Melissa Kearney
Department of Economics
Gilbert F. Schaefer Professor of Economics
- Domestic policy issues
- Social policy and government programs
- Poverty
- Inequality, employment and schooling
- Gambling, saving and individual decision
- Economics of the family
- Family, fertility and children
Video
Kearney in the News
The New York Times
March 02, 2026
Drops among Hispanic, white and Black teenagers accounted for 37 percent of the national birthrate decline between 2007, when the rate started to go down, and 2019, according to calculations by Melissa Kearney, an economist at the University of Notre Dame, and her colleagues.
Researchers have pointed to several possible explanations. The decline coincided with the introduction of the smartphone, which rapidly became a tool for both social connection and isolation, even a substitute for sex, said Kasey Buckles, an economist at Notre Dame.
NPR
January 23, 2026
The authors do cite some work, particularly work from economist Melissa Kearney, that children who grow up in stable two-parent families, especially married biological parents, do show better average outcomes. But what Kearney's work also emphasizes is that what she calls a two-parent advantage is strongly tied to resources and stability.
National Affairs
January 08, 2026
Economists Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine have sought to explain the powerful influence of mentoring by distinguishing between role models and mentors.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
December 08, 2025
Decades of research show on average children in stable two-parent homes tend to do a little better across a range of outcomes, and economist Melissa Kearney has shown how two adults pooling income, time and "emotional bandwidth" can give kids a real economic and relational advantage.
WVPE
December 03, 2025
The University of Notre Dame has launched an interdisciplinary research initiative aimed at understanding how family structure affects children’s outcomes and what policies might help strengthen families across the United States. The Strengthening Families Research Initiative is led by economist Melissa Kearney, who joined Notre Dame this fall.
NPR
December 01, 2025
Economist Melissa Kearney's book The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind got a lot of attention from proponents of marriage when it was released two years ago. It argued that two married people together bring in more income and have more time to devote to their children. "These resource advantages then set children up with more opportunities to get ahead in life," Kearney wrote in her book.
Maiden Mother Matriarch Podcast
Audio
December 01, 2025
My guest today is Melissa Kearney, Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and author of ‘The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind.’ We spoke about the experience of raising children in a low fertility society, why feminists should care about pronatalism, the cause of the massive recent decline in teen birth rates, and why young women deserve to be given better information about their fertility options.
It Turns Out Podcast
Audio
November 13, 2025
Why do affluent suburbs in Boston and Houston vote completely differently, yet share one surprising thing in common? Economist Melissa Kearney, author of The Two Parent Privilege (University of Chicago Press), reveals that one of America's most consequential divides isn't about red states versus blue states. It's about whether you're raising kids with a partner, and the economic advantages are stark and surprising. Melissa Kearney is a professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame and director of The Aspen Economic Strategy Group.
NPR
Audio
November 07, 2025
Research by Brookings in 2013 argued that teens who are poor can join the middle class if they follow those steps. Now, a lawmaker in Ohio is proposing the “Success Sequence” as a requirement for high school graduation. On Cincinnati Edition, we ask supporters and opponents of the “Success Sequence.” Guests include Melissa Kearney, professor of economics, University of Notre Dame, author of The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind.
The Dispatch (subscription only)
November 04, 2025
By Melissa S. Kearney, the Gilbert F. Schaefer Professor of Economics at Notre Dame and Director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, and James X. Sullivan, a Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame and Co-Founder and Director of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO).
How to Money Podcast
Audio
October 29, 2025
To help answer this question, we’re joined by Melissa Kearney who is an economist known for her extensive research on social policy, poverty, inequality, and the economics of families and fertility. Melissa is author of the book, The Two-Parent Privilege, and she’s a professor of economics at Notre Dame.
WBUR (NPR Boston Affiliate)
Audio
October 29, 2025
Economists Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine studied why teenage birth rates dropped in America. They found that MTV’s reality show “16 and Pregnant," on the air from 2009 to 2014, led to more online search activity regarding birth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5.7% reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its introduction.
Business Insider
October 29, 2025
Melissa Kearney, an economics professor at the University of Notre Dame, told NPR that "it's not that people don't like kids as much as they used to," but there are more options people can consider.
The Wall Street Journal
October 29, 2025
Marriage among the children of high earners and those who become high earners serves to consolidate wealth, and further widens the income gap, said Melissa Kearney, a family economist at the University of Notre Dame.
NPR
Audio
October 27, 2025
"This demographic issue is poised to potentially remake so much of our society," said Melissa Kearney, an economist at the University of Notre Dame.
C-SPAN
Video
August 14, 2025
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Obama administration Council of Economic Advisers chair Jason Furman talked about what policymakers and business leaders should do to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness and national interests. "I do want to acknowledge that I couldn't help but follow Speaker Ryan. I'm now at the University of Notre Dame," said Melissa Kearney, Aspen Economic Strategy Group director and economics professor at the University of Notre Dame (and panel moderator).
Newsweek
July 24, 2025
But authors Melissa Schettini Kearney, an economist from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and Levine argue that decline in fertility is "less a reflection of specific economic costs or policies, but rather, a widespread re-prioritization of the role of parenthood in people's adult lives."
NPR
July 07, 2025
"It's not that people don't like kids as much as they used to," said Melissa Kearney, an economist who studies fertility and population trends at the University of Notre Dame. "There's just a lot of other available options. They can invest in their careers, take more leisure time — it's much more socially acceptable."