Melanie Zaber

Melanie Zaber (she/her) is an economist at RAND, codirector of the Middle-Class Pathways Center, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. She has diverse research interests spanning workforce development, postsecondary education, gender equity, and access to civil justice. Her research has examined household transitions (coresidence, marriage, divorce, bankruptcy), analyzed workforce pipelines (principals, military linguists, building tradespeople), and explored postsecondary finance (market power, state grant aid, student debt). Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute for Civil Justice, and the Social Security Administration. Current projects include an exploration of the persistence of women in STEM careers and an analysis of the longer-term education and career outcomes of participants in a high school youth development program. Zaber received her Ph.D. in economics and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University.