Experts by Issue
EPI Research Associates | General Staff | Board of Directors | About EPI
Education
LAWRENCE MISHEL
President
Areas of expertise
Education • Labor markets • Income distribution and poverty • Industrial relations • Technology and productivity • Wages • Unions and collective bargaining
Biography
Lawrence Mishel, a nationally-recognized economist, is President of the Economic Policy Institute, a role he assumed in 2002. Dr. Mishel first joined EPI in 1987 as Research Director. In the more than two decades he has been with EPI, Dr. Mishel has helped build it into the nation's premier research organization focused on U.S. living standards and labor markets.
Dr. Mishel has co-authored 11 editions of The State of Working America, a book which former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich says "remains unrivaled as the most-trusted source for a comprehensive understanding of how working Americans and their families are faring in today’s economy." The State of Working America has been an invaluable resource in newsrooms, classrooms, and halls of power since 1988.
Dr. Mishel's primary research interests include labor markets and education. He has written extensively on wage and job quality trends in the United States. He co-edited a research volume on emerging labor market institutions for the National Bureau of Economic Research. His 1988 research on manufacturing data led the U.S. Commerce Department to revise the way it measures U.S. manufacturing output. This new measure helped accurately document the long decline in U.S. manufacturing, a trend which is now widely understood.
Dr. Mishel leads EPI's education research program. He has written extensively on charter schools, teacher pay and high school graduation rates. His research with Joydeep Roy has shown that high school graduation rates are significantly higher than the rates that are often cited by education analysts. This work has enabled policymakers to more accurately assess the state of public education in the United States.
Dr. Mishel has testified before Congress on the importance of promoting policies that reduce inequality, improve the lives of American workers and their families, and strengthen the middle class. He also serves frequently as a commentator in the print, broadcast, and online media.
Prior to joining EPI, Dr. Mishel held a number of research roles, including a fellowship at the U.S. Department of Labor. He also served as a faculty member at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Dr. Mishel holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Originally from Philadelphia, he lives with his wife and two dogs in Washington, D.C.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, University of Wisconsin
M.A. Economics, American University
B.S. Pennsylvania State University
Complete listing of EPI publications by Lawrence Mishel
RICHARD ROTHSTEIN
Research Associate
Biography
Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute. From 1999 to 2002 he was the national education columnist of The New York Times. He is the author of Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right (Teachers College Press and EPI, 2008) and Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap (Teachers College Press 2004). He is also the author of The Way We Were? Myths and Realities of America's Student Achievement (1998). Other recent books include The Charter School Dust-Up: Examining the Evidence on Enrollment and Achievement (co-authored in 2005); and All Else Equal. Are Public and Private Schools Different? (co-authored in 2003). Contact Richard Rothstein at riroth@epi.org.
Complete listing of EPI publications by Richard Rothstein
ELAINE WEISS
National Coordinator, Broader Bolder Approach to Education Campaign
Areas of Expertise
Education policy • Early childhood education • Economics of education
Biography
Elaine Weiss is the National Coordinator for the Broader Bolder Approach to Education, where she works with a high-level Task Force and coalition partners to promote a comprehensive, evidence-based set of policies to allow all children to thrive. She came to BBA from the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she served as project manager for Pew's Partnership for America’s Economic Success campaign. In that capacity, she worked with researchers to assemble evidence on the economic benefits of early childhood investments and worked with state partners to engage business leaders to promote effective early childhood programs. Ms. Weiss is a member of the Center for Disease Control's task force on child abuse, and has served as volunteer counsel for clients at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.
