Melissa Kearney

Melissa S. Kearney is the Gilbert F. Schaefer Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. Kearney's research focuses on issues of social policy, poverty, and inequality and her work examines the effect of government programs and economic conditions on the behaviors and outcomes of economically disadvantaged populations.

Kearney holds a PhD in Economics from MIT. She has been named a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and from 2013–2015 she served as Director of the Hamilton Project, an economic policy group at Brookings. She is a recognized expert on issues related to domestic poverty and related public policy challenges.

Melissa has served as Co-Chair of J-PAL's State and Local Innovation Initiative (SLII) and as a member of its Review Board.