Essays / Op-eds

If the name of the publication is italicized, that means the op-ed appeared in print. No italics indicates a web-only piece.

The American Mind. October 19, 2023.

The American Conservative. August 16, 2023.

Divided We Fall. June 27, 2023.

Academic Questions. Spring 2023.

American Greatness. March 7, 2023.

American Greatness. December 4, 2022.

Real Clear Books. July 19, 2022.

Tallahassee Democrat. January 24, 2022.

National Review. September 13, 2021.

Inside Sources. August 7, 2021.

The American Spectator. August 6, 2021.

Real Clear Policy. April 21, 2021.
(with Andrew Biggs)

The National Interest. April 6, 2021.

Academic Questions. Spring 2021.

American Greatness. August 18, 2020.

"Refusing to Reopen Maryland Schools Is a Serious Mistake"
Baltimore Sun. May 7, 2020.

"The Truth About Teacher Pay"
National Affairs. Fall 2019.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"Free Speech Matters, Even When It’s Not Protected by the First Amendment"
Quillette. August 18, 2019.

"The 'Underpaid Teachers' Myth"
Wall Street Journal. May 23, 2019.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"The Threat to English"
American Greatness. February 20, 2019.

"When Bureaucrats Veto the President"
National Review. February 19, 2019.

"Low-Skilled Immigration and the Balkanized Campus"
Academic Questions. Winter 2018.

"Don't Raise Teacher Pay; Reform It"
National Review. June 5, 2018.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"No, Teachers Are Not Underpaid"
City Journal. April 26, 2018.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"Why the U.S. Should End Low-Skill Immigration"
Philadelphia Inquirer. December 19, 2017.
(with Amy Wax)


"Low-Skill Immigration: A Case for Restriction"
American Affairs. Winter 2017.
(with Amy Wax)

"Taking English Seriously"
City Journal. November 14, 2017.
(with Mark Krikorian)

"More Immigration Would Mean More Democrats"
National Review. October 4, 2017.

"California Fails the Immigration Test"
Real Clear Policy. May 5, 2017.

"California's Bilingual Gamble"
The American Conservative. April 11, 2017.

"Debunking the Myth of the Teacher Pay Gap Again"
Education Next. October 5, 2016.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"The Immigration Band-Aid"
The American Conservative. June 2, 2016.

"What Else Could Explain the Negative Result from Louisiana?"
JayPGreene.com. January 7, 2016.

"The New Debate Over the Mariel Boatlift"
Real Clear Policy. January 5, 2016.
*Also see longer version for Center for Immigration Studies*

"The Farm Lobby's Pursuit of Low Wages"
National Review. August 28, 2015.

"Program Evaluations Are a Waste of Money"
Real Clear Policy. August 21, 2015.

"Are Low-Skill Immigrants Upwardly Mobile?"
Real Clear Policy. July 8, 2015.

"Science-Gilding the Marriage Debate"
Public Discourse. May 28, 2015.

"The Amnesty Numbers Game"
National Review. March 30, 2015.

"What Happened to Warren the Watchdog?"
Politico. November 11, 2014.
(with Jason Delisle)

"The Case for Fair-Value Accounting"
National Affairs. Fall 2014.
(with Jason Delisle)

"Why We Shouldn't Raise Teacher Pay"
The Federalist. July 25, 2014.

"Pre-K Decay"
National Review. February 24, 2014.

"What Government Schools Can Teach Us About Government Healthcare"
Forbes. October 23, 2013. 

“Why Can’t We Talk About IQ?” 
Think Progress. May 24, 2013.

“About That Dissertation” 
National Review. May 20, 2013.

“In Preschool Debate, Politics Trumps Evidence” 

Real Clear Politics. April 22, 2013. 
(with Lindsey Burke)

“Are Public Pension Systems on the Road to Recovery?”
Public Sector Inc. April 1, 2013.
(debate with Keith Brainard)

“Teacher Pensions Sweeter Than They Would Like You to Think”
Washington Times. February 14, 2013.

