Melanie Wasserman

Melanie Wasserman is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Global Economics and Management area at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Her research focuses on the mechanisms underlying gender differences in educational, occupational and labor market outcomes.

Her research expertise includes:

• Economics of Gender
• Labor Economics
• Gender Differences in Educational Outcomes
• Gender Differences in Occupational Outcomes
• Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes

Wasserman's research investigates how workplace institutions and policies, as well as differential treatment in the labor market, contribute to gender disparities in occupational choice, progression within occupations and compensation. Her work examines how non-monetary job attributes influence career choices, with a particular focus on the medical profession where she found that reducing time demands during residency encouraged more individuals to enter certain specialties, with women being more responsive to these changes than men. She explores whether these responses are driven by differing preferences regarding the timing of family formation.

Her publications span topics including gender gaps in educational achievement, family disadvantage effects on gender gaps, political career persistence by gender, and how career advice differs by gender. These works have been published in top economics journals such as the Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economics and Statistics, American Economic Review, and American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.

Professional Affiliations:

• NBER Faculty Research Fellow
• Faculty affiliate of CEPR and CCPR
• Network member of CESifo

Wasserman received her Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 2016 and her B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley in 2007. She teaches the Managerial Economics MBA course at UCLA Anderson.