasi‐Doubly Randomized Preference Trial
T. Joyce, D. Remler, D. Jaeger, Onur Altindag, Stephen D. O’Connell, S. Crockett (2017)
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
Summary · PDF · DOI

How Do Electricity Shortages Affect Industry? Evidence from India
Hunt Allcott, Allan Collard-Wexler, Stephen D. O’Connell (2016)
American Economic Review
Summary · PDF · DOI

The Spatial Development of India
Klaus Desmet, Ejaz Ghani, Stephen D. O’Connell, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg (2015)
Journal of Regional Science
Summary · PDF · DOI

Does Classroom Time Matter?
T. Joyce, D. Jaeger, Onur Altindag, Stephen D. O’Connell, S. Crockett (2015)
Economics of Education Review
Summary · PDF · DOI

Political Reservations and Women’s Entrepreneurship in India
Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr, Stephen D. O’Connell (2014)
Journal of Development Economics
Summary · PDF · DOI

Local Industrial Structures and Female Entrepreneurship in India
Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr, Stephen D. O’Connell (2013)
Journal of Economic Geography
Summary · PDF · DOI

Spatial Determinants of Entrepreneurship in India
Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr, Stephen D. O’Connell (2013)
Regional Studies (special issue)
Summary · PDF · DOI