My recent research has examined such issues as the impact of abortion policy changes on pregnancy, abortion, and birth; the impact of the business cycle on retirement behavior; and the ability of alternative public policies to raise the adult incomes of children who grow up in poverty. Along with many publications in academic journals and edited volumes, I am the author of Sex and Consequences: Abortion, Public Policy, and the Economics of Fertility, co-editor of Targeting Investments in Children: Fighting Poverty When Resources are Limited, and co-author of Reconsidering Retirement: How Losses and Layoffs Affect Older Workers.

The focus of my research spills over into my teaching activities. I emphasize statistical and econometric methods in my own work and bring these interests to the classroom. I am a core member of the group of faculty in the Economics Department who teach the courses Introduction to Probability and Statistics and Econometric Methods. A key component of these classes is applying statistical analysis to real-world problems. My upper-level course, Economic Analysis of Social Policy, even more specifically targets my research interests.

National Bureau of Economic Research