A A A

Economists

M. Melinda Pitts
Research Economist and Associate Policy Adviser

Research Department
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
1000 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30309-4470
404-498-7009
Melinda.Pitts@atl.frb.org

To interview economists, press should contact Public Affairs at 404-498-8748.

Biography
Research

Biography

M. Melinda Pitts is a research economist and associate policy adviser on the regional team in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Her major fields of study are health and labor economics. She also serves as director of the Atlanta Fed's Center for Human Capital Studies.

Prior to joining the Bank in 2002, Dr. Pitts was an assistant professor of economics at Georgia State University, in Atlanta. She also worked as an assistant professor of economics at Salisbury State University in Salisbury, Maryland.

Dr. Pitts has published in several journals, including Industrial Relations, the American Economic Review, Archives of Internal Medicine, and Research in Labor Economics.

She is a member of the American Economic Association, International Health Economics Association, American Society of Health Economists, and the Society of Labor Economics.

Dr. Pitts received her doctorate in economics in 1997 and her master's degree in economics in 1993, both from North Carolina State University. She received her bachelor of arts in economics in 1987 from Clemson University.

Research

Federal Reserve System Publications

"Smoking: Taxing Health and Social Security." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review 92 (Third Quarter 2007): 27–41 (with Brian S. Armour).

"It's Who You Are and What You Do: Explaining the IT Industry Wage Premium." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review 90 (Third Quarter 2005): 37–45 (with Jason DeBacker, Julie Hotchkiss, and John Robertson).

Working Papers

2012-10
A Closer Look at Nonparticipants During and After the Great Recession
Hotchkiss, Julie L., M. Melinda Pitts, and Fernando Rios-Avila
August 2012
Abstract || Full text in PDF (2.19 MB)

2011-2
To Work or Not to Work: The Economics of a Mother's Dilemma
Hotchkiss, Julie L., M. Melinda Pitts, and Mary Beth Walker.
March 2011.
Abstract || Full text in PDF (189 KB)

2011-1
A Decomposition of the Black-White Differential in Birth Outcomes
Pitts, Melinda M., Mary Beth Walker, and Brian S. Armour.
March 2011.
Abstract || Full text in PDF (163 KB)

2010-2
Assessing the Impact of Education and Marriage on Labor Market Exit Decisions of Women
Hotchkiss, Julie L., M. Melinda Pitts, and Mary Beth Walker.
February 2010.
Abstract || Full text in PDF (176 KB)

2008-8
Working with Children? The Probability of Mothers Exiting the Workforce at Time of Birth
Hotchkiss, Julie L., M. Melinda Pitts, and Mary Beth Walker.
February 2008.
Abstract || Full text in PDF (224 KB)

2007-19
Cigarette Smoking and Food Insecurity among Low-Income Families in the United States, 2001
Brian S. Armour, M. Melinda Pitts, and Chung-won Lee
August 2007
Abstract || Full text in PDF (216 KB)

2007-18
Does Disability Explain State-Level Differences in the Quality of Medicare Beneficiary Hospital Inpatient Care?
Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts.
August 2007
Abstract || Full text in PDF (251 KB)

2007-16
Evidence of Demand Factors in the Determination of the Labor Market Intermittency Penalty
Julie L. Hotchkiss and M. Melinda Pitts.
July 2007
Abstract || Full text in PDF (244 KB)

2007-1
The Role of Labor Market Intermittency in Explaining Gender Wage Differentials
Julie L. Hotchkiss and M. Melinda Pitts.
February 2007
Abstract || Full text in PDF (462 KB)

2006-12
Smoking: Taxing Health and Social Security
Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts
September 2006
Abstract || Full text in PDF (231 KB)

2006-1
The Push-Pull Effects of the Information Technology Boom and Bust: Insight from Matched Employer-Employee Data
Julie L. Hotchkiss, M. Melinda Pitts, and John C. Robertson
February 2006
Abstract || Full text in PDF (245 KB)

2005-22
Freshman Learning Communities, College Performance, and Retention
Julie L. Hotchkiss, Robert E. Moore, and M. Melinda Pitts
September 2005
Abstract || Full text in PDF (323 KB)

2005-11
Earnings on the Information Technology Rollercoaster: Insight from Matched Employer-Employee Data
Julie L. Hotchkiss, M. Melinda Pitts, and John C. Robertson
June 2005
Abstract || Full text in PDF (255 KB)

2004-19
Wage Gains among Job Changers across the Business Cycle: Insight from State Administrative Data
Julie L. Hotchkiss, M. Melinda Pitts, and John C. Robertson
August 2004
Abstract || Full text in PDF (1.1 MB)

2002-30
Why Choose Women's Work If It Pays Less? A Structural Model of Occupational Choice
M. Melinda Pitts
December 2002
Abstract || Full text in PDF (274 KB)

2002-29
Incorporating Insurance Rate Estimates and Differential Mortality into Net Marginal Social Security Tax Rate Calculations
Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts
December 2002
Abstract || Full text in PDF (263 KB)