Emma Rackstraw

Emma Rackstraw will be an Assistant Professor of Economics at Swarthmore College starting in fall 2025. In 2024-5, she is a SSRC Criminal Justice Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow at the Quattrone Center at UPenn Carey Law.

Her research is focused on understanding the decision-making processes and incentive systems facing key decision-makers in the U.S. criminal justice system and labor market, as well as how those decisions interact with systemic inequities. Her work uses theory and techniques from labor economics, experimental economics, and behavioral economics, as well as other disciplines like psychology and political science. 

She previously led the Crime and Political Economy & Governance sectors at J-PAL North America at MIT, was an Associate Fellow at the Office of Evaluation Sciences, and was a Research Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Her PhD is from Harvard University. She is a proud alumna of Wellesley College.