Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter

Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter is the E. Bronson Ingram University Distinguished Professor of Economics and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University, with tenure in both the Department of Economics (College of Arts and Science) and the Department of Health Policy (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine). He holds courtesy appointments in Law, Education, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Medicine, Health, and Society. As a leading health and labor economist, his research focuses on public policies affecting health, family outcomes, and LGBTQ+ populations. He directs the Vanderbilt Center for Research on Inequality and Health and the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab, and co-leads the NBER Economics of Health Program. His work has been supported by NIH, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and others. He earned his PhD from UC Berkeley in 2002, following a BA from Albion College. He has held roles at the University of Michigan and UC Irvine before joining Vanderbilt in 2013.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of California-Berkeley, 2002
• B.A. in Math, Economics, and Public Service, Albion College, 1997

Research Interests: Health economics, public policy, labor economics, economic demography, and LGBTQ+ populations. He examines policies on health behaviors, LGBTQ+ economic disparities, and the impacts of legal changes like same-sex marriage.

Grants & Awards:

• Elected Member of the National Academy of Medicine (20XX)
• Past President, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
• NIH funding across multiple institutes (NIA, NIAAA, NICHD)

Labs & Teams: Leads the Vanderbilt Center for Research on Inequality and Health and the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab. Collaborates with NBER and IZA Institute of Labor Economics.