Books, Monographs, and Edited Volumes

  • Guest editor, Cityscape special issue on Moving to Opportunity, Summer 2012
  • Guest editor (with Horst Entorf & Christian Traxler), German Economic Review special issue on economics of crime, November 2012.
  • Sanbonmatsu, Lisa, Jens Ludwig, Lawrence F. Katz, Lisa A. Gennetian, Greg J. Duncan, Ronald C. Kessler, Emma Adam, Thomas W. McDade, and Stacy Tessler Lindau. Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program: Final Impacts Evaluation. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. (www.huduser.org)
  • Cook, Philip J., Jens Ludwig, and Justin McCrary, Editors. Controlling Crime: Strategies and Tradeoffs. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.
  • Ludwig, Jens and Phillip J. Cook, Editors. Evaluating Gun Policy. Washington, DC: Brookings Press., 2003.
  • Cook, Philip J. and Jens Ludwig. Gun Violence: The Real Costs. NY: Oxford University Press., 2000.
  • Cook, Philip J. and Jens Ludwig. Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive Survey on Private Firearms Ownership and Use. Washington, DC: Police Foundation, 1997. (Abridged version published as a research in Brief, National Institute of Justice, 1997, NCJ 165476.)
  • Bassi, Lauri J., Theresa Feeley, John Hillmeyer and Jens Ludwig. Learning and Earning: An Employer's Look at School-to-Work Investments. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training and Development, 1997.

