Mel Stephens

Mel Stephens is Professor of Economics at the University of Michigan, specializing in labor economics, health economics, consumption behavior, and public policy. His research examines how economic circumstances and policy changes affect household decisions regarding work, consumption, savings, and health behaviors.

Stephens investigates labor market dynamics including how demand conditions affect worker safety in mining, how disability benefit take-up responds to local economic conditions, and how nurse staffing mandates impact patient outcomes. His work on education analyzes the long-term effects of compulsory schooling laws on educational attainment and labor market returns.

In consumption research, Stephens has studied the retirement-consumption puzzle, household responses to predictable income changes, and nutritional changes at retirement. His methodological contributions include approaches to address misclassified regressors and underreported program participation data.