My research uses causal inference, field experiments, and administrative data to study discrimination, identity and immigration, education, health, labor markets, and policy.
* Student coauthor at the time of writing.
The Impact of Hispanic Last Names on Educational and Labor Market Outcomes
Hussain Hadah
Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, published online 2025; 9(1), 1–11 (2026). doi: 10.1007/s41996-025-00177-3.
People likely to have Hispanic surnames complete 0.39 fewer years of education, and men earn 5 percentage points less, than otherwise similar children of interethnic couples.
The Effect of Racial and Ethnic Attitudes on Hispanic Identity in the U.S.
Hussain Hadah
Southern Economic Journal, published online 2024; 92(2), 338–358 (2025). doi: 10.1002/soej.12749.
A one-standard-deviation increase in state-level bias reduces self-reported Hispanic identity by 4 percentage points among people with Hispanic ancestry.
Peer Effects in Adolescent Mental Health
Hussain Hadah
Revise and resubmit at Economica.
Friends' mental health is strongly associated with adolescents' own mental health, academic achievement, physical health, and risky behavior.
The Effect of Anti-Asian Attitudes on Asian Identity in the U.S.
Hussain Hadah
Revise and resubmit at the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
A one-standard-deviation increase in state-level bias reduces self-reported Asian identity by 9 percentage points across generations.
Immigration Enforcement and Hispanic Identity
Hussain Hadah and Augustine Denteh
Under review.
Secure Communities reduces self-reported Hispanic identity on average, with declines among first- and third-generation children but increased identification among second-generation children.
The Effects of Waiting Periods on Firearm Suicides in the U.S.
Hussain Hadah, Gael Compta, and Ali Saffouri
Under review.
Firearm-purchase waiting periods reduce firearm suicides by 0.92 deaths per 100,000, or 12 percent, overall, with larger reductions for men, White adults, and adults aged 55 and older.
Immigration Enforcement, Sanctuary Cities, and Rising Hispanic Suicide Rates
Hussain Hadah
Under review.
Secure Communities increases suicide rates among Hispanic adults aged 34 and older by 0.11 per 100,000 overall, with increases among men and decreases among women.
Longitudinal Evidence on the Economic Returns to Disability Services
Michelle Yin, Hussain Hadah, and Regina Seo
RISEI Lab, Northwestern University.
Uses longitudinal administrative records to study the labor-market returns to disability services.
Michelle Yin, Hussain Hadah, and Regina Seo
RISEI Lab, Northwestern University.
Uses Virginia longitudinal data to estimate how the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act affects labor-market outcomes.
Democracy and Ethnic Favoritism: Evidence from Africa
Hussain Hadah and Bariş Alan*
Under review.
Evidence of ethnic favoritism is mixed overall but stronger within the democracy-only and anocracy-only samples.
Patrick Button, Hussain Hadah, Javiera Selman, Bariş Alan*, Cathy Balfe*, and Tran Nguyen-Phuong*
In field.
Hussain Hadah, Patrick Button, Douglas Harris, Barbara Lundebjerg*, and Bariş Alan*
In design. Funded by a J-PAL Social Policy Research Initiative grant of $140,747.
Patrick Button, Clare Daniel, Hussain Hadah, Julie Hernandez, Mirya Holman, and Anna Mahoney
In design.
Assimilation of Hispanics and Arabs in America
Augustine Denteh and Hussain Hadah
In progress.
Endogenous Hispanic Identity and Ethnic Gaps in the U.S.
Hussain Hadah
Writing.