Brigitte Madrian

Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government
Office Address
Rubenstein-317
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 82
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-8917
Fax: 617-496-5960
Email: Brigitte_Madrian@ksg.harvard.edu
Assistant
Jamie Georgia (617-496-3440)
Brigitte Madrian

Profile

Brigitte Madrian is Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management in the Aetna Chair. She has been on the faculty at the Wharton School, the University of Chicago, and previously at Harvard. She is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and coeditor of the Journal of Human Resources. Madrian's research focuses on employee benefits and social insurance programs, particularly retirement savings plans and health insurance. Her current research focuses on the relationship between 401(k) plan design and employee saving outcomes. She has also examined the impact of health insurance on the job choice and retirement decisions of employees and the hiring decisions of firms. Madrian received her PhD in economics from MIT 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 the TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award for Scholarly Research on Lifelong Financial Security (2002).

 

Courses

Spring

  • API-102 Economic Analysis of Public Policy
  • API-102 Economic Analysis of Public Policy
  • API-102 Economic Analysis of Public Policy
  • HLE-222 Economics of Labor Market Policies

Research

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

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Book Chapters
    • Choi, James J., David Laibson, Brigitte Madrian, and Andrew Metrick. "Saving for Retirement on the Path of Least Resistance." Behavioral Public Finance. Ed. Edward J. McCaffery and Joel Slemrod. Russell Sage Foundation, 2006, 304-351.
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "The Importance of Default Options for Retirement Saving Outcomes: Evidence from the United States." Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas. Ed. Stephen J. Kay and Tapen Sinha. Oxford University Press, 2007.
    • Madrian, Brigitte. "The U.S. Health Care System and Labor Markets." Wanting It All: The Challenge of Reforming the U.S. Health Care System. Ed. Jane Sneddon. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2007, 137-163.
  • Edited Volumes
    • Madrian, Brigitte, Olivia S. Mitchell, and Beth J. Soldo, eds. Redefining Retirement: How Will Boomers Fare? Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • Magazine and Newspaper Articles
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Retirement Saving: Helping Employees Help Themselves." Milken Institute Review (September 2006): 30-39.
  • Research Papers/Reports
    • Madrian, Brigitte. "The Flypaper Effect in Individual Investor Asset Allocation." NBER Working Paper Series w13656, November 2007.
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "The Impact of Employer Matching on Savings Plan Participation Under Automatic Enrollment." NBER Working Papers w13352, August 2007.
    • Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte Madrian. "Simplification and Saving." NBER Working Paper w12659, October 2006.