Biography
Joni Hersch is an economist who works in the areas of employment discrimination and empirical law and economics. She has published numerous articles in leading peer-reviewed journals and law reviews. Professor Hersch’s research focuses on the influence of gender, race, national origin, skin color, and family background on labor market outcomes, higher education and inequality. Her research has received international media attention and has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Vox, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, and the L.A. Times.
Professor Hersch joined Vanderbilt Law School as a professor of law and economics in 2006, with secondary appointments in the Department of Economics and the Owen Graduate School of Management. That same year, she and W. Kip Viscusi co-founded Vanderbilt’s Ph.D. Program in Law and Economics. She is a research fellow with IZA Institute for Labor Economics and was co-editor of the peer-reviewed IZA Journal of Labor Economics from summer 2015 through summer 2018. She also serves as associate editor of the Review of Economics of the Household. She is the author of Sex Discrimination in the Labor Market (Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics, 2006) and co-editor of Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century (University of Chicago, 2004).
Before joining Vanderbilt’s faculty, Professor Hersch was an adjunct law professor at Harvard Law School. She was a professor of economics at the University of Wyoming from 1989 to 1999 and has been a visiting professor of economics at Northwestern, Caltech, Duke, and Harvard.
Articles & Book Chapters
“Gender, Race, and Job Satisfaction of Law Graduates: Intersectional Evidence from the National Survey of College Graduates,” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 20(2), June 2023, 339–376.
“The Charter School Network (Almost) No One Wants: Mobilizing Regulation and Litigation to Serve the Public Interest,” with Colton Cronin, Cardozo Law Review 44(4), May 2023, 1299–1352.
"Affirmative Action and the Leadership Pipeline," Tulane Law Review 96(1), November 2021, 1-58.
"Socioeconomic Policies in Public Procurement: What Should We be Asking of Public Procurement Systems?" with Fernando Mendoza Lopez, University of Memphis Law Review 52(1), Fall 2021, 155-198.
"Employment Practices Liability Insurance and Ex Post Moral Hazard," with Erin E. Meyers, Cornell Law Review 106(4), August 2021, 947-985.
"Econometrics and Economists in Employment Discrimination Litigation," Journal of Legal Economics, 26(1-2), September 2020, 5-21. (Keynote address for 2019 annual meeting of the American Academy of Economic and Financial Experts.)
"Gender and the Consulting Academic Economist," with Alison Del Rossi, Economic Inquiry 58(3), July 2020, 1200-1216.
"Estimating Years of Education Using the Current Population Survey after 2014," with Fernando Mendoza Lopez and Jennifer Bennett Shinall, Economics Letters 189, 2020.
"When Equitable is Not Equal: Experimental Evidence on the Division of Marital Assets in Divorce," with Jennifer Bennett Shinall, Review of Economics of the Household 18(3), September 2020, 655-682.
"Catching Up Is Hard to Do: Undergraduate Prestige, Elite Graduate Programs, and the Earnings Premium," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis 10(3), Fall 2019, 503-553.
"Efficient Deterrence of Workplace Sexual Harassment," University of Chicago Legal Forum, 2019, 147-169.
"Why Are Seemingly Satisfied Female Lawyers Running for the Exits? Resolving the Paradox Using National Data," with Erin E. Meyers, Marquette Law Review 102(3), May 2019, 915-948.
"The Gendered Burdens of Conviction and Collateral Consequences on Employment," with Erin E. Meyers, Journal of Legislation 45(2), 2018, 171-193.
"The Law and Economics of Employment Discrimination Law," with Blair Druhan Bullock, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance, Oxford University Press, 2019.
"Colorism Against Legal Immigrants to the United States," American Behavioral Scientist 62(14), December 2018, 2217-2132.
"Valuing the Risk of Workplace Sexual Harassment," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 57(2), October 2018, 111-131.
"Imputation Match Bias in Immigrant Wage Convergence," with Jennifer Bennett Shinall, Demography 55(4), August 2018, 1475-1485.
"Increasing Diversity by a New Master’s Degree in Legal Principles," Journal of Legal Education 67(1), Autumn 2017, 86-117.
"Something to Talk About: Information Exchange Under Employment Law," with Jennifer Bennett Shinall, University of Pennsylvania Law Review 165(1), December 2016, 49-90.
"The Private and Social Benefits of Double Majors," with Alison Del Rossi, Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis 7(2), Summer 2016, 292-325.
