Economists

Kartik B. Athreya

Executive Vice President and Director of Research

Kartik Athreya is executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Athreya's work has been published in a variety of academic journals, including the Journal of Monetary Economics, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, and International Economic Review. He is also an associate editor at the Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control. In recent years, Athreya has taught a doctoral course in macroeconomics at the University of Virginia and authored a book entitled Big Ideas in Macroeconomics (2013, MIT Press). He earned his doctorate from the University of Iowa in 2000.

Athreya's research interests are in macroeconomics and consumer finance. His current research aims to measure and understand household financial distress and debt repayment decisions, to quantify the links between household investments in human capital and in the stock market, and to assess the importance of risks associated with college enrollment for educational attainment and inequality.

Academic Publications

Risk, the College Premium, and Aggregate Human Capital Investment

American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, forthcoming

Kartik B. Athreya and Janice Eberly

Previous Version: Working Paper, March 2013, No. 13-02R

The Persistence of Financial Distress

The Review of Financial Studies, forthcoming

Kartik B. Athreya, José Mustre-del-Río and Juan M. Sanchez

Previous Version: Working Paper, November 2017, No. 17-14R

Bankruptcy and Delinquency in a Model of Unsecured Debt

International Economic Review, Vol. 59, May 2018: 593-623

Kartik B. Athreya, Juan M. Sanchez, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

Previous Version: Working Paper, September 2016, No. 16-12

Does Redistribution Increase Output? The Centrality of Labor Supply

Quantitative Economics, Vol. 8, November 2017: 761-808

Kartik B. Athreya, Andrew Owens and Felipe F. Schwartzman

Previous Version: Working Paper, March 2014, No. 14-04R

Labor Market Upheaval, Default Regulations, and Consumer Debt

Review of Economic Dynamics, Vol. 18, January 2015: 32-52

Kartik B. Athreya, Juan M. Sanchez, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

A Quantitative Theory of Information and Unsecured Credit

American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, Vol. 4, July 2012: 153-183

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

Credit and Self-Employment

Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 35, March 2011: 363-385

Ahmet Akyol and Kartik B. Athreya

Previous Version: Working Paper, April 2009, No. 09-5

Self-Employment Rates and Business Size: The Roles of Occupational Choice and Credit Market Frictions

Annals of Finance, Vol. 5, June 2009: 495-519

Ahmet Akyol and Kartik B. Athreya

Unsecured Credit Markets Are Not Insurance Markets

Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 56, January 2009: 83-103

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

Default, Insurance, and Debt over the Life-Cycle

Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 55, May 2008: 752-774

Kartik B. Athreya

Fresh Start or Head Start? Uniform Bankruptcy Exemptions and Welfare

Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 30, November 2006: 2051-2079

Kartik B. Athreya

Previous Version: Working Paper, May 2003, No. 03-3R

Unsecured Debt with Public Insurance: From Bad to Worse

Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 53, May 2006: 797-825

Kartik B. Athreya and Nicole B. Simpson

Previous Version: Working Paper, November 2003, No. 03-14R

Risky Higher Education and Subsidies

Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Vol. 29, June 2005: 979-1023

Ahmet Akyol and Kartik B. Athreya

Previous Version: Working Paper, August 2003, No. 03-2

Welfare Implications of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1999

Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 49, November 2002: 1567-1595

Kartik B. Athreya
Bank Publications

Economic Brief, March 2020, No. 20-03

Who Values Access to College?

Kartik B. Athreya, Felicia Ionescu, Urvi Neelakantan, Jessie Romero and Ivan Vidangos

Econ Focus, Fourth Quarter 2019

Repo Rate Spikes: A Puzzle for Policymakers

Kartik B. Athreya

Econ Focus, First Quarter 2019

Whom Will Opportunity Zones Help?

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Brief, March 2019, No. 19-03

The Persistence of Financial Distress

Kartik B. Athreya and Jessie Romero

Econ Focus, Third Quarter 2018

What Have We Learned since the Financial Crisis?

