About
Melody Harvey is an assistant professor of consumer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Harvey's research focuses on how consumer, social, and K-12 education policies affect personal and household finances among economically vulnerable populations in the United States. She seeks to understand what is needed in public policy through which mechanisms to improve their financial health. Most of her work to date analyzes the effects of K-12 financial education policies on financial outcomes of young adults across different socioeconomic groups, but she also examines payday lending regulations and social welfare policies. Dr. Harvey has a PhD in policy analysis from Pardee RAND Graduate School, an M.P.P. from Pepperdine University, and a BA in economics from Reed College.
Current Work
Dr. Harvey's current and upcoming work increasingly includes parsing how differences in policy design affect financial outcomes in attempts to move the field from simply understanding "if" a policy affects personal and household finances to "how" said policy affects personal and household finances among different socioeconomic groups. "How" might also systematically differ by jurisdictions in ways that further exacerbate socioeconomic inequality. She is currently examining the importance of these differences in three major policies: 1) K-12 financial education mandate 2) payday lending regulations, and 3) social welfare policies as they concern consumer affairs. Research can inform if policies are effective, but cannot ensure policymakers of best practices or optimal design without addressing the "how."
Research Area Keyword(s)
applied econometrics; financial capability; household finance; public policy; social/economic class
