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Michael Pergamit
Senior Fellow
Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population

Michael Pergamit, a senior fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute, is a labor economist whose research is focused on the transition to adulthood, child welfare services, housing and homelessness, and asset development. He also leads or advises on program evaluations using experimental, quasi-experimental, and nonexperimental methods.

Pergamit currently leads a set of randomized controlled trial evaluations to build evidence on what works in child welfare to reduce the use of foster care and keep children with their families and support youth aging out of foster care in transitioning to independent living. He also leads multiple studies examining the provision of supportive housing to families in the child welfare system.

Before joining Urban, Pergamit was research vice president for economic studies at the National Opinion Research Center and division chief and director of longitudinal research at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, where he oversaw the National Longitudinal Surveys.

Pergamit holds a BA from the University of Washington. He earned an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.

Research Areas
Child welfare
Children and youth
Families
Housing
Wealth and financial well-being
Tags
Child maltreatment and prevention
Youth employment and training
Youth development
Transition-age youth
Evidence-based policy capacity
Homelessness