Heidi Hartmann

Heidi Hartmann headshot
President
Organization
Institute for Women's Policy Research

Heidi Hartmann is the President Emerita and Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), which she founded in 1987 to meet the need for women-centered, policy-oriented research. Dr. Hartmann is also a Distinguished Economist in Residence at American University and serves as the Editor of the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy.

Dr. Hartmann, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University, is a co-author of several IWPR reports, including IWPR’s inaugural publication, Unnecessary Losses: Costs to Americans of the Lack of Family and Medical Leave, and is a co-originator of IWPR’s Family and Medical Leave Simulation Model. In 1994, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship Award for her work in the field of women and economics. Dr. Hartmann lectures internationally on women, economics, and public policy; frequently testifies before the U.S. Congress; and is often cited as an authority in various media outlets, such as  ABC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post,  and NBC Nightly News.

Projects

How Paid Family Leave Policies Affects Nursing Home Utilization and Costs

While there is an extensive and growing research literature on the benefits of paid parental leave, few studies have examined the impacts of paid family leave on caring for elderly family members. Yet families that take advantage of these policies may actually be helping to lower state costs in other areas. Arora and Wolf (2018) estimate that paid family leave reduced elderly nursing home utilization by 11 percent in California relative to an empirically matched group of control states.

Incorporating Health Status in the IWPR Paid Leave Policy Simulation Model

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s (IWPR) simulation model estimates the costs and benefits of paid leave for six common leave types, using data largely derived from the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2012 Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Survey. The types include 1) own serious medical condition; 2) maternity and childbirth; 3) new child care following birth, adoption, or foster placement; 4) care for spouse; 5) care for children; and 6) care for parents.