Education and Social Policy

Crime Policy/ Injury Reduction

Book Chapters, Essays, Policy Briefs, Op-Eds and Other Publications

  • "Think Before You Act: A New Approach to Preventing Youth Violence and Dropout" (2014) Washington, DC: Hamilton Project Discussion Paper 2014-02. (with A. Shah) View
  • "Why half of urban kids dropout" (2014) CNN.com, March 12, 2014. (with J. Guryan) View "Mechanism experiments for crime policy." (2013) Lessons from the Economics of Crime . Ed. Philip J. Cook, Stephen Machin, Oliver Marie and Giovanni Mastrobouni. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp 67-92. (with J. R. Klin, and S. Mullainathan) View
  • "Society, not social scientists, must measure widsom of new gun law." (2013) Chicago Sun-Times. View
  • "Proving the dangers of illegal guns." (2013) Chicago Sun-Times, October 17 2013. View
  • "The real costs of gun crimes." (2013) The Chicago Tribune, A17.View
  • "Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education." (2013) Foundation for Child Development/ Society for Research on Adolescence Research Brief. (with H. Yoshikawa, C. Weiland, J. Brooks-Gun, M. R. Burchinal, L. M. Espinosa, W. T. Gormley, K. A. Magnuson, D. Phillips, and m. J. Zaslow) View
  • "Using regression discontinuity designs in crime research." (2013)Experimental Criminology: Prospects for Advancing Science and Public Policy. Ed. Brandon C. Welsh, Anthony A. Braga, and Gerben J.N. Bruinsma. New York: Cambridge University Press. 192-222. (with E. G. Owens)
  • "Does Head Start do any lasting good?" (2013) Legacies of the War on Poverty. Ed. Martha Bailey and Sheldon Danziger. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 36-65. Also released as NBER Working Paper 17452. (with C. Gibbs and D. L. Miller) View
  • "Housing and urban development policies in the War on Poverty." (2013) Legacies of the War on Poverty. Ed. Martha Baily and Sheldon Danziger. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 206-234. (with E. O. Olsen)
  • "How a $50 million safety initiative can leave a national legacy." (2013) Crain's Business Chicago. View
  • "Why concentrated poverty matters." (2013) Pathways: A magazine on poverty, inequality, and social policyt. Spring, 9-13. (with L. Gennetian, T. McDade, and L. Sanbonmatsu) View
  • Review of "Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect, by Robert J. Sampson." American Journal of Sociology, 118(5): 1447-1449. View
  • "A background check even the NRA could love?" (2013) CNN.com, April 11 2013. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "Educational interventions: Their effects on the achievement of poor children." (2011) Neighborhood and Life Chances: How Place matters in Modern America. Ed. Harriet B. Newburger, Eugenie L. Birch, and Susan M. Wachter. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 37-49. (with B.A. Jacob)
  • "The 40 percent' myth" (2013) National Review Online. February 28 2013. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "One way to defeat the NRA." (2013) CNN.com. January 11 2013. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "The limited impact of the Brady Act: Evaluation and implications." (2013) Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis. Ed. Daniel W. Webster and Jon S. Vernick. Baltimore, MD: johns Hopkins University, 21-32. View
  • "Poverty deconcentration and the prevention of crime." (2012) The Oxford Handbook of Crime Prevention. Ed. Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington. New York: Oxford University Press, 189-206. (with J. Burdick-Will)
  • "Moving to improved health in the U.S." (2011) Public Health Today: The magazine of the UK Faculty of Public Health. December 2011. 10. (With P. J. Cook)
  • "More prisoners versus more crime is the wrong question" (2011)Brookings Institution Policy Brief Nummber 185. (with P. J. Cook)View
  • "Economical crime control" (2011) Abridged version published in The Criminologist, 36(6): 1-6. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "Economical crime control." (2011) In Controlling Crime: Strategies and Tradeoffs Ed. Philip J. Cook, Jens Ludwig, and Justin McCrary. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 1-39.2011. (with P. J. Cook)View
  • "Family income, neighborhood poverty and crime." (2011) InControlling Crime: Strategies and Tradeoffs. Ed. philip J. Cook, Jens Ludwig, and Justin McCrary. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 419-459. (with S. B. Heller and B. A. Jacob) View
  • "Converging evidence for neighborhood effects on children's test scores: An experimental quasi-experimental and observational comparison." (2011) Whither Opportunity: Rising Inequality, Schools, and Children's Life Chances. Ed. Daniel P. Kessler. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 255-276. (with J. Burdick-Will, S. Raudenbush, R. Sampson, L. Sanbonmatsu, and P. Sharkey)
  • "Gun control after Heller: Litigating against Regulation." (2011) InRegulation vs. Litigation: Perspectives from Economics and Law Ed. Daniel P. Kessler. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 103-136. (with P. J. Cook and A. Samaha)
  • How to cut gun death toll." (2011) CNN.com. January 12, 2011 (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "The economists's guide to crime busting." (2011) Wilson Quarterly Winter. Winter. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "Five myths about gun control." (2010) Washington Post. June 13, 2010. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • The Mobility Bank: Increasing Residential Mobility to Boost Economic Mobility (2010) Washington, DC: Hamilton Project Discussion Paper. (with S. Raphael)
  • "Leave no (young) child behind: Prioritizing access in early education" (2010) Investing in Young Children: New DIrections in Federal Preschool Early Childhood Policy Ed. Ron Haskins and W. Steven Barnett. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution and National Institute for Early Education Research, 49-58. (with D. A. Phillips)View
  • "Improving educational outcomes for poor children." (2009)Changing Poverty. Ed. M. Cancian and Sheldon Danziger. New York: Russel Sage Foundation. (with B. Jacob) View
  • "Neighborhoods and Peers in the Production of Schooling." (Forthcoming) International Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. D. Brewer and Patrick McEwen. 3rd Edition. (with J.Vigdor)
  • "Firearms Violence." (Forthcoming) Oxford Handbook of Crime and Public Policy. Ed. M. Tonry. (with P. J. Cook)
  • "Segregation and the Black-White Test Score Gap" (Forthcoming)Stalled Progress. Ed. Jane Waldfogel and Katherine Magnuson. NY: Russel Sage Foundation, FORTHCOMING (with J. Vidgor) View
  • "Success by Ten: Intervening early, often, and effectively in the education of young children." (2008) Paths to Prosperity. Ed. Jason Furman and Jason E Bordoff. Washington, DC: Brookings Instiution Press, 127-158. (with I. Sawhil)
  • "More COPS" (2007) Brookings Institution. Policy Brief #158. (with J. J. Donahue) View
  • "The Benefits and Costs of Head Start" (2007) Society for Research on Child Development, Social Policy Report. Volume XXI, Number 3, 2007. (with D. A. Phillips) View
  • "Reducing Poverty through Pre-school Interventions" (2007) The Future of Children. 17(2): 143-160. (with G. J Duncan and K. A. Magnuson) View
  • "Success by Ten: Intervening Early, Often, and Effectively in the Education of Young Children" (2007) Brookings Institution. Hamilton Project Discussion Paper. (with I. Sawhil) View
  • "Culture and the Inter-generational Transmission of Poverty: The Prevention Paradox" (2006) Future of Childre. 16(2): 175-196. (with S. E. Mayer) View
  • "Promising Solutions in Housing and the Community" (2006)Deviant Peer Contagion. Ed. Kenneth Dodge, Joan McCord, and Tom Dishion. (with G. Duncan)
  • "Assigning Deviant Youth to minimize Total Harm" (2006) Deviant Peer Contagion. Ed. Kenneth Dodge, Joan McCord, and Tom Dishion. (with P. J. Cook)
  • "Can the Federal Government Improve Education Research?" (2005) Brookings Papers on Education Policy. Ed. Diane Ravitch. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 47-88. (with B. Jacob)View
  • "Measuring Discrimination in Education: Are Methodologies from Labor and Housing Markets Useful?" (2005) Teacher's College Record. (with H. J. Holzer)
  • "The Effects of MTO on Educational Opportunities in Baltimore: Early Evidence" (2003) Choosing a Better Life. Ed. John Goering and Judith Feins. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 117-152. (with H. F. Ladd)
  • "MTO's Effects on Children and Parents: Evidence from Baltimore" (2003) Choosing a Better Life. Ed. John Goering and Judith Feins. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 153-176. (with G. J Duncan and H. F. Ladd)
  • "Pragmatic Gun Policy" (2003) Evaluating Gun Policy. Ed. Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1-40. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "The Effects of Gun Prevalence on Burglary: Deterrence vs. Inducement" (2003) Evaluating Gun Policy. Ed. Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook Washington, DC: Brooking Institution Press, 74-120. (with P. J. Cook) View
  • "Do Prison Sentence Enhancements Reduce Gun Crime? The Case of Project Exile" (2003) Evaluating Gun Policy. Ed. Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 251-286. (with S. Raphael) View
  • "Policing Crime Guns" (2003) Evaluating Gun Policy. Ed. Jens Ludwig and Philip J. Cook. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 217-250. (with J. Cohen) View
  • "The Effects of the Brady Act on Gun Violence" (2003) Guns, Crime, and Punishment in America. Ed. Bernard Harcourt. NY: New York University Press, 283-298.
  • "Improving Neighborhoods for Poor Children" (2003) On Percent for the Kids: New Policies, Brighter Futures for America's Children. Ed. Isabel Sawhil. Washington, DC: Brookings Press, 136-155.
  • "Firearms" (2002) Regulation through Litigation. Ed. W. Kip Viscusi. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 67-105. (with P. J. Cook)
  • "The Costs of Gun Violence Against Children" (2002) The Future of Children. 12(2): 87-100. (with P. J. Cook)
  • "Profiting from Learning: Firm-level Effects of Training Investments and Market Implications" (2002) Singapore Management Review. 24(3): 61- 76. (with L. J. Bassi, D. P. McMurrer, M. V. Buren) View
  • "The Benefits and Costs of Residential Mobility Programs" (2002)Housing Studies. 17(1): 125- 138. (with M. Johnson, H. F. Ladd)View
  • "Urban Poverty and Educational Outcomes" Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs. Ed William Gale and Janet Rothenberg Pack. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 147-201, 2001. (with H. F. Ladd and G. J. Duncan) View
  • "Problems in the Estimation of School Effects: Insights from Improved Models" (2001) Improving Educational Productivity. Ed. David H. Monk and Herbert J. Walberg. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, 209-230.
  • "Gun Self-Defense and Deterrence" (2000) Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, Volume 27. Ed. Michael Tonry. University of Chicago Press, 363-417. View
  • "Residential Relocation Policies in the United States: The Moving to Opportunity Demonstration" (1999) Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. 1491): 1-20, 1999. (with H. F. Ladd)
  • "The Burden of Acting White: Do Black Adolescents Disparage Academic Achievement?" (1998) The Black-White Test Score Gap. Ed. Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips. Washington, DC: Brookings Press, 375- 400. (with H. F. Ladd) View

