Ben Sprung-Keyser, 2023 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Government Finance and Taxation Award Winner

Ben Sprung-Keyser, Harvard University, has won the NTA’s Outstanding Dissertation Prize for 2023. He will accept the award at the 116^th NTA Annual Conference, on November 3, 2023 in Denver, CO.

Ben is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Opportunity Insights at Harvard University. He is also a co-director at Policy Impacts. His research specializes in public finance and labor economics.

Ben received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in May 2023. His dissertation was entitled, “Essays in Public and Labor Economics.” The first chapter, joint with Nathaniel Hendren, utilizes the Marginal Value of Public Funds framework to examine the welfare consequences of historical US government policies. The second chapter, joint with William C. Boning, Nathaniel Hendren and Ellen Stuart, examines the returns to IRS audits of individuals across the income distribution. The third chapter, joint with Lucas Goodman, examines the extent to which state capital gains taxes drive migration or retiming among individuals with large quantities of capital gains. The final chapter, joint with Nathaniel Hendren and Sonya Porter, examines the extent to which childhood location shapes access to adult labor markets and quantifies the extent to which migration responds to changes in wage opportunities.