Amanda Bayer is a professor of economics at Swarthmore College, where she teaches advanced microeconomic theory, game theory, introduction to economics, and race, ethnicity and gender in economics. She holds a B.A. in economics and psychology from Williams College and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in economics from Yale University. She also serves as a visiting senior adviser at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.

Professor Bayer studies diversity, inclusion, and innovation in economic education and research. She has worked on projects for the Federal Reserve Board, the National Academy of Sciences, the Social Science Research Council, the College Board, UWE, and the American Economic Association (AEA). She is an appointed member of both the AEA Committee on Equity, Diversity, and Professional Conduct and the AEA Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession and the co-organizer of three conferences hosted by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — Disparities in the Labor Market: What Are We Missing?, Gender and Career Progression (joint with the BOE and ECB), and the National Summit on Diversity in the Economics Profession in 2014, at which Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen delivered the opening remarks. Professor Bayer is the creator and editor of Diversifying Economic Quality, a widely read online resource supported by the AEA, which promotes inclusive, innovative, and evidence-based teaching practices in economics. The project helps economists to engage students with diverse backgrounds and learning styles and to recalibrate their teaching and research with new insights on race, class, gender, culture, discrimination, and inequality.

In other research projects, Professor Bayer has investigated the effects of youth mentoring programs using econometric analysis and has evaluated randomized controlled trial and quasi-experimental studies of education interventions for the U.S. Department of Education. Using her expertise in game theory, Professor Bayer has researched the effects of strategic behavior in settings such as litigation, labor negotiations, managerial decision making, and neighborhood development. She has partnered with a variety of nonprofit organizations to investigate topics of mutual interest and has led major projects for the College's Peace and Conflict Studies and Athletics programs.