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Stephan D. Whitaker
Person

Stephan D. Whitaker

Senior Policy Economist
Areas of Expertise migration and labor mobility, housing supply and markets, state and local public finance
Department Regional Analysis
Education
  • BA,
  • Economics,
  • Columbia University,
  • 1998
  • MS,
  • Statistics,
  • Colorado State University,
  • 2003
  • PhD,
  • Public Policy,
  • University of Chicago,
  • 2009

Stephan Whitaker is a senior policy economist in the Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. As a member of the Regional Analysis Group, he monitors economic activity in the Fourth District, which includes Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. His Group’s quantitative and qualitative analyses help to guide the Federal Reserve System’s monetary policy decisions.

Dr. Whitaker conducts research on migration between neighborhoods and labor markets and migration responses to shocks such as natural disasters. He has also published journal articles on housing markets, municipal finance, and educational attainment.

Dr. Whitaker earned his PhD at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. Before entering his doctoral program, he served as a lieutenant in the US Air Force and earned an MS in statistics from Colorado State University. Dr. Whitaker studied economics at Columbia University as an undergraduate.

  • "Rare and Highly Destructive Wildfires Drive Human Migration in the U.S " with Kathryn McConnell, Elizabeth Fussell, Jack DeWaard, Katherine J. Curtis, Lise Denis, Jennifer Balch and Kobie Price.  Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12.

  • “Migration as a Vector of Economic Losses from Disaster-Affected Areas in the United States” With Jack DeWaard, Elizabeth Fussell, Katherine J. Curtis, Kathryn McConnell, Kobie Price, Michael Soto and Catalina Anampa Castro. Demography, 2023, 60(1): 173-199.

  • “Industrial Composition and Intergenerational Educational Mobility.” Education Economics, 2023, 31(2): 225-246.

  • “User Beware: Concerning Findings from the Post 2011-2012 U.S. Internal Revenue Service Migration Data.” With Jack DeWaard, Mathew Hauer, Elizabeth Fussell, Katherine J. Curtis, Kathryn McConnell, Kobie Price, David Egan-Robertson, Michael Soto and Catalina Anampa Castro. Population Research and Policy Review, 2022, 42(2): 437-448.

  • “Out-migration from and Return Migration to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: Evidence from the Consumer Credit Panel.” With Jack DeWaard and Janna E. Johnson. Population and Environment, 2020, 42: 28–42.

  • “Internal Migration in the United States: A Comprehensive Comparative Assessment of the Utility of the Consumer Credit Panel.” With Jack DeWaard and Janna E. Johnson. Demographic Research, 2019, 41: 953–1006.

  • “Financial Innovations in Municipal Securities Markets.” Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Management, 2018, 30(3): 286–314.

  • “Induced Earthquakes and House Prices: Evidence from Oklahoma.” With Ron Cheung and Daniel Wetherell. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2018, 69 (March): 153–166.

  • “Big Data versus a Survey.” Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 2018, 67 (February): 285–296.

  • “Can Local Housing Ordinances Prevent Neighborhood Destabilization?” With Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, Lisa A. Nelson, and Francisca G-C Richter. Housing Policy Debate, 2016, 26(3): 517–535.

  • “Land Bank 2.0: An Empirical Evaluation.” With Thomas J. Fitzpatrick. Journal of Regional Science, 2016, 56(1): 156–175.

  • “Adjusting the Volume: Private–Activity Municipal Bonds and the Variation in the Volume Cap.” Public Budgeting and Finance, 2014, 34(1): 39–63.

  • “Deconstructing Distressed–Property Spillovers: The Effects of Vacant, Tax-Delinquent, and Foreclosed Properties in Housing Submarkets.” With Thomas J. Fitzpatrick. Journal of Housing Economics, 2013, 22(2): 79–91.

  • “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on High School Graduation through Selection and Composition.” Economics of Education Review, 2011, 30(2): 228–246.

  • “An Effective Method for Selecting the Number of Components in Density Mixtures.” With Thomas C. M. Lee. Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation, 2007, 77(10): 907–914.

Conference Proceedings

  • “Predictive Modeling of Surveyed Property Conditions and Vacancy.” With Hal Martin, Isaac Oduro, Éamon Johnson, Francisca García–Cobián Richter, and April Hirsh Urban. In Proceedings of the 18th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research (dg.o '17), edited by Charles C. Hinnant and Adegboyega Ojo, 358–367. ACM, New York, 2017.
Regional Data, Analysis, and Engagement

Explore economic trends and the circumstances impacting the economy and diverse communities of the Federal Reserve’s Fourth District, which includes all of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Learn more