Training Fellowship
The NBER Retirement and Disability Research Center (RDRC) has two competitive training programs for junior scholars. The RDRC is funded by a cooperative agreement with the Social Security Administration through its Retirement and Disability Research Consortium.
In a typical year, the programs provide training and education for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows who are engaged in research focused on topics related to Social Security's Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs and related federal policies. Predoctoral scholars work at their home universities under the guidance of their dissertation advisors, while postdoctoral scholars work in residence at the NBER. The postdoctoral fellowships are suitable for either new PhDs or junior faculty on sabbatical. The fellowships are closely coordinated with other NBER postdoctoral fellowships in complementary subject areas, including the economics of aging (funded by the National Institute on Aging), the economics of an aging workforce (funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation), and long-run fiscal policy (funded by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation). The RDRC training programs and other research opportunities made available through the NBER have supported many young scholars in pursuing research relevant to Social Security programs and populations.
2022-23 Postdoctoral Training Fellow:
Zhixiu Yu, University of Minnesota
Zhixiu Yu earned her PhD degree in economics from the University of Minnesota in 2022. Starting this fall, she will join the economics department at the E. J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University as an assistant professor. Her research primarily focuses on how social insurance programs and taxation influence the economic decisions of households, including labor supply and saving. More broadly, she has research interests in macroeconomics, labor, and public finance, including topics such as population aging, health inequality, human capital, and social insurance reform.
2022-23 Predoctoral Training Fellows:
Johnny Huynh, University of California, Los Angeles
Johnny Huynh is a PhD candidate in the economics department at UCLA. His research analyzes the
social and economic determinants of health, especially among underserved and at-risk communities. His current work uses linked administrative datasets to explore the long-term impacts of cash transfers for veterans with disabilities, as well as the channels through which cash transfers affect health.
Ari Ne'eman, Harvard University
Ari Ne'eman is a PhD candidate in Health Policy at Harvard University. His research examines the impact of the Affordable Care Act's Balancing Incentive Program on people with disabilities' unmet need for long-term services and supports (LTSS) and on the LTSS workforce. His other research interests include disability employment, the impact of Medicaid Managed Care transitions, and the allocation of scarce medical resources.
Cesia Sanchez, UC Berkeley
Cesia Sanchez is a PhD candidate in the economics department at UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on how early economic conditions experienced by young adults affect the retirement decisions of their parents. More broadly, she is interested in understanding the economic mechanisms that affect household composition/family formation.
Christiane Szerman, Princeton University
Christiane Szerman is a PhD candidate in economics at Princeton University. She works on core topics in labor, development, and public economics, focusing on the distributional consequences of labor market policies and regulations. Some of her other research explores ways that government interventions can help alleviate market failures and reduce inequality.
