M. Melinda Pitts
Research Center Director, Center for Human Capital Studiesemail :: 404-498-7009
To interview economists, press should contact Public Affairs at 470-249-8348.
email :: 404-498-7009
email :: 404-498-7009
M. Melinda Pitts is the research center director of the Center for Human Capital Studies (CHCS) in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Dr. Pitts is part of the applied microeconomics team. Her major fields of study are health and labor economics. She also contributes to the Atlanta Fed's macroblog, which provides commentary on economic topics, including monetary policy, macroeconomic developments, and the Southeast economy.
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.
Atlanta Fed Working Papers
2023
2023-11
Modeling Event Studies with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects
Laura M. Argys, Thomas A. Mroz, and M. Melinda Pitts
September 2023
Abstract | Full text 
| Simulated data creation files (Stata format files)
2022
2022-6
Is Our Fiscal System Discouraging Marriage? A New Look at the Marriage Tax
Elias Ilin, Laurence Kotlikoff, and M. Melinda Pitts
June 2022
Abstract | Full text
2020
2020-11
The Dynamics of the Smoking Wage Penalty
Michael E. Darden, Julie L. Hotchkiss, and M. Melinda Pitts
July 2020
Abstract | Full text
2019
2019-16
Driven from Work: Graduated Driver License Programs and Teen Labor Market Outcomes
Laura M. Argys, Thomas A. Mroz, and M. Melinda Pitts
July 2019
Abstract | Full text
2018-4
State Merit Aid Programs and Youth Labor Market Attachment
David E. Frisvold and M. Melinda Pitts
June 2018
Abstract | Full text (632 KB)
2017-6a
Losing Public Health Insurance: TennCare Disenrollment and Personal Financial Distress
Laura M. Argys, Andrew I. Friedson, M. Melinda Pitts, and D. Sebastian Tello-Trillo
August 2017 (revised October 2019)
Abstract | Full text (970 KB)
2016-14
Killer Debt: The Impact of Debt on Mortality
Laura M. Argys, Andrew I. Friedson, and M. Melinda Pitts
November 2014
Abstract | Full text (537 KB)
2014-23
Impact of First-Birth Career Interruption on Earnings: Evidence from Administrative Data
Julie. L Hotchkiss, M. Melinda Pitts, and Mary Beth Walker
November 2014
Abstract | Full text (717 KB)
2014-22
The Gap between the Conditional Wage Distributions of Incumbents and the Newly Hired Employees: Decomposition and Uniform Ordering
Esfandiar Maasoumi, M. Melinda Pitts, and Ke Wu
November 2014
Abstract | Full text (453 KB)
2014-20
Do Minimum Wages Really Increase Youth Drinking and Drunk Driving?
Joseph J. Sabia, M. Melinda Pitts, and Laura Argys
November 2014
Abstract | Full text (888 KB)
2012-10
A Closer Look at Nonparticipants During and After the Great Recession
Hotchkiss, Julie L., M. Melinda Pitts, and Fernando Rios-Ávila
August 2012
Abstract | Full text (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (462 KB)
2006-12
Smoking: Taxing Health and Social Security
Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts
September 2006
Abstract | Full text (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (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 (263 KB)
Articles
2022
Elias Ilin, Laurence Kotlikoff, and M. Melinda Pitts "Pink and Poverty Taxes on Marriage." Policy Hub (2022-12).
Abstract | Full text
2021
M. Melinda Pitts "Where Are They Now? Workers with Young Children during COVID-19." Policy Hub (2021-10).
Abstract | Full text
2020
Michael E. Darden, Julie L. Hotchkiss, and M. Melinda Pitts "Where There's Smoke...: The Wage Impact of Smoking." Policy Hub (2020-11).
Abstract | Full text
2007
Brian S. Armour and M. Melinda Pitts. "Smoking: Taxing Health and Social Security." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review (2007 Q3).
Abstract | Full text (108 KB)
Jason DeBacker, Julie Hotchkiss, M. Melinda Pitts,and John Robertson. "It's Who You Are and What You Do: Explaining the IT Industry Wage Premium." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review (2005 Q3).
Abstract | Full text (108 KB)
Blog Posts
2017
Laura Argys, Andrew Friedson, and Melinda Pitts. "Bad Debt Is Bad for Your Health." macroblog. March 30, 2017.
2016
Rebekah Durham, Julie L. Hotchkiss, and Melinda Pitts. "How Will Employers Respond to New Overtime Regulations?." macroblog. July 15, 2016.
2015
M. Melinda Pitts, Richard Rogerson, and Robert Shimer. "A Closer Look at Changes in the Labor Market," macroblog. November 5, 2015.
2009
Melinda Pitts. "Prospects for a small business-fueled employment recovery," macroblog. October 6, 2009.
Podcast Episodes 
2019
M. Melinda Pitts. "'We Do Find a Meaningful Impact': Novice Driver Restrictions and the Labor Force." Economy Matters podcast. July 25, 2019.
2017
M. Melinda Pitts. "The Economic Impact on Individuals of Losing Public Health Insurance." Economy Matters podcast. August 31, 2017.
M. Melinda Pitts. "A Conversation about the Health Effects of Delinquent Debt." Economy Matters podcast. March 2, 2017.
2015
M. Melinda Pitts. "The Relationship between the Minimum Wage and Rates of Youth Drinking and Driving." Economy Matters podcast. October 15, 2015.