Regular biography
Kathleen McGarry is a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Research Associate at the NBER. She was previously a Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and served as a Senior Economist at the White House. Her research focuses on the well-being of the elderly, particularly in relation to public and private transfers, including Medicare and SSI programs, and the transfer of resources within families. Her work combines financial aspects of aging with health economics to examine insurance coverage among the elderly. She has studied long-term care, health, and life insurance markets, as well as the role of families in providing insurance for their least well-off members. Her current work analyzes end-of-life medical expenses, particularly those associated with nursing homes and home health care, and differences in spending by disability status.
Scholar-generated biography
Kathleen McGarry is a scholar specializing in Public Economics and Aging, with a focus on the economic implications of aging populations and health-related behaviors. Her research explores topics such as long-term care insurance, health and retirement decisions, and family transfers. She examines how subjective probabilities of survival influence retirement expectations and how health care costs affect individuals with dementia. Her work also investigates the dynamics of inter vivos transfers and bequests within families, as well as the impact of social security on elderly independence. McGarry's research contributes to understanding the intersection of health, economics, and aging through empirical analysis of survey data and insurance markets.