Brian A. Jacob

Brian A. Jacob is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy and professor of economics at the Ford School, and is co-director of the Youth Policy Lab. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Brian came to Michigan from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government; he previously served as a policy analyst in the NYC Mayor's Office and taught middle school in East Harlem. His primary fields of interest are labor economics, program evaluation, and the economics of education. Brian's current research focuses on urban school reform, with a particular emphasis on standards and accountability initiatives. At the Ford School, he teaches "Economics of Education" and classes focused on education policy. In 2008, Jacob received the David N. Kershaw Prize, an award given every two years to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy. He received a BA from Harvard University in 1992 and a PhD in public policy from the University of Chicago.

View more on Brian Jacob's personal site.

Professional affiliations

Co-director of the Youth Policy Lab

Recent publications

• Hemelt, Steven and Jacob, Brian (2020). “How Does an Accountability Program that Targets Achievement Gaps Affect Student Performance.” Education Finance and Policy. 15(1): 45-74.
• Dee, Thomas S., Dobbie, Will, Jacob, Brian, and Rockoff, Jonah (2019).  “The Causes and Consequences of Test Score Manipulation: Evidence from the New York State Regents Exam.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 11(3): 382-423.
• Cassandra Hart, Dan Berger, Brian Jacob, Susanna Loeb and Michael Hill (2019). “Online Learning, Offline Outcomes: Online Course Taking and High School Performance.” American Education Research Association (AERA) Open: 5(1).