Judith Scott-Clayton

Judith Scott-Clayton is a Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, in the Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis (EPSA), where she directs the Economics & Education Program and teaches courses on labor economics, causal methods, economics of education, and benefit-cost analysis. She is also a Faculty Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Senior Research Scholar at the Community College Research Center (CCRC), and a former Senior Economist at the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers (2022–2023). Scott-Clayton’s research lies at the intersection of labor economics and higher education, with a particular focus on financial aid, community colleges, and the outcomes of students after college, including labor market trajectories and patterns of student loan default. 

Scott-Clayton’s work crosses disciplinary boundaries and has been published in economics, education, and policy journals including the Journal of Human Resources, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Education Finance and Policy, and Economics of Education Review. Her work has been covered by national media including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, PBS, NPR, and CNN. Scott-Clayton actively contributes to higher education policy discussions at the state and federal level, including writing for the Urban Institute’s Learning Curve series, Brookings Institution’s Evidence Speaks series, and The New York Times’ Economix and Upshot blogs. She has also testified four times to the U.S. Senate as an expert on financial aid research and policy. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University.