JHR Welcomes New Editor-in-Chief Mike Lovenheim
The Journal of Human Resources (JHR) is pleased to announce its next Editor, Michael Lovenheim. Lovenheim’s expansive work across the economics of education and labor/public economics, with more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, positions him well to take on the broad scope of the journal. In addition, Lovenheim has served as a coeditor of the JHR since 2018, with previous editorial experience on related journals.
The JHR Editorial Board and staff, along with the University of Wisconsin Press, thank outgoing Editor, Anna Aizer, Brown University, for her thoughtful and excellent leadership of the journal during her service. Aizer has brought an outstanding level of leadership and community-building to the journal during a time of expanding scholarly output and change in research and publishing.
Lovenheim will assume the role July 1, 2026. Michael Lovenheim is a Professor of Economics in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and the ILR School as well as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a Senior Fellow (adjunct) at the Hoover Institution. His research areas are labor economics, public finance, and the economics of education, with a particular focus on the interplay between education systems and the labor market. Recent education papers examine the effect of state higher education funding on long-run educational and financial outcomes, the effect of college major choices on student earnings, how college major choices affect gender and racial earnings inequality, the labor market returns to college coursework, the productivity of for-profit colleges, and the impact of teacher unions on school districts and students. Non-education projects include a series of papers on how housing wealth affects key household investment decisions, such as collegiate attainment, fertility, child health, healthcare spending, and wealth transmission across generations, understanding the relationship between worker skills and labor market power, and how the skill content of private sector union coverage has changed over time.
Excerpt from his vision statement for the JHR:
My vision for the JHR is to cultivate and strengthen its position as the leading journal for rigorous, policy-relevant economics research on labor markets and human capital. As head editor of the JHR, I will seek to build upon the outstanding reputation of the Journal by continuing its commitment to publishing papers that rigorously and richly add to our understanding of key policy issues surrounding labor markets and human capital. This is a time of exciting and important changes in these spaces, with advances in artificial intelligence potentially altering how labor markets operate and how human capital is both produced and expressed, rising socioeconomic inequality, intense debates about the role of immigration in our society, persistent concerns about criminal justice costs and outcomes, and a demographic transition that will reshape the age distribution of the labor force across much of the world. I see the JHR as being a leader in publishing high-quality, dispassionate research on these issues that can inform debates and policies with the best evidence available. As head editor, I will ensure that the Journal combines this intellectual breadth and depth with high standards, efficient editorial processes, and a strong commitment to fairness, transparency, and inclusion.