2022
Shekinah A. Fashaw-Walters, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, is the recipient of the National Academy of Social Insurance’s 2022 John Heinz Dissertation Award. Fashaw-Walters’ dissertation, “Inequities in Home Health Access, Outcomes, and the Impact of Public Reporting,” was submitted for her doctorate in Health Services Research at Brown University. Kali Thomas, an associate professor at Brown University, nominated Fashaw-Walters’ dissertation, which examines the nuanced ways in which access to high-quality home care differs by class, race and ethnicity, and neighborhood.
An Honorable Mention was awarded to Daniel Prinz. Prinz graduated from the Harvard University Health Policy and Economics PhD program in 2021 and is now a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. His dissertation, “Essays on Social Insurance,” included a groundbreaking chapter on Netherland’s use of experience rating in its disability program for temporary workers.
An Honorable Mention was awarded Derek Wu. Wu earned his PhD in Public Policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy in 2021. He is now a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Chicago working on a Comprehensive Income Dataset Project. Wu will be starting this fall as an assistant professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Virginia’s Batten School. His dissertation, “Essays on Poverty and Safety-Net Programs,” detailed an innovative empirical analysis of automation in SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid
2021
Emilie Jackson was awarded the 2021 John Heinz Dissertation Award for her dissertation “Essays in Public Economics” which was submitted for her doctorate in Economics at Stanford University. Jackson was nominated for this honor by her professor, Mark Duggan, Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Jackson will be joining the faculty at Michigan State University this fall.
An Honorable Mention was awarded to Jun Li for her dissertation, “Medicare Incentives, Payment Reform and Quality in the Home Health Care Sector.” Li wrote her dissertation while completing her PhD in policy at University of Michigan’s Health Services Organization. She is now an assistant professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
An Honorable Mention was awarded to Samir Mahmoudi for his dissertation, “Essays on Financial and Public Economics.” Mahmoudi is completing his PhD in economics at the Georgia State University and plans to enter the job market soon.
2020
Michael Stepner‘s dissertation, “Essays on Health and Social Insurance,” was submitted for his doctorate in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Stepner was nominated for this honor by Amy Finkelstein, Professor of Economics at MIT. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the NBER and an affiliated postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. He completed his PhD in economics at MIT in 2019.
Honorable Mention: Caitlin Carroll received an honorable mention for her dissertation, “Essays on Healthcare Provider Markets.” Carroll wrote the dissertation while she was a doctoral student in health policy at Harvard University. Her thesis was nominated by David Cutler, Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University. She is now an associate professor at the University of Minnesota.
2019
Isabel M. Perera’s dissertation, “States of Mind: A Comparative and Historical Study of the Political Economy of Mental Health” was submitted for her doctorate in political science at the University of Pennsylvania. She was nominated for this honor by Julia Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Perera is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Formerly, she was a fellow in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
Honorable Mention: Wei-Ting Yen received an honorable mention for her dissertation, “Unstable Income and the Welfare States in Asia.” Yen wrote the dissertation while she was a doctoral student in political science in the graduate school at Ohio State University. Her thesis was nominated by Sarah M. Brooks, professor in the department of political science at Ohio State University. Yen is an Assistant Professor of Government with an additional appointment as a Mellon High Impact Emerging Scholar at Franklin and Marshall College.
2018
Sebastian Tello-Trillo was nominated by Christopher Carpenter for his dissertation Essays on Health Economics and Health Behaviors while attending the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University. Tello-Trillo is now an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of Virginia.
2016
Manasi Deshpande was nominated by Michael Greenstone for her dissertation Essays on the Effects of Disability Insurance while receiving her doctorate in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Deshpande is an assistant professor in economics and the college at the University of Chicago.
2015
Maria Polyakova was nominated by Amy Finkelstein for her essay Regulation of Public Health Insurance while receiving her doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Polyakova is an assistant professor of health research and policy at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Michel Boudreaux received honorable mention for his essay The Long-Term Effects of Exposure to Medicaid in Early Childhood which was nominated by Ezra Golberstein. Dr. Boudreaux received his doctorate in health services, research, policy and administration at the University of Minnesota. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Health Services Administration in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland.
