Essays on Beliefs in Education and Criminal Justice

Abstract

Our perceptions of the world around us---whether right or wrong---have substantial impacts on the decisions we make. This dissertation examines how differences in beliefs contribute to inequality in American education and criminal justice systems. The first essay investigates the role students' beliefs play in where they apply for college. The second essay documents that the outcomes of court cases are influenced by prosecutors' prediction mistakes about whether or not defendants will commit future violent crimes. The third essay investigates how high school students' beliefs shape how much they choose to study. These papers combine survey methods with administrative data to identify important drivers of differential behavior across these domains.