Olivia S. Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Olivia S. Mitchell is an American
economist
and International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor and Chair of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
. She is a leading academic in the field of pension and social security
, and she directs the Pension Research Council, the oldest U.S. center devoted to scholarship and policy-relevant research on retirement
security. She also heads Wharton’s Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Security.
; she also visited Harvard
, Goethe University, Singapore Management University, and the University of New South Wales. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Wells Fargo
Advantage Funds and is a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research. She has served on the Advisory Board to the Singaporean Central Provident Fund, the Executive Board of the American Economic Association and chaired the CSWEP (Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession). In 2001 she served on the bipartisan President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. She has worked as a co-Principal Investigator for the Health and Retirement Study for two decades, and she sits on the Executive Committee of the University of Michigan’s
Retirement Research Center.
with honors from Harvard University and her MS and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
. She also received honorary degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of St. Gallen.
. The work is highly regarded: in 2008 she was awarded the Roger F. Murray Prize from the Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance; that year she also received the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award from the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession. In 2007 she received the Fidelity
Pyramid Research Institute Prize for her co-authored study on financial literacy. In 2003 she received the Premio Internazionale Dell'Istituto Nazionale Delle Assicurazioni awarded at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy, ex aqueo Elsa Fornero, and in 1999 her co-authored work received the Paul A. Samuelson Award for Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security from TIAA-CREF.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor and Chair of the Department of Insurance and Risk Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. She is a leading academic in the field of pension and social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
, and she directs the Pension Research Council, the oldest U.S. center devoted to scholarship and policy-relevant research on retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
security. She also heads Wharton’s Boettner Center for Pensions and Retirement Security.
Career
Mitchell joined The Wharton School in 1993, having served from 1978 to 1993 as a professor at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
; she also visited Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Goethe University, Singapore Management University, and the University of New South Wales. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
Advantage Funds and is a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research. She has served on the Advisory Board to the Singaporean Central Provident Fund, the Executive Board of the American Economic Association and chaired the CSWEP (Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession). In 2001 she served on the bipartisan President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. She has worked as a co-Principal Investigator for the Health and Retirement Study for two decades, and she sits on the Executive Committee of the University of Michigan’s
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Retirement Research Center.
Education
Mitchell earned her BA in EconomicsEconomics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
with honors from Harvard University and her MS and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
. She also received honorary degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of St. Gallen.
Works
Mitchell has published multiple articles and books on pensions, social security reform, and retirement security, and she has also worked on financial literacyFinancial literacy
Financial literacy is the ability to understand finance. More specifically, it refers to the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions through their understanding of finances...
. The work is highly regarded: in 2008 she was awarded the Roger F. Murray Prize from the Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance; that year she also received the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award from the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession. In 2007 she received the Fidelity
Fidelity Investments
FMR LLC or Fidelity Investments is an American multinational financial services corporation one of the largest mutual fund and financial services groups in the world. It was founded in 1946 and serves North American investors. Fidelity Ventures is its venture capital arm...
Pyramid Research Institute Prize for her co-authored study on financial literacy. In 2003 she received the Premio Internazionale Dell'Istituto Nazionale Delle Assicurazioni awarded at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy, ex aqueo Elsa Fornero, and in 1999 her co-authored work received the Paul A. Samuelson Award for Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security from TIAA-CREF.
Selected publications
- John Ameriks and Olivia S. Mitchell, eds. Recalibrating Retirement Spending and Saving. Oxford University Press. 2008.
- Brigitte Madrian, Olivia S. Mitchell, & Beth Soldo, eds. Redefining Retirement. Oxford University Press, 2007. (Selected as Noteworthy Book in Industrial Relations and Labor Economics, Princeton.)
- Robert S. Clark and Olivia S. Mitchell. Reinventing the Retirement Paradigm. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Olivia S. Mitchell and Stephen P. Utkus, eds. Pension Design and Structure: New Lessons from Behavioral Finance. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004.
- Olivia S. Mitchell and Kent SmettersKent Smetters-Early years:Smetters was raised in Ohio. He received his bachelor's degrees in Economics and Computer Science from the Ohio State University in 1990, and Master and PhD degrees in Economics from Harvard University in 1992 and 1995 respectively.- Academics :...
. The Pension Challenge: Risk Transfers and Retirement Income Security. Oxford University Press. 2003. - Jeffrey Brown, Olivia S. Mitchell, James Poterba, and Mark Warshawsky. The Role of Annuity Markets in Financing Retirement. MIT Press, 2001.
- Olivia S. Mitchell and Hustead, Edwin. Pensions in the Public Sector. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.
- Fields, Gary S. and Olivia S. Mitchell. Retirement, Pensions, and Social Security. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1984.