1. Home
  2. Bio

BIO

Alicia SasserAlicia Sasser Modestino is associate professor with appointments in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the Department of Economics at Northeastern University. Since 2015 she has also served as the associate director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy and is currently a nonresident fellow in the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. Previously, Modestino was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston where she lead numerous research projects on regional economic and policy issues for the New England Public Policy Center.

Modestino’s current research focuses on labor market dynamics including youth labor market attachment, skills mismatch, migration, and the impact of health care reform on employers. Her work has been funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the National Science Foundation and has been published in peer-reviewed publications including Journal of Human Resources, Labour Economics, Health Affairs, and Regional Science and Urban Economics. Modestino holds both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, where she also served as a doctoral fellow in the Inequality and Social Policy Program at the Kennedy School of Government.

Awards and Honors



External Funding:

  • Principal Investigator. “A Multi-Year Evaluation of Boston Summer Youth Employment Program Features to Reduce Inequality Across Groups.” William T. Grant Foundation Research Grant, Total=$280,714, July 2016-June 2019.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (with Agnes Chan, CCIS) “Increasing Qualified Cybersecurity Educators: Market Study on Shortages of Educators.” National Security Administration, Total=$150,000, co-PI share=48,400, May 2017-December 2017.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (with Trinh Nguyen, City of Boston), “Technical Assistance for Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success Project for the Boston Summer Youth Employment Program.” Third Sector Partners, Total = $250,000, Co-PI share = $57,000, December 2016-August 2017.
  • Contact Co-Principal Investigator, (with Daniel Shoag), “Upskilling: Why Do Employers Demand Greater Skill When Workers Are Plentiful?”, Russell Sage Foundation, Total =$35,000, Co-PI share = $11,000, January 2016-December 2017.
  • Co-Principal Investigator (with Trinh Nguyen, City of Boston), “Citi Community Development Concept Proposal: Youth Credit Building Initiative.” Citi Community Development Foundation, Total = $260,750, Co-PI share = $28,800, January 2016-December 2017.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, “Greater Boston Housing Report Card.” The Boston Foundation, Total=$75,000, co-PI share=$18,750, August 2014-July 2015.
  • Co-Principal Investigator, “Upskilling: Do Employers Demand Greater Skill When Workers Are Plentiful?” (with Daniel Shoag), Russell Sage Foundation, Project #85-14-05, Total =$50,000, Co-PI share = $20,000, August 2014-July 2016.
  • Principal Investigator, “Gender Differences in Physician Pay: Tradeoffs Between Career and Family.” National Science Foundation, Grant for Improving Doctoral Research, Total=$5,000, September 2000-August 2001.

Awards and Honors:

  • Inequality and Social Policy Fellowship, Harvard University, 2000-2001
  • Doctoral Fellow, Weiner Center for Social Policy, Kennedy School of Government, 1999-2001
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Studies Fellowship, 1997-2000
  • Sumner Slichter Harvard University Fellowship for Study in Labor Economics, 1998-1999
  • Harvard University Graduate Studies Fellowship, 1996-1997
  • Robert F. Bruce Memorial Prize in Mathematics, Boston University, 1993
  • College Prize for Excellence in Economics, Boston University, 1993
  • Harold C. Case Scholarship, Boston University, 1992

Professional Associations
 

  • American Economic Association (AEA)
  • Society of Labor Economists (SOLE)
  • American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon)
  • Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP)
  • Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)