2014
Nathaniel Hendren was nominated by Amy Finkelstein for his dissertation Essays on Information and Insurance Markets while receiving his doctorate in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Hendren is a professor of Economics at Harvard University.
2012
Karen Tani was nominated by Thomas J. Sugrue for her essay Securing a Right to Welfare: Public Assistance Administration and The Rule of Law, 1935-1965 while receiving her doctorate in history at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Tani is an associate professor of law at the University of Berkeley Law and is a scholar of U.S. legal history, with broad interests in poverty law and policy, administrative agencies, rights language, federalism, and the modern American state.
John A. Graves received honorable mention for his essay The Evolving Dynamics of Health Insurance Under State and Federal Reform which was nominated by Katherine Swartz. Dr. Graves received his doctorate in health policy from Harvard University. John A. Graves is Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he holds appointments in the Department of Health Policy and the Department of Medicine. He has been a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2015.
2011
Catherine B. Haskins was nominated by Nancy Folbre for her essay Household employer payroll tax evasion: An exploration based on IRS data and on interviews with employers and domestic workers while receiving her doctorate in economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Haskins teaches middle school Latin at the Birchwood School in Cleveland, Ohio.
2010
Jessie B. Ramey was nominated by Tera W. Hunter for her dissertation A Child Care Crisis: Poor Black and White Families and Orphanages in Pittsburgh, 1878-1929 while receiving her doctorate in history at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Ramey is the director of the Women’s Institute and associate professor of gender and women’s studies at Chatham University.
John W. Gettens received honorable mention for his essay Medicaid Expansions: The Work and Program Participation of People with Disabilities which was nominated by Christine Bishop. Dr. Gettens received his doctorate in social policy from Brandeis University. Dr. Gettens is an assistant professor in the department of family medicine an community health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
2009
Lauren Hersch Nicholas was nominated by Irwin Garfinkel for her dissertation Medicare Advantage? The Effects of Managed Care on Medicare Quality, Costs and Enrollment while receiving her doctorate in social policy and policy analysis at Columbia University. Dr. Nicholas is an associate professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. She has been a Member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2013.
2008
Sandra Levitsky was nominated by Mark Suchman for her dissertation Private Dilemmas of Public Provision: The Formation of Political Demand for State Entitlements to Long-Term Care while receiving her doctorate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Levitsky is an associate professor of sociology and director of undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. She has been an Academy member since 2012 and formerly served on the John Heinz Dissertation Committee.
Erin Strumpf received honorable mention for her essay Employment, Health Insurance, and Health Care for Vulnerable Populations: Early Retirees, Low-Income Adults, and Racial/Ethnic Minorities which was nominated by Thomas McGuire. Dr. Strumpf received her doctorate in health policy and economics at Harvard University. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health at McGill University.
2007
Giovanni Mastrubuoni was nominated by Orley Ashenfelter for his essay An Empirical Evaluation of Recent Social Security Reforms while receiving his doctorate in Economics at Princeton University. Dr. Mastrubuoni is the Carlo Albert Chair at College of Carlo Alberto at the University of Turin in Italy.
Kenneth Fortson received honorable mention for his dissertation Economic Analysis of Workplace Injuries which was nominated by Alan Krueger. Fortson received his doctorate in Economics from Princeton University. He is an associate director at Mathematica Policy Research where he currently leads the impact evaluations for the WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation (funded by the U.S. Department of Labor) and the Promoting Opportunity Demonstration (funded by the Social Security Administration).
2006
Samuel K. Allen was nominated by Price Fishback for his essay The Economics and Politics of Workers’ Compensation: 1930-2000 while receiving his doctorate in Economics at the University of Arizona. He is currently a professor of business and economics at Virginia Military Institute.
2005
Alan M. Jacobs was nominated by Professor Peter Hall for his essay Governing for the Long Term: Democratic Politics and Policy Investment while receiving his doctorate in Political Science at Harvard University. Dr. Jacobs is an associate professor of political science at the University of British Columbia specializing in the comparative political economy of advanced industrialized democracies, the politics of public policy, political behavior, and qualitative and mixed methodology.
Mauro Mastrogiacomo received honorable mention for his dissertation Retirement Expectations and Realizations: Essays on the Netherlands and Italy which was nominated by Maarten Lindeboom. Dr. Mastrogiacomo received his doctorate in Economics from Free University (Vrije Universiteit) of Amsterdam. He is currently a faculty member of economics and business administration at Free University of Amsterdam.
