Experts

Biography
Algernon Austin directs the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy (PREE). PREE works to advance policies that enable people of color to participate fully in the American economy and benefit equitably from gains in prosperity. As director of PREE, Austin oversees reports and policy analyses on the economic condition of America’s people of color. Prior to joining the Economic Policy Institute, Austin was a senior fellow at the Dēmos think tank and assistant director of research at the Foundation Center. From 2001 to 2005, he served on the faculty of Wesleyan University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University.

Education
Ph.D. Sociology, Northwestern University
B.A. Sociology, Wesleyan University

Josh Bivens

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

David Cooper

Areas of Expertise
Poverty, State labor markets and economic development, Social mobility, Federal budget policy, Quantitative methods and techniques

Biography
David Cooper joined the Economic Policy Institute in July 2011. He conducts national and state-level research on a variety of issues, including labor markets, poverty, and economic development. He also provides support to the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) on data-related inquiries and quantitative analyses. David worked previously as an economic policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he focused on federal budget policy. He has also worked in higher education development and in political consulting. His graduate research focused on international development policy and social mobility.

Education
M.P.P., Georgetown University
B.A., Georgetown University

Daniel Costa

Areas of Expertise
U.S. Immigration Law and Policy • International Labor Migration • Humanitarian Affairs

Biography
Daniel Costa is an attorney with a background in immigration law and policy. His current areas of research include a wide range of labor migration issues, including the management of guestworker programs, both high- and less-skilled migration, and immigrant workers’ rights. He has been quoted by a number of news outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, and The Guardian. 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 selected by the United Nations to participate in the International Law Commission’s seminar for young scholars and practitioners.

Education
LL.M. International and Comparative Law, Georgetown University Law Center
J.D. International Law, Syracuse University
B.A. Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley

Christian Dorsey

Areas of expertise
Community development • Housing • Inequality • Public economics

Biography
Christian Dorsey joined EPI in 2008. Christian’s work at EPI is to build grassroots awareness of economic policy matters with a goal of educating and mobilizing communities to advocate more effectively on their behalf and to advance EPI’s policy initiatives with federal law and policy makers. Prior to joining EPI, Christian served as chief executive officer for non-profit organizations promoting children’s literacy, prejudice reduction and affordable housing. His commentaries have appeared in a variety of media including The Washington Post and he is a frequent voice on television and radio.

Education
B.S., International Relations, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service

Ross Eisenbrey

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

Jeff Faux

Areas of expertise
Political economy • International economics • Macroeconomics • Labor markets • Unions

Biography
Jeff Faux founded the Economic Policy Institute in 1986, and made it into the country’s leading think tank on the political and economic issues that face working Americans. In 2003, he stepped down as EPI’s president, and is now the Institute’s Distinguished Fellow. Faux has studied, taught and published on a wide variety of economic and political issues from the global economy to neighborhood community development, from monetary policy to political strategy. He is the author or co-author of six books, the latest being, The Servant Economy: Where America’s Elite is Sending the Middle Class (Wiley, 2012).

Faux worked as an economist in the Departments of State, Labor and Commerce, a manager in the finance industry, a blueberry farmer, and a member of a municipal planning board in the State of Maine. He’s been an advisor to governments, trade unions, businesses, political campaigns, and community organizations. He’s lectured in Europe, Latin America, and Asia, sits on the boards of several of non-profit institutions and magazines, has written articles for numerous newspapers, magazines and journals, has testified before Congress, and has appeared many times on television and radio.

Education
Queens College, George Washington University, and Harvard University
Honorary Degree, University of New England

Andrew Fieldhouse

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. Andrew also works as a federal budget policy analyst for The Century Foundation. He previously worked as an assistant budget analyst and research assistant with the House Budget Committee. His areas of research and interest include federal tax and budget policy, political economy, public investment, stabilization policy, and macroeconomics. Andrew has provided frequent commentary on budget policy debates and the impact of fiscal policy on the economic recovery. He has appeared as a guest on CNN, PBS Nightly Business Report, C-SPAN, CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business News, and the BBC, as well as NPR affiliates.

