Dana Shaat is an applied microeconomist whose research examines how postsecondary education policies and institutional practices influence student success, educational attainment, and labor market outcomes.
Shaat has extensive experience using administrative, survey, and longitudinal data to evaluate education and workforce policies using experimental and quasi-experimental methods. Her work has explored the effects of statewide transfer and articulation agreements on community college enrollment and transfer outcomes, the role of gender composition and peer effects in shaping college major choice and gender disparities in STEM fields, and the impact of labor market opportunities on worker outcomes. She has led research on topics including college access, student success, career and technical education, workforce training, and education-to-employment pathways.
Prior to joining CCRC, Shaat worked as an economist at the American Institutes for Research. She holds a PhD and master’s in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a bachelor of science in economics and mathematics from George Mason University. Her research has appeared in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.