Patricia Anderson

Patricia M. Anderson is a Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College within the Business & Economics faculty, having joined the faculty in 1991. She holds a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from the College of William and Mary (1985), an M.A. from Princeton University (1989), and a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University (1991). Anderson is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Her research focuses on applied microeconomics, employing real-world data and empirical methods to examine causal relationships. Key areas of interest include child health and nutrition—particularly childhood obesity and food insecurity—as well as social insurance programs such as unemployment insurance.

Anderson has published extensively on the determinants and policy implications of childhood obesity. Prominent works include 'Maternal Employment and Overweight Children' (Journal of Health Economics, 2003, with Phillip B. Levine and Kristin F. Butcher), 'Causes of the Increase in Childhood Overweight and Obesity' (Future of Children, 2006, with Kristin F. Butcher), 'Reading, Writing and Refreshments: Are School Finances Contributing to Children's Obesity?' (Journal of Human Resources, 2006, with Kristin F. Butcher), 'Parental Employment, Family Routines, and Childhood Obesity' (Economics and Human Biology, 2012), and 'Adequate (or Adipose?) Yearly Progress: Assessing the Effect of 'No Child Left Behind' on Children's Obesity' (Education Finance and Policy, 2017, with Kristin F. Butcher and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach). In labor economics, she has co-authored influential studies on unemployment insurance, including 'Unemployment Insurance Takeup Rates and the After-Tax Value of Benefits' (Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1997, with Bruce D. Meyer) and 'The Extent and Consequences of Job Turnover' (Brookings Papers on Economic Activity: Microeconomics, 1994, with Bruce D. Meyer). Her scholarship informs debates on public health, education finance, and labor market policies.

Professional Email: patricia.m.anderson@dartmouth.edu