Jean Kimmel

Dr. Jean Kimmel is a professor in the Department of Economics at Western Michigan University.

She regularly teaches a course on women and the economy, which relies on microeconomics to study marriage, fertility and employment decisions. Other courses taught by Kimmel at WMU include:

• Economics for elementary education
• Economic issues
• Graduate labor economics
• Intermediate microeconomic theory
• Labor economics
• WMU's First-Year Seminar (fall 2005, 2007 to 2010)

Her main research interests are labor economics, female employment, child care, time use, moonlighting, motherhood wage gap, wage determination and computer access. Kimmel's recent research agenda includes three areas of focus:

• Parental time choices with Dr. Rachel Connelly, Bowdoin College, using data from the American Time Use Survey.
• Motherhood wage gap conducted with Dr. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes of San Diego State University.
• Gender and racial divides in computer access as well as the factors contributing to computer time choices with recent WMU graduate Tadesse Wodajo, professor at St. Louis Community College.

Kimmel is also involved in a study with Blen Solomon of Defiance College, a recent WMU graduate, of the relationship between fertility and labor supply.