Melanie A. Zaber

Photo of Melanie Zaber
Associate Economist
Pittsburgh Office

Education

Ph.D. in economics and public policy, Carnegie Mellon University; B.S. in economics, policy studies, Syracuse 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.

More Experts

Overview

Melanie A. Zaber (she/her) is an associate economist at the RAND Corporation. She has diverse research interests spanning economic demography, civilian and military workforce and training, and access to institutions. Her work has examined household transitions and dynamics (coresidence, marriage, divorce, partner communication), analyzed workforce pipelines (principals, military linguists, construction), and estimated the impacts of having a lawyer or access to a lawyer on bankruptcy outcomes and divorce probability. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute for Civil Justice, and the Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center. She is currently co-leading several projects related to gender-workforce dynamics as well as higher education finance. She received her B.S. in economics and policy studies from Syracuse University and her Ph.D. in economics and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

Research Focus

Selected Publications

Epple, Dennis; Romano, Richard; Sarpca, Sinan; Sieg, Holger, Zaber, Melanie, "Market Power and Price Discrimination in the U.S. Market for Higher Education," RAND Journal of Economics, 2019

Black, Dan; Taylor, Lowell; Zaber, Melanie, "Empirical Evidence in the Study of Labor Markets: Opportunities and Challenges for a New Household Survey," Journal of Economic Analysis and Social Measurement, 2015

Rohlfs, Chris; Zilora, Melanie, "Estimating Parents' Valuation of Class Size Reductions Using Attrition in the Tennessee STAR Experiment," The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2014

Commentary

  • A sign in front of Bothell High School, which closed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, reads, 'Wash your hands!!!,' Bothell, Washington State, March 3, 2020, photo by Lindsey Wasson/Reuters

    Navigating College and Career Readiness in a Time of Uncertainty

    How we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic today will likely have longer-term effects. This means that we need to think about people who are actively preparing for that future: high school students looking to enter college and careers.

    Mar 26, 2020 The RAND Blog

  • Young woman saving for her education, photo by andresr/Getty Images

    Income Share Agreements: What's Risky, What's Promising, and What We Still Need to Know

    While policymakers debate options to address college affordability and the nation's mounting student loan debt, an alternative education financing model has been gaining ground in a handful of schools and state legislatures: the income share agreement. While terms vary from institution to institution, they are all based on the same premise: The more income a graduate makes, the more they will pay back.

    Jun 5, 2019 The RAND Blog

Publications