Brigitte C. Madrian

Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Office Address
Taubman-348
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 114
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-8917
Fax: 617-496-5960
Email: Brigitte_Madrian@harvard.edu
Assistant
Jamie Georgia (617-496-3440)
Brigitte Madrian

Profile

Brigitte Madrian is the Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management at the Harvard Kennedy School. Before coming to Harvard in 2006, she was on the Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School (2003-2006), the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (1995-2003) and the Harvard University Economics Department (1993-1995). She is also a research associate and co-director of the Household Finance working group at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and co-editor of the Journal of Human Resources.

Dr. Madrian's current research focuses on household saving and investment behavior. Her work in this area has impacted the design of employer-sponsored savings plans in the U.S. and has influenced pension reform legislation both in the U.S. and abroad. She has also examined the impact of health insurance on the job choice and retirement decisions of employees and the hiring decisions of firms.

Dr. Madrian received her Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and studied economics as an undergraduate at Brigham Young University. She is the recipient of the National Academy of Social Insurance Dissertation Prize (first place, 1994) and a two-time recipient of the TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for Scholarly Research on Lifelong Financial Security (2002 and 2011).

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles
    • Choi, James J., David Laibson, and Brigitte Madrian. "$100 Bills on the Sidewalk: Violations of No-Arbitrage in 401(k) Accounts." The Review of Economics and Statistics 93.3 (August 2011): 748-763.
    • Campbell, John Y., Howell E. Jackson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Peter Tufano. "Making Financial Markets Work For Consumers." Harvard Business Review (July-August 2011).
    • Milkman, Katherine L., John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Using Implementation Intentions Prompts to Enhance Influenza Vaccination Rates." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108.26 (June 2011): 10415-10420.
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Behavioral Economics Perspective on Public Sector Pension Plans." Journal of Pension Economics and Finance 10.2 (April 12, 2011): 315-336.
    • Campbell, John Y., Howell E. Jackson, Brigitte C. Madrian, and Peter Tufano. "Consumer Financial Protection." Journal of Economic Perspectives 25.1 (January 2011): 91–114.
  • Book Chapters
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "How Does Simplified Disclosure Affect Individuals' Mutual Fund Choices?" Explorations in the Economics of Aging. Ed. David A. Wise. University of Chicago Press, 2011, 75-96.
  • HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "The Availability and Utilization of 401(k) Loans." HKS Faculty Research Working Paper Series RWP11-023, June 2011.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Madrian, Brigitte, Janet Bar, John Bongaarts, et alia. "2011 Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods: Report to the Social Security Advisory Board." Social Security Advisory Board, September 2011.