Mel Stephens is a labor economist whose current research interests include consumption and savings, aging and retirement, education, the impact of local labor market fluctuations on household outcomes, and applied econometrics. Stephens recent work on Changes in Nutrient Intake at Retirement, with Michigan alum Desmond Toohey (PhD Pub Pol and Econ ‘15), has been released as an NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) working paper.

Stephens is also an alumnus of the department (PhD Econ ‘98) and is one of a small number of our department alumni who have come full circle to take on this role. Previously in the department, he has served as Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Chair for Junior Recruiting. His commitment to economics at the university, paired with his administrative experience, will serve him well as he leads the department into its third century of academic excellence.

In addition to his appointment as Professor of Economics, Stephens is active in the wider university community. He holds a courtesy appointment as a professor of public policy at the Ford School, and, through the Institute for Social Research, he is a research affiliate at the Population Studies Center and a faculty associate at the Survey Research Center. He is also affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), where he is currently a research associate. He also served as a member of the Academic Research Council at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.