Angela Dills
Distinguished Professor Western Carolina University
- Cullowhee NC
Angela Dills's research focuses on policy issues such as school choice, accountability, peer effects, and alcohol and drug prohibition.
Media
Social
Biography
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Georgescu-Roegan Prize for Best Academic Article
2018 - Southern Economics Association
Excellence in Research Award
2017 - WCU College of Business
Education
Boston University
Ph.D.
Boston University
M.S.
University of Virginia
B.A.
Affiliations
- Education Freedom Institute : Advisory Board Member
Languages
- English
Media Appearances
As homeschooling increases, so do attempts to restrict it
WORLD News online
2025-04-10
There’s very little evidence that such legislation would be effective, according to Ray. He cited a 2022 study by Angela Dills, a professor of economics at Western Carolina University and a fellow with EdChoice, a nonprofit advocating for educational freedom.
Dills’ research, published in the Journal of School Choice, analyzed child abuse–related deaths from 1979 to 2008. During that time frame, many states made legal provisions for homeschooling. “I can look at the effect of those laws that led to an increase in homeschooling and see if there’s a change in child fatalities during that period,” Dills told WORLD. “And mostly, what I see is not a whole lot.”
School Choice Can Promote Evasive Entrepreneurs
The Daily Economy online
2023-12-01
“Evasive entrepreneurs are having their moment. Education entrepreneurs and parents are working to find educational options for children outside of the highly regulated traditional public schools.” ~Angela Dills
Study finds school choice improves mental health
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs online
2019-04-03
School choice plays a significant role in improving overall student mental health, including lowering adolescent suicide rates. That’s according to a groundbreaking new study by Corey DeAngelis, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, and Angela Dills, a professor of economics at Western Carolina University.
WCU unveils new economic tool
Smoky Mountain News online
2018-06-13
It was at a Mountain West meeting June 6 where Dr. Angela Dills, the Gimelstob-Landry distinguished professor of regional economic development at WCU unveiled the tool, which is available at www.ncdatadashboard.org.
“The professorship was started to help by policymakers make better decisions and I think providing people in the region with what’s happened in the past and what’s happening now is a great way to help them make better decisions,” said Dills.
Why Americans Love the Sharing Economy
National Review online
2016-06-07
But when it comes to ride-sharing’s effect on drunk driving, the technology’s contribution to public safety is clear — it reduces the rates of DUIs and fatal alcohol-related accidents. These are some of the findings of a new paper by economists Angela Dills of Providence College and Sean Mulholland of Stonehill College.
Event Appearances
Creativity and Economic Wellbeing
February 2019 | Jubilee Professional
Ride-Sharing, Fatal Crashes, and Crime: Uber and the Social Good
Fall 2018 | Florida Gulf Coast University
Ride-Sharing, Fatal Crashes, and Crime: Uber and the Social Good
April 2019 | The College of New Jersey
Availability
- Moderator
Research Grants
UNCA’s “Working Smarter and Harder: Advising and Registration for Timely Graduation”
UNC System Office Award
2019-2021
The Effects of Regulation on School Choice Participation: Experimental Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample of Private Schools
Charles Koch Foundation
2019-2020.
Summer Research Grant
WCU’s College of Business $5000
2020
Articles
Gender Disparities in Economic Freedom and Human Capital
Journal of Private Enterprise2024
Economic freedom raises incomes and economic growth, partly through increased human capital investment. When men and women differ in the economic freedom they experience, we expect girls and boys to face different returns to human capital investment. Using country-level panel data and country fixed effects, I estimate how gender disparity in economic freedom affects gender gaps in human capital accumulation. Closing gender disparities in economic freedom raises female literacy rates and may improve female learning outcomes.
Does telemedicine save lives? Evidence on the effect of telemedicine parity laws on mortality rates
Southern Economic Journal2024
Between 1995 and 2018, just over half of U.S. states enacted laws requiring private insurance plans cover medical care provided remotely. These telemedicine parity laws likely increase health care access, particularly in areas with few providers, by granting patients access to specialists or primary care providers located elsewhere. We estimate the effect of telemedicine parity laws on mortality rates of all causes and for causes of death due to conditions more frequently treated with telemedicine. Mortality rates decline postparity laws, driven by decreases in ischemic heart disease deaths. Ischemic heart disease mortality rates decline by about 6% in the difference‐in‐differences specification and 9% in the event study estimation.
The effects of private schooling on pupil achievement: a global systemic analysis
Comparative Education2024
Globally, the private school share of enrollment increased from about 14 percent in 2000 to about 18 percent in 2019. We estimate the systemic effect of private enrollment share on learning outcomes. Estimates of the systemic effect of private school enrollment capture any competitive effects as well as any differences between public and private schools in raising student outcomes. We use new data from the World Bank on harmonised learning outcomes for mathematics, reading, and science to produce an unbalanced sample of 120 countries from 2000 to 2017. We find that, all else equal, on average, a one percentage point increase in private enrollment is associated with null to at most weakly positive effects on country-level learning outcomes.
Academic Case Management and College Student Retention
NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising2024
Many institutions of higher education struggle with low retention rates. One state liberal arts college addressed this concern by assigning an academic case manager to higher risk students. This project evaluated the effectiveness of the case manager on student credit hours and retention using a randomized control trial. The case manager contacted assigned students regularly, meeting with students and helping them navigate college and their classes. We found that students randomly assigned to the case manager earned higher grades, completed more credits, and were more likely to return to campus the second semester of the academic year.
The effects of regulations on private school choice program participation: Experimental evidence from the United States
Research in Educational Administration and Leadership2023
Private school leaders weigh costs and benefits when deciding whether to participate in school voucher programs. Regulatory costs associated with accepting voucher funding could reduce private school leaders’ willingness to participate. We test this hypothesis through the first random assignment analysis of the effects of various regulations on the expressed willingness of private school leaders to participate in hypothetical voucher programs that draws upon national data. We randomly assign different regulations to U.S. private school leaders and ask them whether they would participate in a hypothetical school voucher program during the following school year.
