Rhea Myerscough

Rhea Myerscough serves as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She earned her PhD from the Travers Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Her research program critically examines economic inequality in the United States through the lens of the racial wealth gap. Dr. Myerscough investigates how racially distinct economic experiences, shaped by wealth disparities, fundamentally influence public policy formation, interest group mobilization, and public opinion dynamics within American political institutions.

Her primary research project, Regulating the predatory economy: inequality, policy, and organized interests, analyzes the political conditions under which states regulate exploitative financial markets like payday lending that target financially precarious communities. A complementary project explores how the racial wealth gap shapes citizen attitudes toward policy interventions for economic insecurity, including guaranteed income programs.

Prior to her academic career, Dr. Myerscough gained professional experience across multiple sectors including academic administration, defense policy, and service industry positions, providing her with diverse perspectives on economic inequality.