Alicia Sasser Modestino

Dr. Alicia Sasser Modestino is an associate professor with appointments in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Department of Economics. Previously, Modestino was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where she lead numerous research projects on regional economic and policy issues for the New England Public Policy Center. In that role, she frequently advised policymakers and business leaders and testified on key pieces of legislation related to labor market policies. Her work has appeared in journals such as Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Human Resources, and Health Affairs and has been presented at the annual meetings of the American Economic Association.

Her current research focuses on labor market dynamics including skills mismatch, youth labor market attachment, migration, and the impact of health care reform on employers. She is currently a co-principal investigator on Russell Sage Foundation Project #85-14-05, “Upskilling During the Great Recession: Do Employers Demand Greater Skill When Workers Are Plentiful?”

Modestino holds both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, where she also served as a doctoral fellow in the Inequality and Social Policy Program at the Kennedy School of Government.

Areas of Research and Teaching: Labor Market Dynamics, Skills Mismatch, Youth Labor Market Attachment, Migration, Housing, Health Care Reform, Regional Economic Analysis.

Faculty Website

Awards and Honors

• Contact Co-Principal Investigator, “Upskilling: Why Do Employers Demand Greater Skill When Workers Are Plentiful?” (with Daniel Shoag), Russell Sage Foundation, Total =$35,000, January 2015-December 2015.
• Co-Principal Investigator (with Trinh Nguyen and the City of Boston), “Citi Community Development Concept Proposal: Youth Credit Building Initiative.” Total = $260,750, January 2015-December 2016.
• Principal Investigator. “A Multi-Year Evaluation of Boston Summer Youth Employment Program Features to Reduce Inequality Across Groups.” City of Boston, Office of Workforce Development, Total=$15,000, September 2015-December 2016.
• Principal Investigator, “Gender Differences in Physician Pay: Tradeoffs Between Career and Family.” National Science Foundation, Grant for Improving Doctoral Research, $5,000 (2000-2001).
• Inequality and Social Policy Fellowship, Harvard University, 2000-2001
• National Science Foundation Graduate Studies Fellowship, 1997-2000
• Sumner Slichter Harvard University Fellowship for Study in Labor Economics, 1998-1999

Professional Associations

• American Economic Association (AEA)
• Society of Labor Economists (SOLE)
• American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon)
• Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP)
• Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)