2026 Melissa S. Kearney: Economics and Finance Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Economics and Finance	33	3174	2883	1727	1520	106	10369

Overview

Melissa S. Kearney is affiliated with the University of Maryland, College Park in the United States. Their research spans multiple areas within social sciences and health professions, with a notable focus on demographic trends, gender studies, and economic factors influencing family and labor dynamics.

Their recent scholarly output includes several papers published between 2020 and 2023. Key publications include:

"Explaining the Decline in the US Employment-to-Population Ratio: A Review of the Evidence" (2020), Journal of Economic Literature
"The Puzzle of Falling US Birth Rates since the Great Recession" (2022), The Journal of Economic Perspectives
"Role Models, Mentors, and Media Influences" (2020), The Future of Children
"The US COVID-19 baby bust and rebound" (2023), Journal of Population Economics
"The Puzzle of Falling Us Birth Rates Since the Great Recession" (2021), SSRN Electronic Journal

The main fields of study for this researcher are social sciences, with 26 publications, and health professions, with 16 publications. Their work intersects several subfields, such as general health professions, demography, gender studies, education, and economics and econometrics.

Specific topics frequently explored in their research include:

Employment and welfare studies
Global health care issues
Gender, labor, and family dynamics
Retirement, disability, and employment
Family dynamics and relationships
Income, poverty, and inequality
Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Throughout their career, Melissa S. Kearney has collaborated often with other researchers. Frequent co-authors include:

Phillip B. Levine
Luke Pardue
Lisa Dettling
Brad J. Hershbein
Brendan M. Price

Their research has been published in several venues repeatedly, with twelve publications in the SSRN Electronic Journal, two in The Future of Children, two in AEA Papers and Proceedings, and individual publications in the Journal of Economic Literature and The Journal of Economic Perspectives.

Best Publications

Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Revising the Revisionists

David H. Autor;Lawrence F. Katz;Melissa S. Kearney

2564
Citations
The Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market

David Autor;Lawrence Katz;Melissa Kearney

1833
Citations
Parental Education and Parental Time With Children

Jonathan Guryan;Erik Hurst;Melissa Kearney

1454
Citations
Rising Wage Inequality: The Role of Composition and Prices

David H. Autor;Lawrence F. Katz;Melissa S. Kearney

683
Citations
Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant on Teen Childbearing.

Melissa S. Kearney;Phillip B. Levine

536
Citations
Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Re-Assessing the Revisionists

David H. Autor;Lawrence F. Katz;Melissa S. Kearney

404
Citations
Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States so High and Why Does it Matter

Melissa Kearney;Phillip Levine

382
Citations
Rising wage inequality : the role of composition and prices

David H. Autor;David H. Autor;David H. Autor;Lawrence F. Katz;Lawrence F. Katz;Melissa Schettini Kearney;Melissa Schettini Kearney

351
Citations
House prices and birth rates: The impact of the real estate market on the decision to have a baby

Lisa J Dettling;Melissa Schettini Kearney

329
Citations
Trends in U.S. Wage Inequality: Re-Assessing the Revisionists

David H. Autor;David H. Autor;David H. Autor;Lawrence F. Katz;Lawrence F. Katz;Melissa Schettini Kearney;Melissa Schettini Kearney

304
Citations
State Lotteries and Consumer Behavior

Melissa Schettini Kearney

294
Citations
Explaining the Decline in the U.S. Employment-to-Population Ratio: a Review of the Evidence

Katharine G Abraham;Melissa S Kearney

267
Citations
Subsidized Contraception, Fertility, and Sexual Behavior

Melissa S. Kearney;Phillip B. Levine

261
Citations
Male Earnings, Marriageable Men, and Nonmarital Fertility: Evidence from the Fracking Boom

Melissa S Kearney;Riley Wilson

230
Citations
The Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market

David H. Autor;David H. Autor;David H. Autor;Lawrence F. Katz;Lawrence F. Katz;Melissa S. Kearney;Melissa S. Kearney

221
Citations
IS THERE AN EFFECT OF INCREMENTAL WELFARE BENEFITS ON FERTILITY BEHAVIOR? A LOOK AT THE FAMILY CAP

Melissa Schettini Kearney

215
Citations
Making Savers Winners: An Overview of Prize-Linked Savings Products

Melissa Kearney;Peter Tufano;Jonathan Guryan;Erik Hurst

181
Citations
Product Recalls, Imperfect Information, and Spillover Effects: Lessons from the Consumer Response to the 2007 Toy Recalls

Seth M Freedman;Melissa Schettini Kearney;Mara Lederman

170
Citations
Ten Economic Facts about Crime and Incarceration in the United States

Melissa S. Kearney;Benjamin H. Harris;Elisa Jácome;Lucie Parker

164
Citations
Gambling at lucky stores: Empirical evidence from state lottery sales

Jonathan Guryan;Melissa S. Kearney

155
Citations
Income Inequality, Social Mobility, and the Decision to Drop Out of High School

Melissa S. Kearney;Phillip B. Levine

149
Citations
Income Inequality and Early Nonmarital Childbearing

Melissa S. Kearney;Phillip B. Levine

139
Citations
The Economic Winners and Losers of Legalized Gambling

Melissa Schettini Kearney

122
Citations
The Puzzle of Falling US Birth Rates Since the Great Recession

Melissa Schettini Kearney;Phillip B. Levine;Luke W. Pardue

117
Citations
Do Lottery Payments Induce Savings Behavior? Evidence from the Lab

Emel Filiz-Ozbay;Jonathan Guryan;Kyle Hyndman;Melissa Schettini Kearney

108
Citations
Investigating recent trends in the U.S. teen birth rate.

Melissa S. Kearney;Phillip B. Levine

105
Citations
How economic inequality shapes mobility expectations and behaviour in disadvantaged youth.

Alexander S. Browman;Mesmin Destin;Melissa S. Kearney;Melissa S. Kearney;Phillip B. Levine;Phillip B. Levine

97
Citations
Making Savers Winners: An Overview of Prize-Linked Savings Products

Melissa Schettini Kearney;Peter Tufano;Jonathan Guryan;Erik Hurst

93
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Phillip B. Levine Wellesley College

David H. Autor MIT

Lawrence F. Katz Harvard University

Mark Duggan Stanford University

Erik Hurst University of Chicago

William N. Evans University of Notre Dame

Katharine G. Abraham University of Maryland, College Park

Peter Tufano Harvard University

R. Glenn Hubbard Columbia University

Magne Mogstad University of Chicago

External Links

Personal website of Melissa S. Kearney Google Scholar page

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