Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • Dr. Conway is an applied microeconomist whose interests span labor, public and health economics. Her research centers on how government policies affect household decisions such as where to live, how to spend their time including work decisions, or how much to invest in their health or that of their children. A specific focus is examining the evolution and implications of state-level estate taxes and income tax breaks for the elderly, and the role these policies play in elderly interstate migration and other outcomes. Her work has been funded by NIH and has appeared in outlets such as Demography, Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Human Resources and the National Tax Journal. Karen’s teaching interests are in applied econometrics and public economics, and she teaches capstone courses at the undergraduate and master’s levels as well as intermediate level and principles of microeconomics.

    • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2023 You'll never walk alone - The effects of walkability on pregnancy behaviors and outcomes..  Economics and Human Biology.  50:101269. 2023
    2022 The Academic Effects of United States Child Food Assistance Programs—At Home, School, and In-Between.  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance.  2022
    2022 On Measuring U.S Interstate Migration with Moving Van Data.  Population Research and Policy Review.  41:1431-1449. 2022
    2022 Do income tax breaks for the elderly affect economic growth?.  Contemporary Economic Policy.  40:7-27. 2022
    2022 US Health Care Expenditures, GDP and Health Policy Reforms: Evidence from End-of-Sample Structural Break Tests..  Eastern Economic Journal.  48:451-487. 2022
    2021 Cigarette Smoking, Physical Activity and Time Use.  Series of Unsurprising Results in Economics (SURE) Journal.  2021
    2021 A Replication of "The Robust Relationship between Taxes and US State Income Growth" (National Tax Journal 2008).  Public Finance Review.  49:464-487. 2021
    2020 Weekend feeding ("BackPack") programs and student outcomes.  Economics of Education Review.  79:102040-102040. 2020
    2020 The effect of tobacco policies on youth physical activity..  Economics and Human Biology.  38:100872. 2020
    2019 Sunshine, fertility and racial disparities..  Economics and Human Biology.  32:18-39. 2019
    2018 THE EFFECTS OF YOUNG ADULT-DEPENDENT COVERAGE ANDCONTRACEPTION MANDATES ON YOUNG WOMEN.  Contemporary Economic Policy.  36:73-92. 2018
    2017 Cigarette Taxes, Smoking-and Exercise?.  Health Economics.  26:1019-1036. 2017
    2017 Protecting the Vulnerable or Ripe for Reform? State Income Tax Breaks for the Elderly-Then and Now.  Public Finance Review.  45:564-594. 2017
    2016 How Has Elderly Migration Changed in the Twenty-First Century? What the Data Can-and Cannot-Tell Us..  Demography.  53:1011-1025. 2016
    2016 SOAKING UP THE SUN The Role of Sunshine in the Production of Infant Health.  American Journal of Health Economics.  2:1-40. 2016
    2015 The Labor Supply Effects of Taxing Social Security Benefits.  Public Finance Review.  43:291-323. 2015
    2012 THE GENESIS OF SENIOR INCOME TAX BREAKS.  National Tax Journal.  65:1043-1068. 2012
    2012 Family structure and child outcomes: a high definition, wide angle "snapshot".  Review of Economics of the Household.  10:345-374. 2012
    2012 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (OR WOMEN) - DO STATE TAX POLICIES DRIVE AWAY THE ELDERLY?.  National Tax Journal.  65:313-356. 2012
    2011 The Changing Roles of Disability, Veteran, and Socioeconomic Status in Elderly Interstate Migration.  Research on Aging: an international bimonthly journal.  33:256-285. 2011
    2010 "Going with the flow"--a comparison of interstate elderly migration during 1970-2000 using the (I)PUMS versus full census data..  Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.  65:767-771. 2010