"Sex, Race, and Job Satisfaction Among Highly Educated Workers," with Jean Xiao, Southern Economic Journal 83(1), July 2016, 1-24.
"Coitus and Consequences in the Legal System: An Experimental Study," with Beverly Moran, SMU Law Review 68(4), Fall 2015, 927-949.
"Sexual Harassment in the Workplace," IZA World of Labor 188, October 2015, 1-10.
"How Opting Out among Women with Elite Education Contributes to Social Inequality," Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality 3(2), Spring 2015, 192-215.
"Fifty Years Later: The Legacy of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," with Jennifer Bennett Shinall, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 34(2), Spring 2015, 424-456.
"The Use and Misuse of Econometric Evidence in Employment Discrimination Cases," with Blair Druhan Bullock, Washington and Lee Law Review 71(4), Fall 2014, 2365-2429.
"Assessing the Insurance Role of Tort Liability after Calabresi," with W. Kip Viscusi, Law and Contemporary Problems 77(2), 2014, 135-163.
"Opting Out among Women with Elite Education," Review of Economics of the Household 11(4), December 2013, 469-506.
"He Said, She Said, Let's Hear What the Data Say: Sexual Harassment in the Media, Courts, EEOC, and Social Science," with Beverly Moran, Kentucky Law Journal 101(4), 2013, 753-788.
"Law and Economics as a Pillar of Legal Education," with W. Kip Viscusi, Review of Law and Economics 8(2), October 2012, 487-510.
"Characteristics of Color Discrimination Charges Filed with the EEOC," in The Melanin Millennium: Skin Color as 21st Century International Discourse, Ronald E. Hall, ed., 2012.
"Skin Color, Physical Appearance, and Perceived Discriminatory Treatment," Journal of Socio-Economics 40(5), October 2011, 671-678.
"The Persistence of Skin Color Discrimination for Immigrants," Social Science Research 40(5), September 2011, 1337-1349.
"Compensating Differentials for Sexual Harassment," American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 101(3), May 2011, 630-634.
"Tobacco Regulation through Litigation: The Master Settlement Agreement," with W. Kip Viscusi, in Regulation versus Litigation: Perspectives from Economics and Law , Daniel Kessler, ed., University of Chicago Press, 2011.
"Punitive Damages by Numbers: Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker," with W. Kip Viscusi, Supreme Court Economic Review 18, 2010, 259-280.
"Immigrant Status and the Value of Statistical Life," with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Human Resources 45(3), Summer 2010, 749-771.
"Reply to The Effects of 'Early Offers' in Medical Malpractice Cases: Evidence from Texas," with Jeffrey O'Connell and W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 7(1), March 2010, 164-173.
"Saving Lives through Punitive Damages," with W. Kip Viscusi, Southern California Law Review 83(2), January 2010, 229-262.
"Home Production and Wages: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey," Review of Economics of the Household 7(2), June 2009, 159-178.
"Skin Color Discrimination and Immigrant Pay," Emory Law Journal 58(2), December 2008, 357-378.
"Double Your Major, Double Your Return?" with Alison Del Rossi, Economics of Education Review, 27(4), August 2008, 375-386.
"The Mortality Cost to Smokers," with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Health Economics, 27(4), July 2008, 943-958.
"Profiling the New Immigrant Worker: The Effects of Skin Color and Height," Journal of Labor Economics 26(2), April 2008, 345-386.
"Skin Color, Immigrant Wages, and Discrimination," in Racism in the 21st Century: An Empirical Analysis of Skin Color, Ronald E. Hall., ed., Springer, 2008.
"Tort Liability Litigation Costs for Commercial Claims," with W. Kip Viscusi, American Law and Economics Review 9(2), Fall 2007, 330-369.
"An Empirical Assessment of Early Offer Reform for Medical Malpractice," with Jeffrey O'Connell and W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Legal Studies 36(2), Part 2, June 2007, S231-S259.
"Allocating Responsibility for the Failure of Global Warming Policies," with W. Kip Viscusi, University of Pennsylvania Law Review 155(6), June 2007, 1657-1694.
“Sex Discrimination in the Labor Market,” Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics 2(4), December 2006, 281-361.
“The Generational Divide in Support for Environmental Policies: European Evidence,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Climatic Change 77(1/2), July 2006, 121-136.
“Skin Tone Effects among African Americans: Perceptions and Reality,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 96(2), May 2006, 251-255.
“Demand for a Jury Trial and the Selection of Cases for Trial,” Journal of Legal Studies 35(1), January 2006, 119-142.
