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Faculty
Faculty

Andria Smythe (she/her)

Assistant Professor

andria.smythe@Howard.edu
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Department/Office

  • Economics

School/College

  • College of Arts & Sciences

Biography

Andria Smythe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Howard University. She holds a PhD in Economics from Temple University. Her research interests lie in the areas of Human Capital, Labor Markets and Economic Inequality. Her current research dossier includes work on student debt and labor market outcomes; recessions and educational/labor market inequality;  the returns to attendance at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and inequality in intergenerational transfers and wealth-building within families. She is a research affiliate with the Howard University Center for Race and Wealth and the Institute for Higher Education at the University of Florida.

Education & Expertise

Education

Economics

Ph.D.
Temple University

Research

Research

Specialty

Higher Education, Labor Markets, Racial Inequality

Funding

Co-PI: Research and Teaching in Economics Capacity Grant Sloan Foundation (1.4 million) (2021-2024), (1.5 million) 2024-2027)

Co-PI: HBCU Attendance and Longer-term Outcomes (67,273) - The Washington Center for Equitable Growth (2022)

Co-PI: The Returns to College for Black Students in Florida (25, 900)- Helios Education Foundation (2022)

PI: Collaborative Excellence in Research ($484,679)- National Science Foundation (2021)

PI: Academic Grant ($20, 000) – The Washington Center for Equitable Growth (2020)

PI: Pipeline Grant ($26, 652)- Russel Sage Foundation (2020)

PI: Small Grants Award ($5,000) -University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Financial Security (2019 

Dissertation Completion Grant ($10,000)- Temple University (Spring, 2015)

Graduate Student Research Travel Grant- Temple University (Fall, 2014) 

Graduate Research/Teaching Assistantship- Temple University (2008-2012)

Group Information

Research

 

Journal Articles

 

  • HBCU Attendance and Longer-term Outcomes (2025) (forthcoming at American Economic Journal (American Economic Journal (AEJ): Policy)  (with Ashely Edwards, College Board, Justin Ortugas, University of Florida  and Jonathan Smith, Georgia State University)

     

  • Applicants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2023). American Economics Association Papers and Proceedings (Vol 113, pp 440-45). (joint with Ashely Edwards, College Board, Justin Ortugas, University of Florida  and Jonathan Smith, Georgia State University)

     

  • The Minimum Wage as a tool for Racial Economic Justice (2023). Journal of Economic Literature, 61 (3): 977-87. (with Rebecca Hsu, Howard University)

     

  • Child-to-Parent Intergenerational Transfers, Social Security and Child Wealth-building (2022). In AEA Papers and Proceedings (Vol. 112, pp. 53-57). American Economic Association.

     

  • Labor Market Conditions and Racial/Ethnic Differences in College Enrollment (2019). Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, 1-11.

     

  • Student Debt and Labor Market Outcomes (2019). In AEA Papers and  Proceedings (Vol. 109, pp. 171-75). (with Gerald Daniels, Howard University)

     

  • An Examination of Instructional Time Allocation and Student Engagement for Grades K-16 Science, Mathematics, and Education Courses. International Journal of Science in Society. (2011). (Joint with Stull, J. C., Majerich, D. M., & Varnum, S. J.)

     

  • Using Clickers in a University Physics Course to Improve Student Achievement (2011). American Physical Society Forum on Education. http://www.aps.org/units/fed/newsletters/spring2011/stull.cfm (Joint with Stull, J., Majerich, D., Varnum, S., Ducette, J., & Gilles, T)

 

Book Chapters, Policy Papers and Research Briefs

  • Understanding College Choice: The HBCU Context (2024). Brookings Institution Research Brief. (joint with Ashely Edwards, College Board, Justin Ortugas, University of Florida  and Jonathan Smith, Georgia State University)

 

 

  • The Returns to HBCU Attendance in Florida (2024). Report for Helios Education Foundation. (joint with Ashely Edwards, College Board, Justin Ortugas, University of Florida and Jonathan Smith, Georgia State University)

 

  • The Returns to College for Black Students in Florida (2024). Report for Helios Education Foundation. (joint with Ashely Edwards, College Board, Justin Ortugas, University of Florida and Jonathan Smith, Georgia State University)

 

Working Papers

  • Race, College Degree and Economic Mobility (revise and resubmit)       
  • Recessions and Racial Income Inequality
  • Gains and Gaps in College Outcomes over the Business Cycle

 

Works in Progress      

  • The Gender-race Wage Gaps after the Great Recession (joint with Keisha Solomon, Howard University)

     

  • The Impact of Economic Expansions during young Adulthood on Educational and Labor market Outcomes ( (joint with Keisha Solomon, Howard University)

 

  • The Impact of cash transfers on hunger, mental health and learning among tertiary students in Jamaica. (with Fitzroy Henry, University of Technology, Jamaica and Keisha Solomon, Howard University) 

     

  • HBCUs and the Supply of Black Medical Professionals (with La’Marcus Wingate, Howard University)