Contact
Pietro Pellerito
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. I work at the intersection of Public, Education, and Labor Economics. My current research agenda centers on how policies that expand educational access shape student outcomes and institutional responses, particularly in economically disadvantaged communities.
I am on the 2026–2027 job market. My job market paper studies how school districts respond to enrollment competition when statutory barriers to participation in inter-district school choice are lifted.
I am a PhD Fellow with the Program for Interdisciplinary Education Research and a Research Affiliate with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.
Job Market Paper (click for link)
"Breaking Boundaries: Competitive Effects of Inter-District School Choice"
Expanding school choice can incentivize school districts to improve educational quality as they compete for enrollment. When students exercise that choice, however, changes in student composition and district resources may affect how well districts can educate students, leaving the overall effect uncertain. To study these tradeoffs, I exploit an Indiana property-tax reform that incidentally eliminated fees to attend public schools outside a student's residential district. Using statewide administrative data, I measure the extent to which each school district's enrollment is threatened by comparing its pre-reform achievement with that of neighboring districts. I find that districts facing greater enrollment pressure improve educational quality, narrowing pre-existing achievement gaps with neighboring districts by 5.3 percent overall and 8.4 percent in elementary grades. Gains are largest in smaller districts, where enrollment losses are harder to absorb. These findings suggest that expanding access to non-residential public schools can improve educational quality even for students who remain enrolled in their home district.