Jessica Simon

Academic Division: EconomicsDr. Simon is an education economist whose ongoing research concerns gender gaps in self-employment outcomes for U.S. Millennials, including monetary and non-monetary returns to education, occupational sorting, and implications for young ​families. Her work in this area, co-authored with Dr. Megan Way, has been published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues and Gender in Management. Other current work concerns the association between business and entrepreneurship education and successful self-employment outcomes. A recent report funded by the Davis Educational Foundation and co-authored with Drs. Polutnik and Way explored cost containment strategies in higher education, their relationship to institutional mission, and the use of data-driven tools to improve decision making related to cost containment. Before joining Babson as full-time faculty, Dr. Simon taught economics at Boston University and on an adjunct basis at Babson College. Her past research and consulting experience focused on early literacy, effectiveness of STEM initiatives, cost-effectiveness in education, and development and fundraising in higher education. Dr. Simon earned her Ph.D. in economics and education from Columbia University in 2011. She is a graduate of Brandeis University’s B.A./M.A. program in economics, where she also earned a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature.

Academic Degrees

• Ph D, Columbia University
• M.Phil, Columbia University
• MA, Brandeis University
• BA, Brandeis University

Academic Interests

Economics of Education; Education Finance; Gender; Gender Studies; Self-employment and Entrepreneurship

c

Awards & Honors

2016 - Highly Commended Paper, 2016 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, Emerald Publishing