“Teacher Bar Exams Would be a Huge Mistake”
The Atlantic. January 14, 2013.
(with Lindsey Burke)

“For Federal Workers, the Grass Isn't Greener in the Private Sector”
Real Clear Policy. December 11, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“The Underworked Public Employee”  
Wall Street Journal. December 5, 2012. 
(with Andrew Biggs)

“The Truth About Federal Salary Numbers.”
Washington Post. November 19, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“If Teachers are Underpaid, Why Don’t They Earn More When They Move to Other Professions?"
Jay P. Greene. September 4, 2012.

"The Compensation Question: Are Public School Teachers Underpaid?"
Education Next. September 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Bad Deal on Student Loans” 
National Review. June 28, 2012. 
(with Lindsey Burke)

“Only the Public Sector is ‘Doing Fine.'”
National Review. June 14, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Walking in Scott Walker’s Footsteps”
New York Daily News. June 11, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Walker’s Moderate Reforms”
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. May 31, 2012.

“Public Pension Stimulus Nonsense” 
Real Clear Markets. May 3, 2012. 
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Overpaid Public Workers: Actually, We're Moving Toward Consensus”
Huffington Post. May 1, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Overpaid Public Workers: The Evidence Mounts”
Wall Street Journal. April 11, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Are Teachers Overpaid? A Response to Critics”
Education Week. January 11, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Why Public Pensions Are So Rich”
Wall Street Journal. January 4, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Are Teachers Overpaid: Higher Pay Than Private Sector”
New York Times ‘Room for Debate.’ January 3, 2012.
(with Andrew Biggs) 

"Are Public School Teachers Really Underpaid?"
USA Today 'Chat.' November 16, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Are Public School Teachers Really Underpaid? Nope.”
USA Today. November 16, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“What Happened to Data-Driven Education Reform?”
Huffington Post. November 14, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs and Lindsey Burke)

“Are Teachers Overpaid?"
U.S. News and World Report ‘Debate Club.’ November 9, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Public School Teachers Aren’t Underpaid” 
Wall Street Journal. November 8, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"Are Teachers Paid Too Much?" 
Washington Post 'Live Q&A.' November 2, 2011. 

“Who’s Next?"
National Review. September 19, 2011.

“Obama's New Economic Chief Understands Federal Employee Pay”
Weekly Standard. September 13, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“A Primer on Government Pay”
Public Sector Inc. April 7, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Public-Sector Employees: Underpaid?”
National Review. April 4, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Are State’s Public Employees Overpaid?”
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. March 11, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“The Public Worker Gravy Train” 
Wall Street Journal. February 24, 2011. 
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Yes, They’re Overpaid”
Weekly Standard. February 14, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“The Real Gap” 
Government Executive. January 20, 2011.
(with Andrew Biggs)

“Would You Fly Liberty Air?”
The American. January 8, 2011.

"Experts Dispute Data" 
Letter to the editor of FactCheck.org. December 14, 2010.
(with Andrew Biggs) 

“Government Workers Are Not Underpaid by 22 Percent”
Washington Examiner. September 3, 2010.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"Those Underpaid Government Workers"
The American Spectator. September 2010.
(with Andrew Biggs)

"The Government Pay Bonus"
Wall Street Journal. July 6, 2010.

"A Population Portrait"
National Review. June 7, 2010.

"Model Minority?"
Alternative Right. March 3, 2010.

The American. October 21, 2009.

“Latino Immigrants are Not on Path to Economic Parity” 
Dallas Morning News. October 2, 2009.

“Failing the IQ Test” 
The American Conservative. October 2009.
*See original uncut version here.* 

“The Congealing Pot”   
National Review. August 24, 2009.

“A Smart Solution to the Diversity Dilemma” 
The American. August 12, 2009.

“Indian Americans: The New Model Minority” 
Forbes. February 24, 2009.

“Abolish Recounts” 
National Review. January 29, 2009.