    2009 Post-Injury Work Outcomes Revisited.  Southern Economic Journal.  76:47-66. 2009
    2008 Income Tax Breaks for the Elderly--How Did We Get Here?.  Public Policy & Aging Report.  18:1-39. 2008
    2008 Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly.  Public Finance Review.  36:523-562. 2008
    2008 What about mom? The forgotten beneficiary of the medical expansions.  Southern Economic Journal.  74:1070-1104. 2008
    2008 Parental effort, school resources, and student achievement.  The Journal of Human Resources.  43:437-453. 2008
    2006 Maternal health: does prenatal care make a difference?.  Health Economics.  15:461-488. 2006
    2006 State "death" taxes and elderly migration - The chicken or the egg?.  National Tax Journal.  59:97-128. 2006
    2005 State Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly.  Andrew Young School of Policy Studies Research Paper Series.  2005
    2005 Is prenatal care really ineffective? Or, is the 'devil' in the distribution?.  Journal of Health Economics.  24:489-513. 2005
    2004 Diagnosis murder: The death of state death taxes.  Economic Inquiry.  42:537-559. 2004
    2004 Maternal depression and the production of infand health.  Southern Economic Journal.  71:260-286. 2004
    2003 Out with the old, in with the old: A closer look at younger versus older elderly migration.  Social Science Quarterly.  84:309-328. 2003
    2002 Recent developments in state "death" taxes.  94TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON TAXATION, PROCEEDINGS.  208-212. 2002
    2001 Elderly migration and state fiscal policy: Evidence from the 1990 census migration flaws.  National Tax Journal.  54:103-123. 2001
    2001 Who moonlights and why? Evidence from the SIPP.  Industrial Relations: a journal of economy and society.  40:89-120. 2001
    2000 The Effects of Landfills on Rural Residential Property Values.  The Journal of Regional Analysis & Policy.  30:23-37. 2000
    1999 Are workers "Ricardian"? Estimating the labor supply effects of state fiscal policy.  Public Finance Review.  27:160-193. 1999
    1998 Do the elderly "vote with their feet?".  Public Choice.  97:663-685. 1998
    1998 Male labor supply estimates and the decision to moonlight.  Labour Economics.  5:135-166. 1998
    1997 Labor supply, taxes, and government spending: A microeconometric analysis.  The Review of Economics and Statistics.  79:50-67. 1997
    1995 A SWITCHING FRONTIER MODEL FOR IMPERFECT SAMPLE SEPARATION INFORMATION - WITH AN APPLICATION TO CONSTRAINED LABOR SUPPLY.  International Economic Review.  36:503-526. 1995
    1994 RECONSIDERING THE EFFECTS OF FISCAL-POLICY ON PRIVATE-SECTOR BEHAVIOR - A UNIFYING VIEW OF NEUTRALITY.  Public Finance Review.  22:195-221. 1994
    1994 ESTIMATING LABOR SUPPLY WITH PANEL-DATA.  Economics Letters.  44:27-33. 1994
    1992 STATE ABORTION LEGISLATION AS A PUBLIC GOOD BEFORE AND AFTER ROE V WADE.  Economic Inquiry.  30:609-626. 1992
    1992 ESTIMATING LABOR SUPPLY DISEQUILIBRIUM WITH FIXED-EFFECTS RANDOM-COEFFICIENTS REGRESSION.  Applied Economics.  24:781-789. 1992
    1992 How fragile are male labor supply function estimates?.  Empirical Economics: a quarterly journal of the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna .  17:169-182. 1992
    1991 Is There a Bright Side to a Black Market for Inkind Transfers?.  Southern Economic Journal.  57:656-656. 1991
    1991 THE IMPORTANT ECONOMETRIC FEATURES OF A LINEAR-REGRESSION MODEL WITH CROSS-CORRELATED RANDOM-COEFFICIENTS.  Economics Letters.  35:143-147. 1991
    1987 Determinants of Nutrient Intake of the Elderly.  Journal of Applied Gerontology.  6:227-258. 1987
    1985 The Impact of Federal Transfer Programs on the Nutrient Intake of Elderly Individuals.  The Journal of Human Resources.  20:383-383. 1985
    The Effects of Tobacco Policies on Youth Smoking and Physical Activity