Education
Ph.D., Public Policy, George Washington University, August 2011 (expected)
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.A. Political Science, University of Maryland at College Park
B.S. Biology, University of Maryland at College Park
Budgets and Deficits/Fiscal policy
JOHN IRONS
Research and Policy Director
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Public Economics • Tax and Budget Policy
Biography
John Irons joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2007. His areas of research include the U.S. economy and economic policy, with an emphasis on federal tax and budget policy. He previously worked as the Director of Tax and Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress (2004-2007) and as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Economics at Amherst College (1999-2003). He has also worked for the Brookings Institution (1995) and at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (1992-1994). His academic publications have appeared in several journals including the Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Applied Econometrics, and the Review of Financial Economics. He is also co-editor of Testing Exogeneity, published by Oxford University Press. He has won several awards for his economics Web sites, including top-5 awards from The Economist and Forbes. He currently serves on the Committee on Electronic Publishing for the American Economic Association, and on the Board of Governors of the National Economists Club.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, MIT
B.A. Economics, Swarthmore College
Complete listing of EPI publications by John Irons
JOSH BIVENS
Economist
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social Insurance • Public Investment
Biography
Josh Bivens joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2002. He is the author of Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Teaches About Globalization and has published numerous articles in both academic and popular venues, including USA Today, The Guardian, The American Prospect, Challenge Magazine, and Worth. He is a frequent commentator on economic issues for a variety of media outlets, including NPR, CNN, CNBC, Reuters and the BBC.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research
B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College Park
Complete listing of EPI publications by Josh Bivens
ANDREW FIELDHOUSE
Federal Budget Policy Analyst
Areas of expertise
Tax and Budget Policy • Public Economics
Biography
Andrew Fieldhouse joined the Economic Policy Institute in June 2010 to work on fiscal policy and progressive budget reform. Prior to joining EPI, he worked as a research assistant and assistant budget analyst at the House Budget Committee. His areas of interest include federal tax and budget policy, political economy, public investment, and macroeconomics.
Education
B.A. Economics and Political Science, Swarthmore College
Complete listing of EPI publications by Andrew Fieldhouse
REBECCA THIESS
Federal Budget Policy Analyst
Areas of expertise
Federal Budget Policy • Tax Policy • Social Insurance
Biography
Becky Thiess joined the Economic Policy Institute in June 2010. Prior to joining EPI, she worked as a policy analyst for the New America Foundation, where she focused on budget and tax policy as well as Social Security and health care reform. She has also worked as a Budget Policy Analyst for OMB Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog organization. Becky has a Master's in Public Policy from Duke University, where she completed a master's project on the pension system for state workers in North Carolina. Her areas of interest include the federal budget, deficits, Social Security and pensions, public investment, and income distribution and poverty.
Education
MPP, Duke University
BA in Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental College
Complete listing of EPI publications by Becky Thiess
Health
ELISE GOULD
Director of Health Policy Research
Areas of expertise
Employer-sponsored health insurance • Health reform
Biography
Elise Gould joined the Economic Policy Institute in September 2003. Her research areas include employer-sponsored health insurance, the employer tax exclusion, the burden of health costs, income inequality and health, and retiree coverage. She has authored a chapter on health in The State of Working America 2008/09, co-authored a book on health insurance coverage in retirement, published in venues such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Challenge Magazine, and Tax Notes, and academic journals including Health Economics, Journal of Aging and Social Policy, Risk Management & Insurance Review, and International Journal of Health Services. She has been quoted by a variety of news sources including Bloomberg , NPR, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, and her opinions have appeared on the op-ed pages of USA Today and the Detroit News.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.P. Aff., Public Affairs, University of Texas-Austin
B.A., Sociology, Wesleyan University
Complete listing of EPI publications by Elise Gould
JOSH BIVENS
Economist
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social Insurance • Public Investment
Biography
Josh Bivens joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2002. He is the author of Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Teaches About Globalization and has published numerous articles in both academic and popular venues, including USA Today, The Guardian, The American Prospect, Challenge Magazine, and Worth. He is a frequent commentator on economic issues for a variety of media outlets, including NPR, CNN, CNBC, Reuters and the BBC.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research
B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College Park
Complete listing of EPI publications by Josh Bivens
Jobs
HEIDI SHIERHOLZ
Economist
Areas of expertise
Labor markets • Economic inequality • Minimum wage
Biography
Heidi Shierholz joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2007. Her areas of research include trends in employment, unemployment, and compensation, income and wealth inequality, the low-wage labor market, the minimum wage, and the gender wage gap. She previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, University of Michigan
M.A., Economics, University of Michigan
M.S., Statistics, Iowa State University
B.A., Mathematics, Grinnell College
Complete listing of EPI publications by Heidi Shierholz
LAWRENCE MISHEL
President
Areas of expertise
Education • Labor markets • Income distribution and poverty • Industrial relations • Technology and productivity • Wages • Unions and collective bargaining
Biography
Lawrence Mishel, a nationally-recognized economist, is President of the Economic Policy Institute, a role he assumed in 2002. Dr. Mishel first joined EPI in 1987 as Research Director. In the more than two decades he has been with EPI, Dr. Mishel has helped build it into the nation's premier research organization focused on U.S. living standards and labor markets.