“Health Insurance Disparities in Traditional and Contingent/Alternative Employment,” with Shelley White-Means, International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics 5(4), December 2005, 351-368.
“Smoking Restrictions as a Self-Control Mechanism,” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 31(1), July 2005, 5-21.
“Influence of Race, Gender, and Socioeconomic Status on Binge Eating Frequency in a Population-Based Sample,” with Patricia Reagan, International Journal of Eating Disorders 38(3), November 2005, 252-256.
“A Workers’ Lobby to Provide Portable Benefits,” in Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century, Richard Freeman, Joni Hersch and Lawrence Mishel, eds., University of Chicago Press for National Bureau of Economic Research, 2005.
"Introduction," in Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century, Richard Freeman, Joni Hersch and Lawrence Mishel, eds., University of Chicago Press for National Bureau of Economic Research, 2005.
“Voter Preferences and State Regulation of Smoking,” with Alison Del Rossi and W. Kip Viscusi, Economic Inquiry 42(3), July 2004, 455-468.
“Punitive Damages: How Judges and Juries Perform,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Legal Studies 33(1), January 2004, 1-36. (Excerpted in Civil Procedure: Doctrine, Practice and Context, 2nd edition, S. Subrin, M. Minow, M. Brodin, and T. Main, eds., Aspen Law and Business, 2004).
“The New Labor Market for Lawyers: Will Female Lawyers Still Earn Less?” Cardozo Women’s Law Journal 10(1), Fall 2003, 1-59. (Reprinted in Release #18 of Women and the Law, Thomson West Publishing Co., September 2004).
“Marriage, Household Production, and Earnings,” in Marriage and the Economy: Theory and Evidence from Advanced Industrial Societies, Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman, ed., New York and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
“Employment Discrimination, Economists, and the Law,” in Women, Family, and Work, Writings on the Economics of Gender, Karine Moe, ed., Blackwell Publishing, 2003.
“Housework and Wages,” with Leslie S. Stratton, Journal of Human Resources 37(1), Winter 2002, 217-229.
“Breast Implants: Regulation, Litigation, and Science,” in Regulation through Litigation, W. Kip Viscusi, ed., Washington, DC: Brookings Institution – American Enterprise Institute, 2002.
“Cigarette Smokers as Job Risk Takers,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Review of Economics and Statistics 83(2), May 2001, 269-280. (Reprinted in Classics in Risk Management, W. Kip Viscusi and T. Gayer, eds., Edward Elgar Publishers, 2004).
“Gender, Income Levels, and the Demand for Cigarettes,” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 21(2/3), November 2000, 263-282.
“Household Specialization and the Male Marriage Wage Premium,” with Leslie S. Stratton, Industrial and Labor Relations Review 54(1), October 2000, 78-94.
“Gender Differences in the Demand for Cigarettes,” in Valuing the Costs of Smoking: Assessment Methods, Risk Perceptions and Policy Options, Claude Jeanrenaud and Nils Soguel, eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999.
“Smoking and Other Risky Behaviors,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Drug Issues 28(3), Summer 1998, 645-661.
“Compensating Differentials for Gender-Specific Job Injury Risks,” American Economic Review 88(3), June 1998, 598-607. (Reprinted in Classics in Risk Management, W. Kip Viscusi and T. Gayer, eds., Edward Elgar Publishers, 2004).
“Teen Smoking Behavior and the Regulatory Environment,” Duke Law Journal 47(6), Spring 1998, 1143-1170.
“The Courtroom Comes to the Classroom: Estimating Economic Damages as an Instructional Device,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Economic Education 29(4), Fall 1998, 301-311.
“Housework, Fixed Effects, and Wages of Married Workers,” with Leslie S. Stratton, Journal of Human Resources 32(2), Spring 1997, 285-307.
“The Economics of Home Production,” Southern California Review of Law and Women’s Studies 6(2), Spring 1997, 421-440.
“Worker Effort Decisions and Efficient Gender-Specific Wage-Tenure Profiles,” with Patricia Reagan, Economic Inquiry 35(1), January 1997, 193-207.
“Smoking, Seat Belts, and Other Risky Consumer Decisions: Differences by Gender and Race,” Managerial and Decision Economics 17(5), September-October 1996, 471-481.
“Gender Differences in Promotions and Wages,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Industrial Relations 35(4), October 1996, 461-472.
