An economist by training—with a PhD in Public Policy Analysis and Political Economy from Carnegie Mellon University — Shawn D. Bushway has spent his career applying an economist's toolkit to the field of criminology. This quantitative and theory-driven approach has allowed him to challenge long-held assumptions and reframe core questions about crime, punishment, and change. His work has earned him recognition as a Distinguished Alumnus from his alma mater, a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology, and a Distinguished Scholar for the Division of Corrections and Sentencing.

Bushway has built an influential body of work that includes two books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles, cited more than 20,000 times. His research appears in top journals across disciplines, from Criminology to Nature and Science Advances.

But for him, the goal has always been to participate in the policy debate. He has provided expert testimony to federal and state commissions, consulted with Fortune 50 companies on improving their background check processes, and, with Peter Reuter, co-founded what is now the largest annual conference on the economics of crime—the NBER's summer workshop. He remains an eternal optimist, driven by the belief that good data, even when it challenges the standard narrative, can eventually help build policies that recognize a fundamental fact: that most people can, and do, change.