2004
Robin L. McKnight was nominated by Jonathan Gruber for her dissertation Essays on the Economics of Health Insurance while receiving her doctorate in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. McKnight is an associate professor of economics at Wellesley College and a faculty research fellow in the health care program at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Jill R. Horwitz received honorable mention for her dissertation Corporate Form of Hospitals: Behavior and Obligations which was nominated by David Cutler. Dr. Horwitz received her doctorate in Health Policy from Harvard University. Vice Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life and Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, she became a member of the Academy in 2008.
2003
Jennifer Erkulwater was nominated by Deborah Stone for her essay The Forgotten Safety Net: The Expansion of Supplemental Security Income. Dr. Erkulwater received her doctorate in Political Science from Boston College. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2008, Dr. Erkulwater is an associate professor of political science at the University of Richmond.
Pamela Herd received honorable mention for her dissertation Crediting Care, Citizenship, or Marriage? Gender, Race, Class, and Social Security Reform which was nominated by Madonna Harrington Meyer. Dr. Herd received her doctorate in Sociology from Syracuse University. She is a Professor of Public Affairs and Sociology at the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also Faculty Affiliate at the Institute for Research on Poverty and Principal Investigator of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. She has been a member of the Academy since 2008.
2002
Jacob Hacker was nominated by Theodore Marmor for his essay The Political Struggle over Public and Private Social Benefits in the United States. He received his doctorate in Political Science from Yale University. Dr. Hacker is the Director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He has been a member of the Academy since 2004.
Amy Finkelstein received honorable mention for her essay Adverse Selection and Government Intervention in Life and Health Insurance Markets which was nominated by Jim Poterba. She received her doctorate in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Finkelstein is the John & Jennie S. MacDonald Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was elected as a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2008.
2001
Jason Barabas was nominated by Fay Lomax Cook for his essay Americans Discuss Social Security: How Deliberation Affects Public Opinion. He received his doctorate in Political Science from Northwestern University. Dr. Barabas is a professor in the department of political science at Stony Brook University. He has been a member of the Academy since 2007 and currently serves on the 2018 Heinz Dissertation Committee.
Irineu Carvalho received honorable mention for his dissertation Essays in Development Economics which was nominated by Dora Costa. He received his doctorate in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Carvalho is currently a Senior Economist at the International Monetary Fund.
2000
Jennifer Klein was nominated by Nelson Lichtenstein for her dissertation Managing Security: The Business of American Social Policy, 1910s-1960. She received her doctorate in History at the University of Virginia. Dr. Klein is a Professor in the field of 20th Century US history at Yale University. She became a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2006.
Michael Harrington received honorable mention for his essay Trade and Social Insurance: The Development of National Unemployment Insurance in Advance Industrial Democracies which he wrote while completing his doctorate in political science at UCLA. Harrington is a political economist, public policy analyst, and author.
1999
Katherine Baicker was nominated by David Cutler for her dissertation Fiscal Federalism and Social Insurance while receiving her doctorate in Economics at Harvard University. Dr. Baicker, is the Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Before moving to the University of Chicago, she was the C. Boyden Gray Professor of Health Economics in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, an affiliate of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab, a nonresident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (IOM) and the National Academy of Social Insurance. She also holds an appointment at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Julie Berry Cullen received honorable mention for her dissertation Essays on Special Education Finance and Intergovernmental Relations which was nominated by Jonathan Gruber. She received her doctorate in Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Cullen is a professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. She is also Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, CESifo Research Network Fellow and Coeditor at Journal of Public Economics. She joined the National Academy of Social Insurance in 2006.
Alexandra Shields received honorable mention for her essay Medicaid Managed Care and Plan Performance: The Case of Pediatric Asthma which was nominated by Stuart Altman. She received her doctorate in Health Policy at Brandeis University. Dr. Shields is Director of the Harvard/MGH Center on Genomics, Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities; Associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School; Associate in Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital; and Associate Faculty in Molecular and Population Genetics at the Broad Institute. She has been a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2004.
1998
Jean Marie Gilman studied government at the University of Virginia and was nominated by Marth Derthick for her essay Medicaid and the Cost of Federalism, 1984–1992.