Dr. Mishel has co-authored 11 editions of The State of Working America, a book which former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich says "remains unrivaled as the most-trusted source for a comprehensive understanding of how working Americans and their families are faring in today’s economy." The State of Working America has been an invaluable resource in newsrooms, classrooms, and halls of power since 1988.
Dr. Mishel's primary research interests include labor markets and education. He has written extensively on wage and job quality trends in the United States. He co-edited a research volume on emerging labor market institutions for the National Bureau of Economic Research. His 1988 research on manufacturing data led the U.S. Commerce Department to revise the way it measures U.S. manufacturing output. This new measure helped accurately document the long decline in U.S. manufacturing, a trend which is now widely understood.
Dr. Mishel leads EPI's education research program. He has written extensively on charter schools, teacher pay and high school graduation rates. His research with Joydeep Roy has shown that high school graduation rates are significantly higher than the rates that are often cited by education analysts. This work has enabled policymakers to more accurately assess the state of public education in the United States.
Dr. Mishel has testified before Congress on the importance of promoting policies that reduce inequality, improve the lives of American workers and their families, and strengthen the middle class. He also serves frequently as a commentator in the print, broadcast, and online media.
Prior to joining EPI, Dr. Mishel held a number of research roles, including a fellowship at the U.S. Department of Labor. He also served as a faculty member at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Dr. Mishel holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Originally from Philadelphia, he lives with his wife and two dogs in Washington, D.C.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, University of Wisconsin
M.A. Economics, American University
B.S. Pennsylvania State University
Complete listing of EPI publications by Lawrence Mishel
Labor Policy
ROSS EISENBREY
Vice President
Areas of expertise
Labor and employment law • Occupational safety and health • Pension policy
Biography
Vice president of EPI since 2003, Ross Eisenbrey is a lawyer and former commissioner of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Prior to joining EPI, he worked for many years as a staff attorney and legislative director in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a committee counsel in the U.S. Senate. He served as policy director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1999 until 2001. He has testified in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and has written scores of articles, issue briefs and policy memos on a wide range of labor issues.
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D. 1978
Middlebury College, B.A. 1974
Complete listing of EPI publications by Ross Eisenbrey
LAWRENCE MISHEL
President
Areas of expertise
Education • Labor markets • Income distribution and poverty • Industrial relations • Technology and productivity • Wages • Unions and collective bargaining
Biography
Lawrence Mishel, a nationally-recognized economist, is President of the Economic Policy Institute, a role he assumed in 2002. Dr. Mishel first joined EPI in 1987 as Research Director. In the more than two decades he has been with EPI, Dr. Mishel has helped build it into the nation's premier research organization focused on U.S. living standards and labor markets.
Dr. Mishel has co-authored 11 editions of The State of Working America, a book which former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich says "remains unrivaled as the most-trusted source for a comprehensive understanding of how working Americans and their families are faring in today’s economy." The State of Working America has been an invaluable resource in newsrooms, classrooms, and halls of power since 1988.
Dr. Mishel's primary research interests include labor markets and education. He has written extensively on wage and job quality trends in the United States. He co-edited a research volume on emerging labor market institutions for the National Bureau of Economic Research. His 1988 research on manufacturing data led the U.S. Commerce Department to revise the way it measures U.S. manufacturing output. This new measure helped accurately document the long decline in U.S. manufacturing, a trend which is now widely understood.
Dr. Mishel leads EPI's education research program. He has written extensively on charter schools, teacher pay and high school graduation rates. His research with Joydeep Roy has shown that high school graduation rates are significantly higher than the rates that are often cited by education analysts. This work has enabled policymakers to more accurately assess the state of public education in the United States.
Dr. Mishel has testified before Congress on the importance of promoting policies that reduce inequality, improve the lives of American workers and their families, and strengthen the middle class. He also serves frequently as a commentator in the print, broadcast, and online media.
