Alvin Christian

Alvin Christian is an economist and Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY. His research examines how policies and institutions shape consequential decisions and affect outcomes for children, families and communities. Christian's primary work focuses on education policy, including how students access and use support services, how information and beliefs shape schooling and labor market choices and how educational organizations make decisions under uncertainty. He also studies family and social issues, particularly domestic violence and household decision-making. 

Christian’s research has been supported by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and published in academic journals including Education Finance and Policy, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, American Educational Research Journal, and Oxford Economic Papers. It has been cited in White House reports and featured by media outlets such as The 74.

He earned his BA and MA in Economics from CUNY City College of New York and PhD in Economics and Public Policy from the University of Michigan. Before graduate school, Christian worked as a research assistant at Brown University and MDRC.