Professor Robert T. Michael is currently an Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor with the Harris School and Department of Education as well as Dean of the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago where he has served since 1989. Professor Michael received his B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from Ohio Wesleyan University and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.

In addition to teaching responsibilities, Professor Michael is a Research Associate with the Population Research Center. He also participates as a member on several boards including the Board of Trustees for the National Opinion Research Center and the Editorial Board for the Journal of Labor Economics. Professor Michael belongs to four professional societies including the American Economic Association and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. Within the last ten years, Professor Michael has received a number of academic honors including the Survey of the Year Award, from the Association of Public Opinion Research: The National Health and Social Life Survey, and the Gordon J. Laing Award from the University of Chicago Press.

Professor Michael uses a rational choice approach to investigate such topics as the divorce rate, the effects of maternal employment on the intellectual ability of children, and private sexual behavior and its relationship to public health policy. Professor Michael's most recent publication in is Sex, Love, and Health: Public and Private Policy, which he edited along with Dr. E. O. Laumann.

Contact Information:
Harris School of Public Policy
1155 E. 60th Street #151A
Chicago, IL 60637
Fax: 773-702-0926
Email: r-michael@uchicago.edu
Other Links: http://www.harrisschool.uchicago.edu/faculty/fac_michael.html

Research Interests
Dr. Michael's research uses a rational choice theoretical approach to study the causes of divorce, the reasons for the growth in one-person households, the impact of inflation on families, and the consequences of the rise in women's employment for the family especially children. For instance as part of the NAS/NRC panel on pay equity in the United States, he investigated the size of and explanations for differences in pay between women and men. He has also written on expenditure patterns in the household, including book on the factors that determine parental spending on children in various types of households. Dr. Michael's research also extends into the area of adult relationships. He collaborated with Laumann and Gagnon on a large-scale analysis of adult sexual behavior in the United States. This study focuses on the risks of AIDS and general patterns of sexual conduct.

Recent Publications
Articles
Wadsworth, J., Feinleib, J., Johnson, A., Laumann, E. O., Wellings, K., & Michael, R. T. (1998). Private sexual behavior, public opinion, and public health policy related to sexually transmitted diseases: A U.S. ­ British Comparison. American Journal of Public Health, 88(5), 749-754.

Feinleib, J., & Michael, R.T. (1998). Reported changes in sexual behavior in response to AIDS in the U.S. Preventive Medicine, 27, 400-411.

Book Chapters
Laumann, E. O., & Michael, R. T., Eds. (2000). Sex, Love and Health: Public and Private Policy. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Michael, R.T., & Joyner, K. (2000). Choices leading to teenage births, in Laumann, E.O., & Michael, R.T., (eds.), Sex, Love and Health: Public and Private Policy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Michael, R.T., (2000). Abortion decisions in the U.S., in Laumann, E.O., & Michael, R.T., (eds.), Sex, Love and Health: Public and Private Policy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Michael, R.T. (2000). Private Sex and Public Policy, in Laumann, E.O., & Michael, R.T., (eds.), Sex, Love and Health: Public and Private Policy, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Selected Courses
Public Policy 406 - Economics of child and family Policy
Public Policy - Demography Workshop