Justin Holz

I am an Assistant Professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. I earned my PhD in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. I am an affiliate of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities and the Joint Initiative for Latin American Experimental Economics, and I serve as Associate Editor of the Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics. 

My research combines field experiments with administrative data to examine how enforcement and administrative discretion shape policy outcomes. I study who exercises discretion in carrying out policies, what burdens people must navigate to benefit from them, and how those steps decide who gains, who pays, and why outcomes differ from a policy's intent. 

I combine field experiments with administrative data, usually in partnership with the governments and firms whose decisions I study. My work spans policing and public safety; tax compliance and enforcement; the gatekeepers and paperwork that stand between people and public benefits; and the measurement of welfare in markets where the costs that matter, such as fairness, time, and attention, are never priced.

Current projects examine why tenants facing eviction do not take up free legal representation, where entrepreneurs drop out of the small-business lending process, and whether AI assistance narrows or widens the gap in who benefits from tax relief.

You can contact me at holzj [at] umich.edu