Michael L. Hansen

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Director, Manpower and Training Program, RAND Arroyo Center; Senior Economist
Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. and M.A. in economics, Boston College; B.A. in economics, Kalamazoo College

Overview

Biography

Michael L. Hansen is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. He serves as director of the RAND Arroyo Center's Manpower and Training Program. Before joining RAND, Hansen worked as a research analyst and project director at CNA. During this time, he served as field scientist at the Kentucky Department of Education and scientific analyst to the U.S. Navy's Director, Military Personnel Plans and Policy Division (N13), and to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Hansen was also a member of the principal research staff of the Ninth and Tenth Quadrennial Reviews of Military Compensation. Hansen received his Ph.D. in economics from Boston College.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Military recruiting, retention, and retirement
  • Compensation and voluntary participation in the reserve components
  • Private-sector development and civil-service reform in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
  • Retention of the Army's highest-performing officers
  • Socioeconomic differences between military and civilian employment

Selected Publications

Michael Hansen, Diana Lien, "Compensation and Voluntary Participation in a Continuum of Service," The New Guard and Reserve, 2008

Michael Hansen, Peter Gottschalk, "Is the Proportion of College Graduates in 'Non-College' Jobs Increasing?" Modern Classics in the Economics of Education, 2006

Michael Hansen, Jennie Wenger, "Is the Pay Responsiveness of Enlisted Personnel Decreasing?" Defence and Peace Economics, 16(1):29-43, 2005

Michael Hansen, Sam Kleinman, "Military Compensation: When 50-Year-Olds Decide What 20-Year-Olds Want," CNA Research Memorandum D0012938, 2005

Michael Hansen, Donald Cymrot, "Overhauling Enlisted Careers and Compensation," Filling the Ranks: Transforming the U.S. Military Personnel System, 2004

Michael Hansen, Diana Lien, "Relative Pay and Teacher Retention: An Empirical Analysis in a Large Urban District," IPR Research Memorandum 11022, 2004