Working Papers

1. "The Long-Run Effects of Doxxing: Evidence from the Second Ku Klux Klan" (JMP)

Abstract: This paper provides the first quantitative evidence on the long-run effects of doxxing by comparing the outcomes of outed members of the second Ku Klux Klan to those of their unexposed peers. Between 1915 and 1925, over four million men joined and left the second iteration of the KKK. Despite its pervasiveness, the Klan had outspoken adversaries including Chicago's American Unity League (AUL), which infiltrated individual Klan chapters (Klaverns), stole membership rolls, and published Klansmen's names, addresses and occupations in its newspaper, Tolerance. Linking exposed members from Tolerance issues and unexposed members identified from various archival sources to the decennial censuses, I use difference-in-differences and event study techniques to evaluate the long-run impact of being doxxed on individuals' later-life outcomes, particularly migration, job switching, and occupational prestige. Across a variety of specifications, I find that being doxxed had no statistically significant effect on any outcomes of interest through 1940.

2. "Crony Capitalism and Insider Trading: Insights from the Teapot Dome Scandal" (with C. Fohlin, submitted) [PDF]

Abstract: Using novel data from the notorious 1922 Teapot Dome scandal, we assess costs of informed trading by corrupt officials and company insiders involved in illegal federal oil lease contracts. We estimate insider gains of nearly $300 million (2025 terms). Market makers widened bid-ask spreads for oil stocks, raising costs for all investors. Despite legal insider trading, insiders only partially bid up share prices before public revelation, temporarily evading detection and delaying full information incorporation until salient news coverage broke. Our analysis underscores how cronyism and insider trading distort resource allocation and disadvantage uninformed investors, with lessons for modern regulation.