Kartik B. Athreya

Econ Focus, First Quarter 2018

TFP, Prosperity, and the FOMC

Kartik B. Athreya

Econ Focus, Third Quarter 2017

Do Low Interest Rates Punish Savers?

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Brief, January 2017, No. 17-01

Does Redistribution Increase Output?

Kartik B. Athreya, Andrew Owens, Jessie Romero and Felipe F. Schwartzman

Econ Focus, Second Quarter 2016

The Payoff from the Earned Income Tax Credit

Kartik B. Athreya

Econ Focus, Fourth Quarter 2015

The Importance of Researcher Independence

The Importance of Researcher Independence

Kartik B. Athreya

Econ Focus, Second Quarter 2015

Why Do College Graduates Earn More?

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Third Quarter 2015

Understanding Living Wills

Arantxa Jarque and Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Second Quarter 2015

Land of Opportunity: Economic Mobility in the United States

Kartik B. Athreya and Jessie Romero

Economic Quarterly, First Quarter 2015

Systemic Risk and the Pursuit of Efficiency

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Fourth Quarter 2014

Loan Guarantees for Consumer Credit Markets

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

Economic Brief, May 2014, No. 14-05

Expanding the Scope of Workforce Development

Kartik B. Athreya, Urvi Neelakantan and Jessie Romero

Economic Brief, July 2013, No. 13-07

Land of Opportunity? Economic Mobility in the United States

Kartik B. Athreya and Jessie Romero

Economic Brief, June 2013, No. 13-06

Implications of Risks and Rewards in College Decisions

Kartik B. Athreya and David A. Price

Economic Quarterly, Fourth Quarter 2012

Debt Default and the Insurance of Labor Income Risk

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

Economic Brief, April 2012, No. 12-04

The Spice of Life: Allowing for Heterogeneity in Macro Models

Kartik B. Athreya and Renee Haltom

Annual Report, 2012

Land of Opportunity? Economic Mobility in the United States

Jessie Romero and Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Fourth Quarter 2011

The Cost of Unanticipated Household Financial Shocks: Two Examples

Kartik B. Athreya and Urvi Neelakantan

Economic Brief, March 2011, No. 11-03

The Earned Income Tax Credit: Recipients, Labor Force Participation, and Credit Constraints

Kartik B. Athreya and Aaron Steelman

Economic Quarterly, Third Quarter 2010

Earned Income Tax Credit Recipients: Income, Marginal Tax Rates, Wealth, and Credit Constraints

Kartik B. Athreya, Devin Reilly and Nicole B. Simpson

Economic Brief, October 2009, No. 09-10

The Case for Direct Methods to Address CO2 Emissions and Other Negative Environmental Externalities

Kartik B. Athreya and Renee Haltom

Economic Brief, August 2009, No. 09-08

Recent Fiscal Policy and the Manipulation of Aggregate Economic Activity

Kartik B. Athreya and Renee Haltom

Economic Quarterly, Winter 2009

Consumption Smoothing and the Measured Regressivity of Consumption Taxes

Kartik B. Athreya and Devin Reilly

Economic Brief, March 2009, No. 09-03

Rationalizing Financial Literacy Policy

Kartik B. Athreya and Anne Stiwell

Annual Report, 2009

Systemic Risk and the Pursuit of Efficiency

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Winter 2008

Credit Access, Labor Supply, and Consumer Welfare

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Winter 2007

Implications of Some Alternatives to Capital Income Taxation

Kartik B. Athreya and Andrea L. Waddle

Economic Quarterly, Winter 2006

Credit Exclusion in Quantitative Models of Bankruptcy: Does It Matter?

Kartik B. Athreya and Hubert P. Janicki

Economic Quarterly, Spring 2005

Equilibrium Models of Personal Bankruptcy: A Survey

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Spring 2004

Shame As It Ever Was: Stigma and Personal Bankruptcy

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Spring 2003

Unemployment Insurance and Personal Bankruptcy

Kartik B. Athreya

Economic Quarterly, Summer 2001

The Growth of Unsecured Credit: Are We Better Off?

