"Lovenomics" power couple joins Ford School faculty

July 18, 2012

Highly regarded economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers have agreed to join the Ford School faculty. Stevenson joins the Ford School as an associate professor of public policy on September 1. Wolfers, who will split his appointment between the Ford School and the University's Department of Economics, begins on January 1, 2013.

Stevenson and Wolfers have received national attention for their respective research and as a celebrity couple of their field. Last February, The New York Times profiled Wolfers and Stevenson in an article, "It's the Economy, Honey." The article describes their research on "the economics of coupledom," and includes personal insights, such as their meeting at a party while attending Harvard and their proclivity for Twitter. (Follow Wolfers and Stevenson. )

"If they don't quite sound like the rest of us, that's because these two Harvard PhD's form a sort of power couple…" wrote the article's author, Motoko Rich. "Ms. Stevenson and Mr. Wolfers have become the go-to pair on the economics of marriage, divorce and child-rearing. That they are themselves a couple — unmarried, for tax reasons they regularly cite — adds to the allure."

An accompanying article, "A Couple's Basic Principles of Lovenomics 101," describes the economic underpinnings of the decisions that Stevenson and Wolfers say make their relationship work.