Jennifer Doleac is an economist and the author of The Science of Second Chances. She is the Executive Vice President of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures, and hosts the Probable Causation podcast. Before joining Arnold Ventures in 2023, Dr. Doleac spent over a decade as an economics professor, working on academic research on crime and discrimination.

Jennifer Doleac is a leading expert on the economics of crime, and a vocal proponent of using rigorous research to inform policy. Her research addresses topics such as DNA databases, prosecutorial reform, risk assessment algorithms, and the unintended consequences of “ban the box” policies. Dr. Doleac’s work has been supported by several governmental and philanthropic organizations. In addition, her research has been published in leading academic journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, and the Journal of Labor Economics. She has spoken to a variety of international audiences about what works to improve public safety and how economists think about crime. She is frequently quoted in the media about criminal justice research and policy, and is a regular guest on high profile podcasts such as The Gist, Freakonomics, Slow Boring, and EconTalk.

Dr. Doleac holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University, and a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from Williams College. She lives in Houston, TX, with her dog, Chula.