Working Papers

  • "Thinking, Fast and Slow? Some Field Experiments to Reduce Crime and Dropout in Chicago" (2015). Cambridge, MA: NBER Working Paper. (with S.B. Heller, A.K. Shah, J. Guryan, S. Mullainathan and H.A. Pollack)
  • "Low-Income Housing Policy" (2015). Cambridge, MA: NBER Working Paper. (with R. Collinson and I.G. Ellen)
  • "Not Too Late: Improving Academic Outcomes for Disadvantaged Youth" (2015). Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research Working Paper. (with P.J. Cook, K.A. Dodge, G. Farkas, R.G. Fryer Jr., J. Guryan, S.E. Mayer, H.A. Pollack and L. Steinberg)
  • "Housing and neighborhoods and a new national household panel" (submitted) (with L. Quillian)
  • "An experimental evaluation of a comprehensive employment-oriented prisoner re-entry program" (Under revision) (with P. J. Cook, K. Songman, A. Braga, M. O'Brien)
  • "The (surprising) efficacy of academic and behavioral intervention with disadvantaged youth: Results from a randomized experiment in Chicago." Cambridge, MAA: NBER Working Paper. (with P.J. Cook, K. A. Dodge, G. Farkas, R. G. Fryer, J. Guryan, S. E. Mayer, H. A. Pollack, and L. Steinberg)
  • "The Effects of School Desegration on Crime" University of Chicago. (Working Paper) [with D. Weiner, B. Lutz)
  • "Neighborhood Effects on Low-Income Families: Evidence from a Housing-Voucher Lottery in Chicago" (with B. Jacob, G. Duncan, J. Rosenbaum, and M. Johnson)
  • "Can Non-Experimental Estimators Replicate Experimental Estimates of Neighborhood Effects" (with B. Jacob and J. Smith)

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Jens Ludwig

Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor

Jens Ludwig

On urban poverty, Ludwig has participated in the evaluation of a HUD-funded residential-mobility experiment that provides low-income public housing families the opportunity to relocate to private-market housing. In the area of crime, Ludwig has written extensively about gun-violence prevention.