Betsey Ayer Stevenson (born c. 1971) is an economist and Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Additionally, she is a fellow of the

Ifo Institute for Economic Research The Ifo Institute for Economic Research is a Munich-based research institution. Ifo is an acronym from Information and Forschung (research). As one of Germany's largest economic think-tanks, it analyses economic policy and is known for its mon ...

in Munich, a research associate at the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...

and serves on the board of the American Economic Association. The

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

announced her appointment as a Member of the

Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the president of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

, a post she served from 2013 through 2015. She previously served as Chief Economist of the

U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unem ...

under Secretary Hilda Solis from 2010 to 2011. Previously, she was an assistant professor of Business and Public Policy, at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

. In November 2020, Stevenson was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the

United States Department of Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

Education

Betsey Stevenson earned a B.A. in economics and mathematics from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

in 1993. After working as a research assistant at the

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

, she went on to earn an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2001. At Harvard, she studied under N. Gregory Mankiw, and had Caroline M. Hoxby, Lawrence Katz, and

Claudia Goldin Claudia Dale Goldin (born May 14, 1946) is an American economic historian and labor economist. She is the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University. In October 2023, she was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "fo ...

as thesis advisors.

Current academic appointments

Stevenson is a professor of economics and public policy at

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Currently, Stevenson serves as a research associate at the

, which she has been affiliated with since 2008. She has been on the Board of Directors of the

American Law and Economics Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

since 2010. In 2011, Stevenson was appointed to the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

's, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity as an advisor. Also in 2011, Stevenson joined the editorial board of the ''International Journal of Happiness and Development''. On March 6, 2019, Stevenson testified for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, highlighting some of the critical issues the modern American worker faces such as technology and inadequate family support policies. Stevenson has also conducted research on the relationship between wealth inequality and happiness alongside Justin Wolfers. The research argues for redistribution, where transferring a 10% income boost from a millionaire to a lower-income individual would increase overall happiness. Since 2007, Stevenson has served as a research fellow for the CESifo Economic Studies. Stevenson maintains a large Twitter following and regularly provides economic analysis on cable television.

Past professional and academic appointments

After graduating from Harvard, Stevenson turned down a faculty position at the

and went to work for Forrester Research, a technology consulting firm in California. After a few years, she accepted a faculty position at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. In addition, from 2005 to 2009 she served as a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia and San Francisco. From September 2010 to 2011, she served as chief economist of the

under Secretary Hilda Solis. After leaving the Department of Labor, she spent a year as a visiting assistant professor and visiting associate research scholar at the Princeton University Department of Economics. Stevenson then moved to Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

Academic research

Stevenson has published widely in leading economics journals about the impact of public policies on the labor market, with a focus on women and families. She has also written widely on subjective well-being. Her research is interdisciplinary, and her research had an impact in economics, sociology, psychology, and demography, and within legal scholarship. She is a columnist for Bloomberg View, and a sometime commentator for Public Radio's Marketplace program, and her thoughts on the economy are frequently covered in both print and television media. Stevenson's research is extensive, including several papers co-authored with Justin Wolfers.

Personal life

Betsey Stevenson has two children with Justin Wolfers, an Australian economist and public policy scholar, who is also a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. The couple met while graduate students at Harvard University. They are unmarried partners for tax reasons, and have frequently publicly discussed being a Shared Earning/Shared Parenting relationship.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Betsey 1970s births Year of birth uncertain 21st-century American women academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century American economists 21st-century American women civil servants American women economists Chief Economists of the United States Department of Labor Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy faculty Harvard University alumni Living people Obama administration personnel United States Council of Economic Advisers University of Michigan faculty Wellesley College alumni