معرفی
Bocar A. Ba is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Duke University and is on academic leave (2025–2026) at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics (CSDP), Princeton University. His research integrates labor economics, public economics, and political economy to study policing, accountability, and racial disparities.
Research Interests
Ba’s agenda centers on the economics of crime and justice, with particular attention to:
- Economics of Policing: Analyzing how officer behavior, oversight mechanisms, and institutional incentives affect public safety outcomes.
- Racial Disparities: Documenting and explaining gaps in policing outcomes, award recognition, and media narratives.
- Policy Evaluation: Using quasi-experimental and experimental methods to assess interventions such as civilian oversight, peer effects, and alternative public-safety programs.
Publications & Working Papers
Since 2017, Ba has published or has forthcoming articles in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Science, Journal of Labor Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, AEJ: Policy, and other top-tier outlets. His work is characterized by creative use of administrative datasets (Chicago Police Department, award nominations, market data), rigorous causal identification, and collaboration with multidisciplinary co-authors.
Scientific Awards
- Runner-up Best Student Paper, Urban Economics Association, 2018, for "Going the Extra Mile: The Cost of Complaint Filing, Accountability, and Law Enforcement Outcomes in Chicago".
Collaborations & Grants
Ba has ongoing collaborations with scholars from Princeton, UPenn, Chicago, and other institutions. He frequently partners with the J-PAL network for field experiments and policy evaluations. External funding details are not explicitly listed but his involvement with J-PAL Evaluation Summaries and large-scale randomized interventions implies active grant support.
Labs & Teams
While no formal lab name is provided, Ba is closely affiliated with Duke’s Department of Economics and the Duke Center for Economics of Crime and Justice Policy. During 2025–2026 he will be embedded at Princeton CSDP, expanding his network in political science and public policy.
