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Lisa A. Gennetian, Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies and Director of Graduate Studies  

Office Location: 212 Rubenstein Hall, 302 Towerview Road, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 90312
Email Address: lisa.gennetian@duke.edu
Web Page: https://www.lisagennetian.org/
Web Page: http://@lisagennetian.bsky.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-gennetian-b8b583322/

Areas of Expertise

    Education:
    Ph.D., Cornell University, 1998
    B.A., Wellesley College, 1990

    Teaching (Spring 2026):

    • Pubpol 402s.01, Empirical methods for soc prog Synopsis
      Sanford 09, W 03:20 PM-05:50 PM
    • Pubpol 907.01, Phd student graduate seminar Synopsis
      Sanford 05, F 10:05 AM-12:35 PM

    Recent Publications   (More Publications)

    1. Egan-Dailey, S; Gennetian, LA; Magnuson, K; Duncan, GJ; Yoshikawa, H; Fox, N; Noble, KG. "Child-directed speech in a large sample of U.S. mothers with low income." Center for Open Science (September, 2025). [doi]
    2. Keister, LA; Gibson-Davis, C; Gennetian, LA; Gibson, N. "Net Worth Poverty and Food Insecurity.." American journal of agricultural economics 107.4 (August, 2025): 1016-1040. [doi]  [abs]
    3. Magnuson, KA; Duncan, GJ; Yoshikawa, H; Yoo, PY; Han, S; Gennetian, LA; Halpern-Meekin, S; Fox, NA; Noble, KG. "Effects of unconditional cash transfers on family processes and wellbeing among mothers with low incomes.." Nature communications 16.1 (August, 2025): 7517. [doi]  [abs]
    4. Duncan, GJ; Magnuson, K; Kunin-Batson, AS; Yoshikawa, H; Fox, NA; Halpern-Meekin, S; Ainsworth, NJ; Black, SR; Nelson, JM; Nelson, TD; Georgieff, MK; Karhson, D; Gennetian, LA; Noble, KG. "Cash Transfers and Their Effect on Maternal and Young Children's Health: A Randomized Clinical Trial.." JAMA pediatrics 179.8 (August, 2025): 867-875. [doi]  [abs]
    5. Gennetian, LA; Gibson-Davis, C; Darity, WA. "A framework and policy case for black reparations to support child well-being in the USA.." Nature human behaviour 9.6 (June, 2025): 1090-1097. [doi]  [abs]

    Highlight:

    Dr. Gennetian is an applied economist whose research straddles a variety of areas concerning child poverty from income security and stability to early care and education with a particular lens toward identifying causal mechanisms underlying how child poverty shapes children’s development. She is a co-PI on the first multi-site multi-year randomized control study of a monthly unconditional cash transfer to low income mothers of infants in the U.S. called Baby’s First Years. Her recent work bridges poverty scholarship with a behavioral economic framework.  “The Persistence of Poverty in the Context of Economic Instability: A Behavioral Perspective,” describes such a framework for poverty programs and policy, co-authored with Dr. Eldar Shafir and her co-authored publication “Behavioral Economics and Developmental Science,” further advances the application of behavioral economic insights to the arena of children’s development. Professor Gennetian has since launched the beELL initiative; applying insights from behavioral economics to design strategies to support parent and family engagement in, and enhance the impacts of, existing childhood interventions. Dr. Gennetian also has a body of research examining poverty among Hispanic children and families, serving as a PI on several grants and a co-PI directing work on poverty and economic self-sufficiency at the National Center for Research on Hispanic Families.

    Lisa A. Gennetian

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