Ryan Sherrard has expertise in labor economics, applied econometrics, policy evaluation, and the economics of crime.

Much of Dr. Sherrard’s research has focused on using applied econometrics to analyze the relationships between the criminal justice system, public policy, and the labor market. In one paper, currently under revision at the Journal of Public Economics, Dr. Sherrard evaluated the impact of “Ban the Box” policies on criminal recidivism rates. He used a staggered-adoption difference-in-difference framework to evaluate the effect of restricting employer access to applicants’ criminal history on recidivism for ex-offenders by race.

His work contributed to our understanding of the labor market for persons with a record. In other work, Dr. Sherrard examined the determinants of sentencing behavior in local criminal justice officials. Specifically, he has written papers estimating the sentencing impact of electoral pressure and local television news coverage on prosecutors and judges. He has also served as a referee for Labour Economics.

Before joining Secretariat, Dr. Sherrard was an economist at Intensity. He has also worked as a consulting expert for an economics consulting firm, focusing on cases dealing with environmental damages, cost-benefit analyses, and urban and labor economics.