“Risk-Taking Activities and Heterogeneity of Job-Risk Tradeoffs,” with Todd Pickton, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 11(3), December 1995, 205-217.
“Optimal ‘Mismatch’ and Promotions,” Economic Inquiry 33(4), October 1995, 611-624.
“Housework, Wages, and the Division of Housework Time for Employed Spouses,” with Leslie S. Stratton, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 84(2), May 1994, 120-125. (Reprinted in Women in the Labor Market. Vol. 2. Ferber, Marianne A., ed., Elgar Reference Collection. International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, vol. 90, 1998).
“Job Matching and Women’s Wage-Tenure Profile,” with Patricia Reagan, Applied Economics 26(3), March 1994, 205-215.
“Employer-Sponsored Health and Pension Benefits and the Gender/Race Wage Gap,” with Shelley White-Means, Social Science Quarterly 74(4), December 1993, 851-866.
“Economic Viability Among Post-Retirement Aged Women,” with Shelley White-Means, Journal of Women and Aging 4(4), Winter 1993, 19-35. (Reprinted in Women in Mid-Life: Planning for Tomorrow, Christopher L. Hayes, ed., Haworth Press, 1993).
“The Impact of Nonmarket Work on Market Wages,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings 81(2), May 1991, 157-160.
“Male-Female Differences in Hourly Wages: The Role of Human Capital, Working Conditions, and Housework,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review 44(4), July 1991, 746-759.
“Education Match and Job Match,” Review of Economics and Statistics 73(1), February 1991, 140-144.
“Equal Employment Opportunity Law and Firm Profitability,” Journal of Human Resources 26(1), Winter 1991, 139-153.
“Is Union Job Dissatisfaction Real?” with Joe A. Stone, Journal of Human Resources 25(4), Fall 1990, 736-751.
“The Market Response to Product Safety Litigation,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Regulatory Economics 2(3), September 1990, 215-230.
“Job Match, Tenure and Wages Paid by Firms,” with Patricia Reagan, Economic Inquiry 28(3), July 1990, 488-507.
“Cigarette Smoking, Seatbelt Use, and Differences in Wage-Risk Tradeoffs,” with W. Kip Viscusi, Journal of Human Resources 25(2), Spring 1990, 202-227.
“Another Look at Compensating Differentials,” Journal of Behavioral Economics 18(1), Spring 1989, 41-50.
“‘New and Improved’ Estimates of Qualification Discrimination,” with Joe A. Stone, Southern Economic Journal 52(2), October 1985, 484-491.
“Allocation of Time and Human Energy and Its Effects on Productivity,” Applied Economics 17(5), October 1985, 867-884.
“Effect of Housework on Earnings of Husbands and Wives: Evidence from Full-Time Piece Rate Workers,” Social Science Quarterly 66(1), March 1985, 210-217.
Book Reviews & Other Publications
"Can the Media Solve the Problem of Sexual Harassment?" Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, March 1, 2018.
"Top 10 Tips on Hosting a Visiting Speaker," American Economic Association Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) Newsletter, Summer 2013, page 21.
"Starting a New Interdisciplinary PhD Program," American Economic Association Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) Newsletter, Summer 2012, pages 4-5, 10.
The New York Times Opinion Page, Room for Debate, Protecting "Employment Status," July 26, 2011.
"Sexual Harassment," American Economic Association Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) Newsletter, Spring 2009.
"Immigrant Experience: The Relation between Skin Color and Pay," Communities & Banking, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Spring 2009.
Review of Gender and the Labour Market: Econometric Evidence of Obstacles to Achieving Gender Equality, Siv S. Gustafsson and Daniele E. Meulders, eds., 2000. Journal of Economic Literature 40(3), September 2002, 948-949.
Review of Women’s Work and Wages, Inga Persson and Christina Jonung, eds., Routledge Research in Gender and Society, 1998. Journal of Economic Literature 37(3), September 1999, 1199-1200.
Review of Markets and Mortality: Economics, Dangerous Work, and the Value of Human Life, by Peter Dorman, Cambridge University Press, 1996. Journal of Economic Literature 35 (2), June 1997, 805-806.
"Economics of Housework,” in Women and Work: A Handbook, Paula J. Dubeck and Kathryn Borman, eds., Garland Publishing Inc., 1996, 83-85. (Volume reprinted as Women and Work: A Reader, Rutgers University Press, 1997.)
“Is College a Good Investment? An Application of Human Capital Theory,” Economic Education Experiences of Enterprising Teachers 22, 1985, 113-117.