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Rebecca Jane Brough

rjbrough@ucdavis.edu | Department of Economics, UC Davis | Davis, CA 95616 | Citizenship: Canada

Education

University of California, Davis
Ph.D. in Economics
September 2021 – Present
University of Virginia
B.A. in Economics and Politics, with highest distinction
May 2018

Research Interests

Labor, Public, and Economic History

Working Papers

  1. “Access to Teaching and Women’s Long-run Outcomes” (JMP)
  2. “Citizenship Policy and Immigrant Women’s Integration: Evidence from the 1922 Cable Act”
  3. “Teacher Marriage Bars” (with Wenni Yang)
  4. “Better Outcomes, Lower Costs: Evidence from Competitive Bidding in WIC” (with Grace Ortuzar)

Publications

  1. Refugees’ Economic Integration(with Dany Bahar and Giovanni Peri) Journal of Economic Literature, forthcoming
  2. Eliminating Fares to Expand Opportunities: Experimental Evidence on the Impacts of Free Public Transportation on Economic and Social Disparities(with Matt Freedman and David Phillips) American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 17.3 (2025): 1–34.
  3. High Schools Tailored to Adults Can Help Them Complete a Traditional Diploma and Excel in the Labor Market(with David Phillips and Patrick Turner) American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 16.4 (2024): 34–67.
  4. Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Means-Tested Public Transportation Subsidies on Travel Behavior(with Matt Freedman and David Phillips) Regional Science and Urban Economics 96 (2022): 103803.
  5. Can Transportation Subsidies Reduce Failures to Appear in Criminal Court? Evidence from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial(with Matt Freedman, Dan Ho, and David Phillips) Economics Letters 216 (2022): 110540.
  6. Understanding Socioeconomic Disparities in Travel Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic(with Matt Freedman and David Phillips) Journal of Regional Science 61.4 (2021): 753–774.

Research Affiliations

Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities — Emerging Scholar Affiliate
2025 –
Global Migration Center
2024 –
Center for Poverty and Inequality Research
2024 –

Awards and Grants

Russell Sage Foundation, Dissertation Grant — $15,000
2026 – 2027
Economic History Association, Sokoloff Award — $17,500
2026 – 2027
Provost Dissertation Year Fellowship — $60,000
2026 – 2027
Bacon Family Fellowship Award — $6,000
2025
UC Davis Travel Grant Award
2022, 2024, 2025, 2026
UC Davis Research Grant Award
2024, 2025
Emmerich-Wright Award for best undergraduate politics thesis, University of Virginia
2018

Presentations

2026
IPUMS Data Conference; Southern Economic Association; Center for Poverty and Inequality Mini-Conference; Economic History Association (Poster); UC Davis Alumni Conference (Poster); Institute for Research on Poverty (Poster); NBER Summer Institute: DAE (Poster)
2025
Institute for Humane Studies Workshop on Migration; Global Migration Center; Economic History Association; Southern Economic Association Annual Meeting
2024
APPAM
2023
Montana State University Applied Economics Conference; Center for Poverty and Inequality Graduate Student Retreat

Research Assistance

Professor Marianne Bitler
Aug 2025 – Present
Professor Giovanni Peri
Jun–Dec 2023; Jan–Jun 2025
Professors Marianne Bitler and Marianne Page
Sep 2023 – Dec 2024
California Policy Lab, UC Berkeley
Jun – Dec 2023
Professors Matt Freedman and David Phillips, through NBER
Dec 2022 – Mar 2023
Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities, University of Notre Dame
Jun 2018 – Jul 2021

Teaching Experience

Leader of Undergraduate Research Fellow Group
Spring 2024; Fall 2025
TA, ECN 140: Econometrics
Winter 2022
TA, ECN 130: Public Microeconomics
Spring 2022
TA, ECN 102: Analysis of Economic Data
Winter 2021; Spring 2021; Fall 2022
TA, ECN 01A: Principles of Microeconomics
Fall 2021

Professional Service

Referee: Journal of Human Resources; Journal of Urban Economics: Insights; Journal of Policy Analysis and Management; Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics

UC Davis Graduate Student Mentor
2024 – Present

Last updated June 2026