Professor Katharine Abraham, a faculty member who holds appointments in the Department of Economics and the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.

The Academy was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock, and others who believed the new republic should honor exceptionally accomplished individuals and engage them in advancing the public good. The Academy’s dual mission remains essentially the same today. Elected members of the Academy “join with other experts to explore challenges facing society, identify solutions, and promote nonpartisan recommendations that advance the public good.” Professor Abraham will be inducted into the Academy along with this year’s other newly-elected members in October 2020.

Professor Abraham’s published research includes papers on the contingent workforce; the work and retirement decisions of older Americans; labor market adjustment over the business cycle; unemployment and job vacancies; and the measurement of economic activity, among other topics. She is the current President of the Society of Labor Economists and Chair of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth. She also serves as an advisor to the Congressional Budget Office, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2016, former President Obama appointed her to chair the bipartisan Commission on Evidence-based Policymaking. From 2011 to 2013, she was a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and from 1993 to 2001, she served as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.