Matthew Eichner received honorable mention for his essay Medical Expenditures and Major Risk Health Insurance which was nominated by Jim Poterba. He received his doctorate in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Eichner is currently the Director of Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems for the Federal Reserve Board.
1997
Elizabeth Kilbreath was nominated by Alan Cohen for her essay Recipient Access and the Continuity of Care while studying Social Work at Brandeis University.
Jonathan Oberlander’s received honorable mention for his essay Medicare and The American State: The Politics of Federal Health Insurance, 1965–1991. Dr. Orberlander received his doctorate in Political Science from Yale University. Dr. Oberlander is professor and chair of Social Medicine and professor of Health Policy & Management at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He also holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Political Science. He has been a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2004.
Kerwin Charles received honorable mention for his essay An Inquiry in the Labor Market Consequences of Disabling Illness was nominated by Ron Ehrenberg. He received his doctorate in Economics from Cornell University. Dr. Charles is the Indra K. Nooyi Dean & Frederic D. Wolfe Professor of Economics, Policy, and Management at the Yale School of Management and dean of the Yale School of Management. Formerly, Charles served as interim Dean and Edwin A. and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. His research focuses on a range of questions in labor and applied microeconomics. He was nominated to the Academy in 2008.
1996
Steven Teles was nominated by Martha Derthick for his essay AFDC: The Politics of Dissensus, while studying Government at the University of Virginia. Teles is associate professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and fellow at the New America Foundation, and has been a member of the Academy since 2008.
1995
Brent Kreider’s was nominated by Barbara Wolfe for his essay Labor Force Attrition, Application to the Social Security Disability Program, Income Uncertainty and Optimal Redistributive Taxation while receiving his doctorate in Economics at the University of Wisconsin. Brent is currently a Professor of Economics at Iowa State University.
Mark McClellan received honorable mention for his essay The Economics of Medical Treatment Intensity which was nominated by Joseph Newhouse. Dr. McClellan received his doctorate in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McClellan is the Robert J. Margolis Professor of Business, Medicine, and Policy, and Director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University with offices at Duke and in Washington DC. He has been a member of the National Academy of Social insurance since 2004.
1994
Brigitte Madrian was nominated by Jim Poterba for her essay Labor Market Effects of Employment-Based Health Insurance while receiving her doctorate in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Madrian is an Academy Member is the Dean and Marriott Distinguished Professor in the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business where she has a joint appointment in the Department of Finance and the George W. Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics.
Jiang Lin received honorable mention his essay Parity and Security: A Simulation Study of Population Aging, Kinship Network, and Old Age Security in China which was nominated by Ken Wachter. He received his doctorate from the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Lin is a Staff Scientist with the China Energy Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and he is a co-leader of the Berkeley-Tsinghua Joint Research Center on Energy and Climate Change.
Richard Himelfarb received honorable mention for his essay The Catastrophic Politics of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 which was nominated by Bruce Jacobs. Dr. Himelfarb received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. He is an associate professor at the University of Hofstra and teaches courses in American politics, contemporary issues in American politics, and the US Congress and the presidency.
1993
Madonna Harrington Meyer was nominated by Jill Quadagno for her essay, Universalism vs. Targeting as a Basis of Social Distribution: Gender, Race and Long Term Care in the United States while receiving her doctorate in Sociology at Florida State University. Today, Professor Meyer is the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence, and Faculty Affiliate at the Aging Studies Institute. She is also a current member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and served on the Heinz Dissertation Committee for 2 terms.
Kimberly Rask received honorable mention for her essay Public Insurance Programs: The Impact of Uncompensated Care Reimbursement Funds and Medicaid which was nominated by Patricia Danzon. Kimberly received her doctorate in Health Care at Penn State University. Today, Dr. Rask an Associate Professor in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and Chief Data Officer for Alliant Health, the CMS QIN-QIO for the States of Georgia and North Carolina.
David Cutler received honorable mention for his essay Estimating the Effect of Reimbursement Policy on Medical Outcomes which was nominated by Jim Poterba. Dr. Cutler received his doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. David Cutler is currently the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Department of Economics and was named Harvard College Professor in 2014. Professor Cutler holds secondary appointments at the Kennedy School of Government and the School of Public Health.