Melanie A. Zaber

Melanie A. Zaber

Senior Economist; Codirector, Middle-Class Pathways Center; Professor of Policy Analysis, RAND School of Public Policy; Associate Research Department Director, Economics, Sociology and Statistics (ESS)

Melanie Zaber is a senior economist and codirector of the Middle-Class Pathways Center, as well as a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy. She also serves as one of the associate research department directors for Economics, Sociology, and Statistics. She is trained as a labor economist and postsecondary education researcher, and has combined those domains at RAND into research on civilian and military workforces. Most of her work has focused on the strength and demographic composition of STEM workforces, ranging from sub-baccalaureate all the way to Ph.D. More recently, this has included the workforce implications of AI. Her broader applied microeconomic research agenda has examined household transitions (coresidence, marriage, divorce, bankruptcy), analyzed workforce pipelines (principals, military linguists, building tradespeople), explored postsecondary finance (market power, state grant aid, income share agreements), and estimated the return to various credentials (certificates, licenses, certifications). Zaber received her Ph.D. in economics and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University.

Education

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

Selected Work

  • Drew M. Anderson, Melanie A. Zaber, "Buying time: Financial aid allows college students to work less while enrolled," Journal of Economic Analysis and Social Measurement, 108, 2025
  • Edwards, Kathryn Anne, Hannah Acheson-Field, Stephanie Rennane, and Melanie A. Zaber, "Mapping scientists’ career trajectories in the survey of doctorate recipients using three statistical methods," Scientific Reports, 13(1), 2023
  • Matthew D. Baird, Robert Bozick, and Melanie A. Zaber, "Beyond traditional academic degrees: The labor market returns to occupational credentials in the United States," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 2022
  • Rennane, Stephanie, Hannah Acheson-Field, Kathryn A. Edwards, Grace Gahlon, and Melanie A. Zaber, "Leak or link? the overrepresentation of women in non-tenure-track academic positions in STEM," PloS one, 2022
  • Karney, Benjamin R., Jeffrey B. Wenger, Melanie A. Zaber, and Thomas N. Bradbury, "State minimum wage increases delay marriage and reduce divorce among low‐wage households," Journal of Marriage and Family, 2022
  • Haller, Melissa, Jeffrey B. Wenger, Melanie A. Zaber, and George W. Zuo, "A Consumption-Based Definition of the Middle Class," Social Indicators Research, 2022
  • C Doss, MA Zaber, BK Master, SM Gates, L Hamilton, "The Relationship Between Measures of Preservice Principal Practice and Future Principal Job Performance," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2021
  • 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

Authored by Melanie A. Zaber

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