Meet the Researchers
Lisa J. Dettling
Principal Economist
Fiscal Analysis Section
Research and Statistics
Education
- Ph.D., Economics, University of Maryland, 2013
- B.S., Economics and Mathematics, The Ohio State University, 2007
Current Research Topics
- Household financial well-being
- Fertility and family formation
Principal Economist, Fiscal Analysis Section
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
2021 - presentPrincipal Economist, Microeconomic Surveys Section
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
2019 - 2021Senior Economist, Microeconomic Surveys Section
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
2016 - 2019Economist, Microeconomic Surveys Section
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
2013 - 2016
- Low Fertility and Fiscal Sustainability: The Effects of Past and Future Fertility Rates on the US Federal Budget Outlook
Lisa Dettling and Luke Pardue
Demographic Headwinds: The Economic Consequences of Lower Birth Rates and Longer Lives (2026) - Did the Modern Mortgage Set the Stage for the U.S. Baby Boom?
Lisa J. Dettling and Melissa Schettini Kearney
NBER Working Paper Series (2025)
https://doi.org/10.3386/w33446 - Saving and Wealth Accumulation among Student Loan Borrowers: Implications for Retirement Preparedness
Lisa J. Dettling, Sarena F. Goodman, and Sarah J. Reber
Real-World Shocks and Retirement System Resiliency (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198894131.003.0007
See also » FRB Working Paper (2022) - Monetary Policy and Birth Rates: The Effect of Mortgage Rate Pass-Through on Fertility
Fergus Cumming and Lisa Dettling
Review of Economic Studies (2024)
https://doi.org/10.1093/restud/rdad034
See also » FRB Working Paper (2020) - Taking It to the Limit: Effects of Increased Student Loan Availability on Attainment, Earnings, and Financial Well-Being
Sandra E. Black, Jeffrey T. Denning, Lisa J. Dettling, Sarena Goodman, and Lesley J. Turner
American Economic Review (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20210926 - The smart money is in cash? Financial literacy and liquid savings among U.S. families
Neil Bhutta, Jacqueline Blair, and Lisa Dettling
Journal of Accounting and Public Policy (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2022.107000
See also » FRB Working Paper (2021) - The Cyclicality of Births and Babies’ Health, Revisited: Evidence from Unemployment Insurance
Lisa J. Dettling and Melissa Schettini Kearney
NBER Working Paper Series (2023)
https://doi.org/10.3386/w30937 - Minimum Wages and Consumer Credit: Effects on Access and Borrowing
Lisa J. Dettling and Joanne W. Hsu
Review of Financial Studies (2021)
https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhaa091
See also » FRB Working Paper (2017) - Why is the Default Rate So Low? How Economic Conditions and Public Policies Have Shaped Mortgage and Auto Delinquencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Lisa J. Dettling and Lauren Lambie-Hanson
FEDS Notes (2021)
https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.2854 - Stress Testing Household Debt
Neil Bhutta, Jesse Bricker, Lisa Dettling, Jimmy Kelliher, and Steven Laufer
Journal of Credit Risk (2020)
https://doi.org/10.21314/JCR.2020.268
See also » FRB Working Paper (2019) - COVID-19, the CARES Act, and Families' Financial Security
Neil Bhutta, Jacqueline Blair, Lisa Dettling, and Kevin Moore
National Tax Journal (2020)
https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2020.3.02 - Money in the Bank? Assessing Families' Liquid Savings using the Survey of Consumer Finances
Neil Bhutta and Lisa Dettling
FEDS Notes (2018)
https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.2275 - A Wealthless Recovery? Asset Ownership and the Uneven Recovery from the Great Recession
Lisa J. Dettling, Joanne W. Hsu, and Elizabeth Llanes
FEDS Notes (2018)
https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.2249 - Returning to the Nest: Debt and Parental Co-Residence Among Young Adults
Lisa J. Dettling and Joanne W. Hsu
Labour Economics (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2017.12.006
See also » FRB Working Paper (2014) - Every Little Bit Counts: The Impact of High-Speed Internet on the Transition to College
Lisa J. Dettling, Sarena Goodman, and Jonathan Smith
Review of Economics and Statistics (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00712
See also » FRB Working Paper (2015) - Playing Catch-up: Youth Today Are Not Building Wealth The Way Their Parents Did
Lisa Dettling and Joanne W. Hsu
Finance and Development (2017) - Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2013 to 2016: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Jesse Bricker, Lisa J. Dettling, Alice Henriques, Joanne W. Hsu, Lindsay Jacobs, Kevin B. Moore, Sarah Pack, John Sabelhaus, Jeffrey Thompson, and Richard A. Windle
Federal Reserve Bulletin (2017)
https://doi.org/10.17016/bulletin.2017.103-3 - Broadband in the Labor Market: The Impact of Residential High-Speed Internet on Married Women's Labor Force Participation
Lisa J. Dettling
Industrial and Labor Relations Review (2017)
https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793916644721
See also » FRB Working Paper (2015) - Effects of Entering Adulthood During a Recession
Lisa J. Dettling
(2016)
https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.242 - Why Boomerang? Debt, Access to Credit, and Parental Co-residence among Young Adults
Lisa J. Dettling and Joanne W. Hsu
FEDS Notes (2015)
https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.1621 - The State of Young Adults' Balance Sheets: Evidence from the Survey of Consumer Finances
Lisa J. Dettling and Joanne W. Hsu
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review (2014)
https://doi.org/10.20955/r.96.305-330 - House Prices and Birth Rates: The Impact of the Real Estate Market on the Decision to Have a Baby
Lisa J. Dettling and Melissa Schettini Kearney
Journal of Public Economics (2014)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2013.09.009
Last Update:
March 9, 2026