Christine Mulhern

Associate Policy Researcher

Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in public policy, Harvard University; B.A. in mathematical methods in the social sciences, Northwestern University

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact the RAND Office of Media Relations at (310) 451-6913, or email media@rand.org.

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Overview

Christine Mulhern is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation who focuses on the economics of education and labor economics. Her research studies how students and workers navigate education and career pathways, including whether and where to enroll in postsecondary education and how social networks, school resources, and technology influence these choices. She has studied the effects of high school counselors on educational attainment, siblings' influence on college choices, and the impacts of personalized guidance technology provided by Naviance. More recently, she has examined inequality in the use of online resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, how schools have adapted to the pandemic. She also has work examining the impact of online learning technologies on course performance in higher education. Mulhern received her Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Christine Mulhern, "Changing College Choices with Personalized Admissions Information at Scale: Evidence on Naviance," Journal of Labor Economics, 39(1), 2021

Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Joshua Goodman, and Christine Mulhern, "Inequality in HouseholdvAdaptation to Schooling Shocks: Covid-Induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time," Journal of Public Economics, 193, 2021

Adam Altmejd, Andres Barrios-Fernandez, Marin Drlje, Joshua Goodman, Michael Hurwitz, Dejan Kovac, Christine Mulhern, Christopher Neilson and Jonathan Smith, "O Brother, Where Start Thou? Sibling Spillovers in College and Major Choice in Four Countries," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2021 (forthcoming)

Publications

Report
Changes in College and Career Readiness Supports During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Comparing nationally representative response data from the 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Surveys, the authors examine how high school teachers and principals provided supports to students for postsecondary transitions before and during the pandemic.
Jan 12, 2022
Report
How Are Teachers Educating Students with Disabilities During the Pandemic?
In this Data Note, researchers present findings on teaching students with disabilities during a pandemic by drawing on surveys administered via the RAND American Teacher Panel to a nationally representative sample of teachers in fall 2020.
Apr 8, 2021
Report
Trends in Postsecondary Education
Education levels have been rising for the past 50 years, but declining public support for higher education, rising costs of college attendance, and low college completion rates threaten young adults' pathway to a two- or four-year college degree.
Mar 25, 2021
Journal Article
Changing College Choices with Personalized Admissions Information at Scale: Evidence on Naviance
This paper shows how the technology Naviance, which provides low-cost personalized college admissions information to more than 40% of high schoolers, influences college choices.
Feb 3, 2021
Journal Article
Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: Covid-induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time
Using internet searches, we study real-time demand for online learning resources. Internet searches for online learning resources doubled during the pandemic. Increases were larger in are as with higher income and better internet access. The pandemic will likely widen achievement gaps along these dimensions.
Feb 3, 2021