Rate My Professor Natalia Zhivan

Natalia Zhivan serves as Instructional Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Economics at the University of Houston, contributing to the Business & Economics faculty. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Boston College in 2009, along with a B.A. and M.S. from St. Petersburg State University. Her research specializations include health economics, aging, and applied econometrics, with a focus on labor force participation of older workers, displacement risks, health care costs in later life, moving decisions among the elderly, and Social Security policy reforms. Previously affiliated with the Department of Health Systems Management in Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, she conducted research during and after her doctoral studies at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Dr. Zhivan has authored several working papers and issue briefs, including 'Has the Displacement of Older Workers Increased?' (2006, with Alicia H. Munnell, Steven Sass, and Mauricio Soto), 'How Much Do State Economics and Other Characteristics Affect Labor Force Participation of Older Workers?' (2009, with Alicia H. Munnell, Mauricio Soto, and Robert K. Triest), 'Older Americans On The Go: How Often, Where, and Why?' (2009, with Kelly Haverstick), 'A New Approach to Raising Social Security’s Earliest Eligibility Age' (2008, with Kelly Haverstick, Margarita Sapozhnikov, and Robert K. Triest), and 'Adjusting Social Security for Increasing Life Expectancy: Effects on Progressivity' (2010, with Courtney Monk and John A. Turner). She serves on the University of Houston Faculty Council Curriculum Committee, with a term expiring August 31, 2027, and oversees undergraduate advising, major declarations, and programs such as the Certificate in Quantitative Economics and dual degrees with the Hobby School of Public Affairs.