I am director of research at Financial Life Cycle Education, where I research finance, education and equity--and the interactions between them.
2025
This study analyzes how four major large language models — ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini — respond to personal finance questions. The goal is to evaluate their effectiveness of the responses as financial advice given to the typical non-expert user.
Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning · 2025
This study investigates the implications of answering a financial question incorrectly when one has the option to select "don't know." Using data from the 2021 National Financial Capability Survey, we find that providing an incorrect response rather than selecting "don't know" is associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in both positive and negative financial behaviors, including risky investment behavior — potentially reflecting a tendency toward overconfidence.
Journal of Financial Literacy and Wellbeing · 2025
Using nationally representative survey data, this brief examines the joint and independent roles of financial and math knowledge in predicting financial behaviors. High levels of both forms of knowledge were associated with better outcomes than either alone, suggesting the two are complementary components of financial capability.
Consumer Interests Annual, Vol. 71 · 2025
Drawing on the TransPop Survey — the first national probability sample of transgender Americans — this study finds that transgender people are significantly more likely to exhibit indicators of financial vulnerability than the general population, and that gender-based variation in financial outcomes within the transgender community does not mirror patterns seen in the wider population.
Educational Philosophy and Theory · 2022
Applies ameliorative analysis — a framework from philosophy of language — to the concept of education. Argues that egalitarian goals are better served by a narrower concept of education tightly connected to formal schooling, which avoids muddying other aspects of the pursuit of social justice.
Journal of Philosophy of Education, 55(1) · 2021
Argues that education debates suffer from a naïve understanding of nature versus nurture. Proposes a more rigorous framework that examines individual reactions across a range of educational environments, with implications for questions of educational justice and fair treatment of students.
Journal of Applied Philosophy · 2021
Challenges the liberal view that elite education is a virtue of political leaders. Argues that having the highly educated disproportionately represented in political office is incompatible with egalitarian democracy, as it systematically excludes the working class from full political participation.
If you have questions about my research or ideas for future projects, get in touch.