Essays in Labor and Public Economics

Disparities in labor market and educational outcomes persist despite expansions in access to opportunities. Consequently, as policymakers and researchers continue to debate about how to best improve labor market and educational outcomes, understanding optimal policy design remains vital for progressing towards fair and effective systems. This dissertation uses field experiments and naturally-occurring data to understand the prevalence and drivers of disparities in the labor market and education, and the effects of policies on these outcomes. The first two chapters investigate the role of policy on screening outcomes. The first chapter begins by asking how concealing applicant identities during evaluations (``blinding'') affects evaluators' screening decisions, and examines the mechanisms behind any observed effects. The second chapter (co-authored with Alec Brandon, Justin Holz, and Andrew Simon) assesses the impacts of minimum wage increases on discrimination during the hiring process. The third chapter (co-authored with Clara Kyung) moves to education policy, and studies the effects of an accountability policy that ties incentives to school districts' graduates' longer-run attainment outcomes. These impacts are benchmarked against those of increases in district funding, offering evidence on the efficacy of incentive-based versus resource-based interventions.