Patton Chen

Welcome to my website!

I am a PhD student in Public Policy (Economics Track) at Harvard Kennedy School.

My research lies at the intersection of the economics of crime, law & economics, and political economy. I am especially interested in how social movements, policy design, and institutional incentives generate or mitigate racial disparities in the criminal justice system. A large part of my current agenda examines the political economy of police‑alternative programs in the United States.

Before Harvard, I earned an M.A. in Economics at Duke University and served as a research assistant to Professor Bocar Ba and Professor Tony Cheng on policing projects, and to Professor Jonathan Petkun on judicial retirement.