Mayra Pineda Torres

Mayra Pineda-Torres is an Assistant Professor in the School of Economics at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Research Affiliate at IZA. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Texas A&M University (2022) and a B.A. in Economics from ITAM (2015). Her research focuses on health economics, labor economics, and gender economics, particularly examining the impacts of reproductive healthcare policies on women’s and teens’ welfare, including abortion access, contraception policies, and educational opportunities. Her work addresses issues such as inequality and poverty through studies on fertility trends, intimate partner violence, and healthcare accessibility.

• Education: Ph.D., Texas A&M University (2022); B.A., ITAM (2015)
• Affiliations: NBER Faculty Research Fellow, IZA Research Affiliate

Her research explores topics like the long-term effects of 1960s–1970s reproductive policies, contemporary abortion regulations (e.g., TRAP laws, waiting periods), and the interplay between education expansion and teenage fertility. She also investigates how legal abortion access influences intimate partner violence and educational attainment.

Awards:

• 2020 IWPR Doctoral Fellow in Economics & Reproductive Health

Teaching: Courses include Health Economics, Undergraduate Research, and Economics of Risky Behaviors. She emphasizes applied microeconomic methods and policy analysis.

Her recent work examines the effects of post-Dobbs abortion bans on fertility, the role of driving distance and appointment availability in abortion access, and the impact of medical residency subsidies on physician shortages.