People In Economics: The Accessibility Economist by Bob Simison

Source details

Canonical URL: People In Economics: The Accessibility Economist by Bob Simison

Betsey Stevenson is described as a 53-year-old labor economist at the University of Michigan who emphasizes public perceptions alongside traditional economic indicators.
PhD completed at Harvard in 2001.
Stevenson “takes into account not just economic indicators but also public perceptions” to make economics more accessible and to address the sense that “the economy is rigged against them.”
Coauthor and life partner: Justin Wolfers, also at the University of Michigan.

Title IX research:
- Stevenson’s dissertation and subsequent papers documented the impact of Title IX (enacted in 1972) on girls’ access to high school sports and downstream effects: increased college enrollment, labor force participation, and advancement into managerial positions.
- Claudia Goldin: “Betsey was the first to show the enormous impact of Title IX.”
Money and happiness:
- In a 2008 paper with Justin Wolfers, they found “a clear positive link between average levels of subjective well‑being [happiness] and GDP per capita across countries.”
- They reported no evidence of “a point beyond which wealthier countries have no further increases in subjective well‑being,” challenging the Easterlin paradox.
Family structure and divorce:
- A 2003 paper linked liberalized divorce laws to reductions in domestic violence against women, female suicides, and murders of women.
- A 2007 review of 150 years of divorce and marriage records found declining divorce rates over the preceding 25 years and higher 20‑year marriage survival for those marrying in the 1980s versus the 1970s.
Women’s welfare:
- Stevenson pioneered work showing women’s happiness suffered from the dual pressures of workforce entry and primary caregiving responsibilities.
- Prakash Loungani: “Betsey Stevenson helped put [women’s welfare] on the radar.”

Textbook:
- Coauthor of Principles of Economics; first edition 2020, second edition 2023; working on a third edition.
- Emphasizes realistic examples and policy relevance for non‑professionals: “few students will become professional economists—but every single one of them is an economic decision maker.”
Multimedia outreach:
- Produced a series of more than 50 podcasts, “Think Like an Economist,” in 2020–21 to explain economic concepts in everyday terms.
Pedagogical impact:
- Northeastern’s Alicia Modestino and others cite the book’s accessibility and policy focus as filling a gap in modern economics instruction.

Government roles:
- Served as chief economist of Obama’s Labor Department and on the Council of Economic Advisers.
- Served on the Biden‑Harris transition team and has testified regularly in Congressional hearings.
Advisory work:
- Engaged by the Obama Foundation to lead outside advisors for economic recommendations for President Obama’s Democracy Forum speech.
- Valerie Jarrett: “Betsey has the ability to take complex economic ideas and policies and break them down to explain the impact on people.”
Policy outcomes and advocacy:
- Worked on paid family and sick leave policy; although not legislated, influenced an executive order applying to federal contractors that was not revoked by the subsequent administration.
- Stevenson’s assessment: paid sick leave increases employers’ costs only 2 percent and raises productivity by reducing on‑the‑job illness and disease spread.

Early life and education:
- Grew up in half a dozen states; undergraduate degree in economics and mathematics at Wellesley College.
- Harvard doctoral committee included Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz.
Personal life:
- Partner Justin Wolfers; two children: 14‑year‑old Matilda and 11‑year‑old Oliver.
Research partnership:
- Stevenson and Wolfers coauthored multiple landmark papers and the economics textbook, combining research and pedagogy.

Current research agenda:
- On sabbatical in Australia, focusing on “how to create a fairer economy.”
- Writing columns for Bloomberg and considering a book on designing an economy that “feels fairer to people.”
Ongoing priorities:
- Reinvigorating the national debate on universal basic leave policy, a policy area she began pursuing during her time on Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers.

F&D Magazine — Betsey Stevenson: The Accessibility Economist — March 2024.

People in Economics: The Accessibility Economist
- People in Economics: The Accessibility Economist (Markdown version)
- People in Economics: The Accessibility Economist (PDF)