My research uses game theory, experiments, and econometrics to study how information, evidence, knowledge, and expertise develop and how they shape decisions, organizations, and policy. It bridges public economics, information economics, and the economics of science, with applications in evidence-based policy, health and medicine, development, and, in particular, education and human capital.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (selected)

For a complete list of publications, see my CV.

Cotton (2026), Rigor is not readiness: the PERL framework for evidence-based policy, Science. [Media: The Conversation; Global News radio; VoxDevTalks podcast; PERL summary]

Cotton & Hickman (2026), Affirmative action, shifting competition, and human capital accumulation: A comparative static analysis of investment contests, Journal of Human Capital, accepted

Cotton, Hickman, List, Price, & Roy (2026), Why don’t struggling students do their homework? Disentangling motivation and study productivity in a model of human capital investment, Journal of Political Economy

Maslove, Cotton, Kwizera, Mousavi, Piquette, Uzun, & Celi (2026). The future of AI and critical care: An exploration in ten parables. AJRCCM, forthcoming [State of the Art review]

Cotton, Nordstrom, Nanowski, & Richter (2025), Can discussions about girls’ education improve academic outcomes: evidence from a randomized development intervention, World Bank Economic Review [Media: VoxDev]

Cotton, Alam, Tosta, Buchman, & Maslove (2025), Effect of monetary incentives on peer review acceptance and completion: A quasi-randomized interventional trial, Critical Care Medicine [The issue’s feature article; the subject of a journal forward and editorial. Media: news coverage in Nature, Nature again, Nature yet again, Queen’s Gazette, Inside Higher Ed, etc.]

Nordstrom & Cotton (2025), The Impact of a Severe Drought on Girls’ Attendance and Learning, American Educational Research Journal

Corazzini, Cotton, Longo, & Reggiani (2024), Coordinated selection of collective action: Wealthy-interest bias and inequality, Journal of Public Economics

Cotton, Hickman, & Price (2022), Affirmative action and human capital investment: Evidence from a randomized field experiment, Journal of Labor Economics [Media: Quartz, FiveThirtyEight, The Chronicle of Higher Education, etc.]

Cotton, Crowley, Kashi, Lloyd-Ellis, & Tremblay (2022), Quantifying the economic impacts of COVID-19 policy responses in (almost) real time, Canadian Journal of Economics

Agranov, Cotton, & Tergiman (2020), Persistence of Power: Repeated multilateral bargaining with endogenous agenda-setting authority, Journal of Public Economics

Corazzini, Cotton, & Reggiani (2020), Delegation and coordination with multiple threshold public goods: experimental evidence, Experimental Economics

Boleslavsky & Cotton (2018), Limited capacity in project selection: Competition through evidence production, Economic Theory

Cotton & Li (2018), Clueless Politicians: On Policymaker Incentives for Information Acquisition in a Model of Lobbying, Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization

Boleslavsky, Cotton, & Gurnani (2017), Demonstrations and price competition in new product release, Management Science

Cotton (2016), Competing for attention: Lobbying time-constrained politicians, J. Public Econ. Theory

Cotton & Dellis (2016), Informational lobbying and agenda distortion, Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization

Boleslavsky & Cotton (2015), Grading standards and education quality, AEJ: Microeconomics [Media: AEA Research Highlight, Vox-EU]

Corazzini, Cotton, & Valbonesi (2015), Donor coordination in project funding: Evidence from a threshold public goods experiment, Journal of Public Economics

Boleslavsky & Cotton (2015), Information and extremism in elections, AEJ: Microeconomics [Media: The Washington Post, IB Times, Discovery News]

Cotton (2013), Submission fees and response times in academic publishing, American Economic Review

Cotton, McIntyre, & Price (2013), Gender differences in repeated competition: Evidence from school math contests, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization [Media: Forbes, Vox-EU, The Globe and Mail]

Cotton (2012), Pay to play politics: Informational lobbying and contribution limits when money buys access, Journal of Public Economics

Cotton (2009), Should we tax or cap political contributions? A lobbying model with policy favors and access, Journal of Public Economics

Scholarly Correspondence (selected)

Cotton (2026), Policy Evidence Readiness Levels sit between evidence and decision, Science, eLetter, Aug. 31. [correspondence regarding my PERL paper]

Cotton & Scholle Cotton (2026), The AI Expertise Paradox, Issues in Science and Technology, National Academies

Books

Cotton, ed. (2025), Lasting disruption: Health, economic, and social impacts of COVID-19 in Canada, State of the Federation Book Series, McGill-Queen’s University Press. [Including authoring or co-authoring 6 of the 15 chapters]

Not-Yet-Published

Should star performers lead or anchor their teams? Sequential contributions in a threshold public goods experiment, QED working paper, with Luca Corazzini & Enrico Longo [featured in Smith Business Insights].

The economics of VSLA savings groups and the value of financial inclusion, with Frederic Tremblay

Wildfire smoke increases labor hours among urban workers, with Zemar Hakim

Evidence under pressure: Governance, public pressure, and COVID-19 school closures, with Monica LaBarge & Ardyn Nordstrom.

A market design approach to reducing achievement gaps in light of academic productivity, motivation, and school quality differences, with Brent Hickman, John List, & Greg Sun

Which students benefit most from extra teacher attention? with Brent Hickman & John List

A model of challenge funds: How funding availability and selection rigor affect project quality, working paper with Raphael Boleslavsky

Disincentive effects of evaluation, working paper with Raphael Boleslavsky

Competing for capital: Auditing and credibility in financial reporting, NBER working paper, with Raphael Boleslavsky & Bruce Carlin

Less proficient or more methodical: A field experiment on measured gender gaps in math scores, with Brent Hickman & John List

What makes for successful collaborations? Experimental evidence, with Luca Corazzini, Andreas Lange, & Enrico Longo (experiment in progress)