Kartik B. Athreya
Books and Book Chapters

Big Ideas in Macroeconomics: A Non-Technical View, MIT Press, 2013.
Working Papers

August 2019, No. 19-13

Consumption in the Great Recession: The Financial Distress Channel

Kartik B. Athreya, Ryan Mather, José Mustre-del-Río and Juan M. Sanchez

February 2019, No. 19-05R

Who Values Access to College? (Revised November 2019)

Kartik B. Athreya, Felicia Ionescu, Urvi Neelakantan and Ivan Vidangos

November 2017, No. 17-14R

The Persistence of Financial Distress (Revised July 2018)

Kartik B. Athreya, José Mustre-del-Río and Juan M. Sanchez

September 2016, No. 16-12

Bankruptcy and Delinquency in a Model of Unsecured Debt

Kartik B. Athreya, Juan M. Sanchez, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

June 2015, No. 15-07R

Stock Market Participation: The Role of Human Capital (Revised February 2018)

Kartik B. Athreya, Felicia Ionescu and Urvi Neelakantan

April 2014, No. 14-11R

Young Unskilled Women and the Earned Income Tax Credit: Insurance Without Disincentives? (Revised July 2014)

Kartik B. Athreya, Devin Reilly and Nicole B. Simpson

March 2014, No. 14-04R

Does Redistribution Increase Output? The Centrality of Labor Supply (Revised December 2016)

Kartik B. Athreya, Andrew Owens and Felipe F. Schwartzman

March 2013, No. 13-02R

Risk, the College Premium, and Aggregate Human Capital Investment (Revised November 2018)

Kartik B. Athreya and Janice Eberly

October 2011, No. 11-06

Loan Guarantees for Consumer Credit Markets

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

August 2009, No. 09-11

Are Harsh Penalties for Default Really Better?

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

April 2009, No. 09-5

Credit and Self-Employment

Kartik B. Athreya and Ahmet Akyol

October 2008, No. 08-6R

A Quantitative Theory of Information and Unsecured Credit (Revised July 2011)

Kartik B. Athreya, Xuan S. Tam and Eric R. Young

November 2003, No. 03-14R

Unsecured Debt with Public Insurance: From Bad to Worse (Revised: Nov. 2004)

Kartik B. Athreya and Nicole B. Simpson

May 2003, No. 03-3R

Fresh Start or Head Start? Uniform Bankruptcy Exemptions and Welfare (Revised: Jul. 2004)

Kartik B. Athreya

August 2003, No. 03-2

Risky Higher Education and Subsidies

Ahmet Akyol and Kartik B. Athreya
Work in Progress

"Record-Keeping in Consumer Credit Markets" (joint with Meta Brown, Eric R. Young, and Xuan S. Tam).
"Investment Opportunities and Economic Mobility: Who Benefits from College and the Stock Market?" (joint with Felicia F. Ionescu, Urvi Neelakantan, and Ivan Vidangos).
Other Work

"COVID-19 and Households' Financial Distress, Part 2: The Spread of COVID-19 and (Financial) Pre-Existing Conditions" (joint with Ryan Mather, Jose Mustre-del-Río, and Juan M. Sánchez). March 27, 2020.
"COVID-19 and Households' Financial Distress, Part 1: Employment Vulnerability and (Financial) Pre-Existing Conditions" (joint with Ryan Mather, Jose Mustre-del-Río, and Juan M. Sánchez). March 23, 2020.
"Challenges for Policymakers in a Low Interest Rate Environment." Speech to the Asian Banker Future of Finance Summit, Beijing, China, May 25, 2018.
"Economic Outlook, January 2018." Speech to the Maryland Bankers Association First Friday Economic Outlook Forum, Baltimore, Md., January 5, 2018.
"Why is There (still) No Private-Equity Premium?" (joint with Ahmet Akyol, Pierre Sarte, and Eric R. Young).
"Income Floors and Interest-Rate Ceilings."
"The Skill Premium and Household Indebtedness: A Tale of Five Series" (joint with Felicia F. Ionescu and B. Ravikumar).

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Kartik B. Athreya

Economists

Kartik B. Athreya

Executive Vice President and Director of Research

phone Contact Us

Economists

Kartik Athreya

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