    Article

    Year Title
    2022 Western Economics Association International Annual Meeting: Weight Control Behaviors and Cigarette Taxes: A Theoretical Note 2022
    2018 Measuring Elderly Tax Breaks & their Effects on Migration and Growth 2018
    2018 The Effects of Tobacco Policies on Youth Smoking and Physical Activity 2018
    2018 Do State Income Tax Breaks for the Elderly Affect Economic Growth? 2018
    2017 Sunshine, Temperature and Racial Disparity in BIrth OUtcomes -- starting at conception 2017
    2016 Sunshine, Temperature and Racial Disparity in BIrth OUtcomes -- starting at conception 2016
    2016 The scholastic and behavioral effects of weekend feeding backpack programs 2016
    2016 Do State Income tax Breaks for the Elderly Promote Economic Growth? 2016
    2015 A Closer Look at Tobacco Policy and Physical Activity 2015
    2014 The Consequences of State Tax Preferential Treatment of the Elderly 2014
    2014 The Consequences of State Tax Preferential Treatment of the Elderly 2014
    2014 A Closer Look at Tobacco Policy and Physical Activity 2014
    2014 Sunshine, Temperature and Racial Disparity in Birth Outcomes -- Starting at Conception 2014
    2014 CIgarette Taxes, Smoking -- and Exercise? 2014
    2013 CIgarette Taxes, Smoking -- and Exercise? 2013
    2012 Cigarette Taxes, Smoking -- and Exercise? 2012
    2012 Cigarette Taxes, Smoking -- and Exercise? 2012
    2012 Tax Breaks, Tax Reforms and the Elderly 2012
    2011 Taxes and Deficit Reduction: The Role of Older People 2011
    2011 Soaking up the Sun: The Role of Vitamin D and Race in the Production of Infant Health 2011
    2011 Soaking up the Sun: The Role of Race and Vitamin D in the PRoduction of Infant Health 2011
    2009 Civic Engagement and Land Use Policy Change: Does Social Capital Affect Ecosystem Service Flows? 2009
    2009 Effects of Civic Engagement on Forested Land Cover Change in the Central Appalachian Region 2009
    2008 No Country for Old Men (and Women) -- Do State Tax Policies Drive Away the Elderly? 2008
    2007 The Evolution of State Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly: Intelligent Design? 2007
    2007 The Evolution of State Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly: Intelligent Design? 2007
    2006 The Taxation of Social Security Benefits and elderly Labor Supply 2006
    2005 State Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly 2005
    2005 The Forgotten Beneficiary of the Medicaid Expansions 2005
    2005 The Forgotten Beneficiary of the Medicaid Expansions 2005
    2005 State Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly 2005
    2004 The Forgotten Beneficiary of the Medicaid Expansions 2004
    2004 State Death Taxes and Elderly Migration - the Chicken or the Egg? 2004

    Chapter

    Year Title
    The Academic Effects of United States Child Food Assistance Programs—At Home, School and In- Between

    Conference Paper

    Year Title
    2024 Waiting for the Weekend – The Adoption and Proliferation of Weekend Feeding (“BackPack”) Programs in Schools.  BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy. 1223-1258. 2024
    Waiting for the Weekend – The Adoption and Proliferation of Weekend Feeding (“BackPack”) Programs in Schools
    Waiting for the Weekend – The Adoption and Proliferation of Weekend Feeding (“BackPack”) Programs in Schools
    You'll Never Walk Alone -- The Effects of Walkability on Pregnancy Behaviors and Outcomes

    Teaching Activities

  • Honors/Prin of Economics Micro Taught course
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course
  • Student Research Experience Taught course
  • Topics in Econ/PublicEconomics Taught course
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course 2023
  • Top/Public Economics Taught course 2023
  • Hon/Principles of Econ Micro Taught course 2022
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course 2022
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course 2022
  • Student Research Experience Taught course 2022
  • Hon/Principles of Econ Micro Taught course 2021
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course 2021
  • Honors/Prin of Economics Micro Taught course 2019
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course 2019
  • Principles of Economics Micro Taught course 2019
  • Research Skills Taught course 2019
  • Econometrics I Taught course 2018
  • Research Skills Taught course 2018
  • Econometrics I Taught course 2017
  • Research Skills Taught course 2017
  • Econometrics I Taught course 2016
  • Field Workshop Taught course 2016
  • Honors/Prin of Economics Micro Taught course 2016
  • Research Skills Taught course 2016
  • Econometrics I Taught course 2015
  • Honors/Prin of Economics Micro Taught course 2015
  • Research Skills Taught course 2015
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2015
  • Econometrics I Taught course 2014
  • Honors/Prin of Economics Micro Taught course 2014

    • Education And Training

    Full Name

  • Karen Conway