Prior to joining EPI, Dr. Mishel held a number of research roles, including a fellowship at the U.S. Department of Labor. He also served as a faculty member at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Dr. Mishel holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Originally from Philadelphia, he lives with his wife and two dogs in Washington, D.C.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, University of Wisconsin
M.A. Economics, American University
B.S. Pennsylvania State University
Complete listing of EPI publications by Lawrence Mishel
ISAAC SHAPIRO
Director of Regulatory Policy Research
Areas of expertise
Government regulation • Labor policy • Poverty and income trends • Tax policy
Biography
Isaac Shapiro joined EPI in 2011 to direct work examining the economic effects of government regulation. He previously worked for nearly two decades at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where his national policy research concentrated on working poor, income distribution, and tax issues, and where he assisted in the coordination and development of the Center’s research agenda. Shapiro also founded the Center's International Budget Project. Shapiro has worked as a senior adviser at the Save Darfur Coalition, as special assistant to U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and for a Member of Congress. He is the author of numerous reports, articles, and op-ed pieces, and is the co-author of two books, Working But Poor: America's Contradiction, and Protecting American Workers. He also edited A Guide to Budget Work for NGOs.
Education
M.P.P., Harvard Kennedy School of Government
B.A., Washington University
Complete listing of EPI publications by Isaac Shapiro
Macroeconomic Performance
JOHN IRONS
Research and Policy Director
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Public Economics • Tax and Budget Policy
Biography
John Irons joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2007. His areas of research include the U.S. economy and economic policy, with an emphasis on federal tax and budget policy. He previously worked as the Director of Tax and Budget Policy at the Center for American Progress (2004-2007) and as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Economics at Amherst College (1999-2003). He has also worked for the Brookings Institution (1995) and at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (1992-1994). His academic publications have appeared in several journals including the Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Applied Econometrics, and the Review of Financial Economics. He is also co-editor of Testing Exogeneity, published by Oxford University Press. He has won several awards for his economics Web sites, including top-5 awards from The Economist and Forbes. He currently serves on the Committee on Electronic Publishing for the American Economic Association, and on the Board of Governors of the National Economists Club.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, MIT
B.A. Economics, Swarthmore College
Complete listing of EPI publications by John Irons
JOSH BIVENS
Economist
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social Insurance • Public Investment
Biography
Josh Bivens joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2002. He is the author of Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Teaches About Globalization and has published numerous articles in both academic and popular venues, including USA Today, The Guardian, The American Prospect, Challenge Magazine, and Worth. He is a frequent commentator on economic issues for a variety of media outlets, including NPR, CNN, CNBC, Reuters and the BBC.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research
B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College Park
Complete listing of EPI publications by Josh Bivens
Retirement
MONIQUE M. MORRISSEY
Economist
Areas of expertise
Labor markets • Retirement security • Executive compensation • Unions and collective bargaining • Financial markets
Biography
Monique Morrissey joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2006. She previously worked at the AFL-CIO Office of Investment and the Financial Markets Center. Her areas of interest include retirement security, executive compensation, the Federal Reserve, and financial markets.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, American University
B.A. Political Science and History, Swarthmore College
Complete listing of EPI publications by Monique Morrissey
ROSS EISENBREY
Vice President
Areas of expertise
Labor and employment law • Occupational safety and health • Pension policy
Biography
Vice president of EPI since 2003, Ross Eisenbrey is a lawyer and former commissioner of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Prior to joining EPI, he worked for many years as a staff attorney and legislative director in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a committee counsel in the U.S. Senate. He served as policy director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1999 until 2001. He has testified in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and has written scores of articles, issue briefs and policy memos on a wide range of labor issues.
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D. 1978
Middlebury College, B.A. 1974
Complete listing of EPI publications by Ross Eisenbrey
JOSH BIVENS
Economist
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social Insurance • Public Investment
Biography
Josh Bivens joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2002. He is the author of Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Teaches About Globalization and has published numerous articles in both academic and popular venues, including USA Today, The Guardian, The American Prospect, Challenge Magazine, and Worth. He is a frequent commentator on economic issues for a variety of media outlets, including NPR, CNN, CNBC, Reuters and the BBC.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research
B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College Park
Complete listing of EPI publications by Josh Bivens
REBECCA THIESS
Federal Budget Policy Analyst
Areas of expertise
Federal Budget Policy • Tax Policy • Social Insurance
Biography
Becky Thiess joined the Economic Policy Institute in June 2010. Prior to joining EPI, she worked as a policy analyst for the New America Foundation, where she focused on budget and tax policy as well as Social Security and health care reform. She has also worked as a Budget Policy Analyst for OMB Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog organization. Becky has a Master's in Public Policy from Duke University, where she completed a master's project on the pension system for state workers in North Carolina. Her areas of interest include the federal budget, deficits, Social Security and pensions, public investment, and income distribution and poverty.