Education
B.A. Economics and Political Science, Swarthmore College

Mary Gable

Areas of expertise
Poverty • Social services and welfare policy analysis • Community-based research • Advocacy • Child care policy

Biography
Mary Gable joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2006. She coordinates activities of state and local organizations through the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) and analyzes public policies affecting low-income people. She previously directed programs serving people in poverty nationwide and conducted an independent evaluation of New Jersey’s welfare program. Her areas of interest include poverty, social services and welfare policy, child care, low-wage work, and homelessness.

Education
M.P.A., Social Services and Welfare Policy/Gender and Public Policy, Columbia University
B.A., Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Emma García

Areas of Expertise

Economics of Education • Education Policy • Quantitative Methods • Program Evaluation

Biography

Emma García joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2013. She specializes in the economics of education and education policy. Her areas of research include analysis of the production of education (cognitive and noncognitive skills); returns to education; evaluation of educational interventions (early childhood, K-12, and higher education); educational equity; human development; international comparative education; and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in education. Prior to joining EPI, García conducted research for the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, the Campaign for Educational Equity, the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, and the Community College Research Center, all at Teachers College, Columbia University; and consulting work for MDRC, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Education

Ph.D., Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
M.A., Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, Columbia University
B.A., Economics, Pompeu Fabra University

Elise Gould

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

Douglas Hall

Areas of expertise
Child poverty • State economic development policy • Tax incidence

Biography
Doug Hall became Director of EPI’s Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) in July 2009, after being an active member of EARN for ten years. Hall previously served as director of operations and research for the Connecticut EARN partner, Connecticut Voices for Children, where he played a leading role in work related to family economic security and state tax and budget issues. He is the author or co-author of dozens of reports, including several reports on state-level economic trends, and eight State of Working Connecticut reports. His work has been extensively cited by statewide media, and he has contributed several op-ed pieces for publication in newspapers such as the Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Hartford Courant and the Kentucky Post. He has also appeared as an expert on public affairs shows on Connecticut television stations such as NBC30, Fox 61, and CPTV, and on KET in Kentucky. Hall has recently been providing overviews of monthly state employment trends for CBS Radio’s national network of 130 stations.

Education
Ph.D. Political Studies, Queen’s University (1998)
M.A. Public Policy and Administration, McMaster University (1989)
B.A. (Hon.) Public Policy and Administration, York University (1988)

Thomas L. Hungerford

Areas of expertise

Public Finance • Social Welfare Policy • Social Insurance • Income Inequality

Biography

Thomas Hungerford joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2013. Prior to joining EPI, Hungerford worked at the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget, the Social Security Administration, and the Congressional Research Service. He has published research articles in journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Urban Economics, Review of Income and Wealth, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Challenge, and Tax Notes. He has taught economics at Wayne State University, American University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Education
Ph.D., Economics, University of Michigan
M.P.P., University of Michigan

Lawrence Mishel

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

Monique Morrissey

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

Richard Rothstein

Areas of expertise
Education

Biography
Richard Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute and senior fellow of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the University of California (Berkeley) School of Law. 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.

Robert E. Scott

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

Isaac Shapiro

Areas of expertise
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
MPP, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
BA, Washington University

Heidi Shierholz

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. Shierholz is a frequent contributor to broadcast and radio news outlets, including: ABC, CBS, CNN and NPR, and is regularly quoted in print and online media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post and the Huffington Post. She has repeatedly been called to testify in Congress on labor market issues. She is also a member of the board of directors of the DC Employment Justice Center. 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

Rebecca Thiess

Areas of expertise
Federal Budget Policy • Tax Policy • Social Insurance

Biography
Rebecca 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. Rebecca 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

Elaine Weiss

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
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.A. Political Science, University of Maryland at College Park
B.S. Biology, University of Maryland at College Park

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