Contact Information
202-452-2342
karen.pence@frb.gov

Fields of Interest
Public Economics
Econometrics and Statistics
Consumer Finance

Education
Ph.D., Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2001
M.S., Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998
B.A., Economics, Swarthmore College, 1992

Professional Experience
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2001-present

Selected Publications

• ''The Rise in Mortgage Defaults'' (with Chris Mayer and Shane Sherlund), Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 23 (Winter 2009).
• ''Do Borrowers Know their Mortgage Terms?'' (with Brian K. Bucks), Journal of Urban Economics, vol. 64 (September 2008), pp. 218-33.
• Subprime Mortgages: What, Where, and to Whom? (with Chris Mayer), Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2008-29. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2008.
• ''Foreclosing on Opportunity: State Laws and Mortgage Credit,'' Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 88 (February 2006), pp. 177-182.
• ''Are Successive Generations Getting Wealthier, and If So, Why? Evidence from the 1990s'' (with William G. Gale), Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, vol. 2006 (Spring 2006), pp. 155-234.
• ''The Role of Wealth Transformations: An Application to Estimating the Effect of Tax Incentives on Saving,'' Contributions to Economic Analysis and Policy, vol. 5 (2006).
• ''Do Youth Nonmarital Chidlbearing Choices Reflect Income and Relationship Expectations?'' (with Barbara Wolfe, Robert Haveman, and Jonathan Schwabish), Journal of Population Economics, vol. 20 (2007), pp. 73-100.
• ''Recent Changes to a Measure of U.S. Household Debt Service'' (with Karen Dynan and Kathleen W. Johnson), Federal Reserve Bulletin, vol. 89 (October 2003), pp. 417-426.
• ''Nature or Nurture: Why Do 401(k) Participants Save Differently than Other Workers?'' National Tax Journal, vol. 55 (September 2002), pp. 597-616.
• 401(k)s and Household Saving: New Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances, Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2002-06. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2002.
• ''Intergenerational Effects of Nonmarital and Early Childbearing'' (with Barbara Wolfe and Robert Haveman), in Lawrence Wu and Barbara Wolfe, eds., Out of Wedlock. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001.
• ''Household Saving in the '90s: Evidence from Cross-Section Wealth Surveys'' (with John Sabelhaus), Review of Income and Wealth, vol. 45 (December 1999), pp. 435-53.