Education
MPP, Duke University
BA in Urban and Environmental Policy, Occidental College
Trade
ROBERT E. SCOTT
Senior International Economist and Director of International Programs
Areas of expertise
International economics • Trade agreements • Global finance • Economic impacts of foreign investment and "insourcing" • Industry studies
Biography
Dr. Scott joined the Economic Policy Institute as an international economist in 1996. Before that, he was an assistant professor with the College of Business and Management of the University of Maryland at College Park. His areas of research include international economics and trade agreements and their impacts on working people in the U.S. and other countries, the economic impacts of foreign investment, and the macroeconomic effects of trade and capital flows. His research has been published in The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, The International Review of Applied Economics, and The Stanford Law and Policy Review, and he has written editorial pieces for The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, USA Today, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Times, and other newspapers.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, University of California at Berkeley, 1989
B.S. Engineering, Washington University (St. Louis), 1975
Complete listing of EPI publications by Robert Scott
JOSH BIVENS
Economist
Areas of expertise
Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social Insurance • Public Investment
Biography
Josh Bivens joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2002. He is the author of Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Teaches About Globalization and has published numerous articles in both academic and popular venues, including USA Today, The Guardian, The American Prospect, Challenge Magazine, and Worth. He is a frequent commentator on economic issues for a variety of media outlets, including NPR, CNN, CNBC, Reuters and the BBC.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research
B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College Park
Complete listing of EPI publications by Josh Bivens
Immigration
ROSS EISENBREY
Vice President
Areas of expertise
Labor and employment law • Occupational safety and health • Pension policy
Biography
Vice president of EPI since 2003, Ross Eisenbrey is a lawyer and former commissioner of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Prior to joining EPI, he worked for many years as a staff attorney and legislative director in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a committee counsel in the U.S. Senate. He served as policy director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1999 until 2001. He has testified in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and has written scores of articles, issue briefs and policy memos on a wide range of labor issues.
Education
University of Michigan Law School, J.D. 1978
Middlebury College, B.A. 1974
Complete listing of EPI publications by Ross Eisenbrey
DANIEL COSTA
Immigration Policy Analyst
Areas of Expertise
U.S. Immigration Law and Policy • International Labor Migration • Humanitarian Affairs
Biography
Daniel Costa is an attorney with a background in international migration law and policy, treaty law and practice and humanitarian affairs. He previously worked on developing the legal and normative framework for disaster response and humanitarian relief operations with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland, and as a policy analyst at the Great Valley Center, a University of California think tank, where he managed an immigrant integration program. Previous to that he interned overseas with the State Department and was one of the few Americans ever selected to participate in the UN International Law Commission’s annual seminar.
Education
LL.M. International and Comparative Law, Georgetown University Law Center
J.D. International Law, Syracuse University
B.A. Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley
Complete listing of EPI publications by Daniel Costa
HEIDI SHIERHOLZ
Economist
Areas of expertise
Labor markets • Economic inequality • Minimum wage
Biography
Heidi Shierholz joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2007. Her areas of research include trends in employment, unemployment, and compensation, income and wealth inequality, the low-wage labor market, the minimum wage, and the gender wage gap. She previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto.
Education
Ph.D., Economics, University of Michigan
M.A., Economics, University of Michigan
M.S., Statistics, Iowa State University
B.A., Mathematics, Grinnell College
Complete listing of EPI publications by Heidi Shierholz
Regulation
ISAAC SHAPIRO
Policy analyst
Areas of expertise
Government regulation • Labor policy • Poverty and income trends • Tax policy
Biography
Isaac Shapiro joined EPI in 2011 to direct work examining the economic effects of government regulation. He previously worked for nearly two decades at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where his national policy research concentrated on working poor, income distribution, and tax issues, and where he assisted in the coordination and development of the Center’s research agenda. Shapiro also founded the Center's International Budget Project. Shapiro has worked as a senior adviser at the Save Darfur Coalition, as special assistant to U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and for a Member of Congress. He is the author of numerous reports, articles, and op-ed pieces, and is the co-author of two books, Working But Poor: America's Contradiction, and Protecting American Workers. He also edited A Guide to Budget Work for NGOs.
Education
M.P.P., Harvard Kennedy School of Government
B.A., Washington University
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