Ann Mari May is a professor of economics of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with courtesy appointments in the departments of history, women’s studies, and agricultural economics. She is a gender specialist working most recently on higher education and the impact of unionization on the representation women in research universities, graduate education and STEM fields, occupational segregation in red versus blue states, and gender differences in views of economists on contemporary public policy issues in the US and in Europe. She has also conducted archival research examining the history of women in the American Economic Association and the history of women and higher education.
May has written a book entitled "Gender and the Dismal Science: Women in the Early Years of the Economics Profession," that is published by Columbia University Press. https://cup.columbia.edu/book/gender-and-the-dismal-science/9780231192910
Her research has been covered in The Economist, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC News, NBC News, Bloomberg Businessweek, Huffington Post, National Journal, Business Insider, Slate, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. May has appeared on C-SPAN, PBS NewsHour, Vermont Public Radio, and Nebraska Public Radio.
May is an accomplished teacher, having received numerous prestigious teaching awards including the Nebraska Professor of the Year (CASE) Award, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Award, Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award (OTICA), and is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. May has served in a variety of administrative roles including 15 years of executive leadership in academic scholarly associations, faculty associate to the Chancellor, acting director and associate director for the Center for Great Plains Studies.
Books and Edited Volumes
Gender and the Dismal Science: Women in the Early Years of the Economics Profession (New York: Columbia University Press, 2022).
Feminist Economics: Feminism, Economics and Wellbeing, Lourdes Benería, Ann Mari May, Diana Strassmann, editors, International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series, Mark Blaug series editor, Edward Elgar publisher, 2011.
Feminist Economics: Households, Paid and Unpaid Work, and the Care Economy, Lourdes Benería, Ann Mari May, Diana Strassmann, editors, International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series, Mark Blaug series editor, Edward Elgar publisher, 2011.
Feminist Economics: Global Perspectives on Gender, Lourdes Benería, Ann Mari May, Diana Strassmann, editors, International Library of Critical Writings in Economics series, Mark Blaug series editor, Edward Elgar publisher, 2011.
The 'Woman Question' and Higher Education: Perspectives on Gender and Knowledge Production in America, Ann Mari May ed., (Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing), 2008.
Journal Articles
Ann Mari May, Mary G. McGarvey, Yana van der Meulen, and Mark Killingsworth (2021) "Critiques, Ethics, Prestige and Status: A Survey of Editors in Economics," Eastern Economic Journal 27: 295-318.
Ann Mari May, Mary G. McGarvey, Christopher R. Gustafson, and Taro Mieno (2021) "Gender, Environmental Issues and Policy: An Examination of the Views of Male and Female Economists," Ecological Economics 182: 106877.
Ann Mari May and Robert Dimand (2019) “Women in the Early Years of the American Economic Association: A Membership beyond the Professoriate Per Se” History of Political Economy 51(4): 671-702.
Ann Mari May, Mary G. McGarvey and David Kucera (2018), ” Gender and European Economic Policy: A Survey of the Views of European Economists on Contemporary Economic Policy,” Kyklos, 71(1): 162-83.
Ann Mari May, David Kucera, and Mary G. McGarvey (2018) “Mind the Gap: Differing perspectives of men and women economists may affect policy outcomes,” Finance and Development, a publication of the International Monetary Fund, 55(2).
Ann Mari May and Mary G. McGarvey (2017), “Gender, Occupational Segregation, and the Cultural Divide: Are Red States Different than Blue States?” The Review of Regional Studies, 47(2): 175-99.
Ann Mari May, Mary G. McGarvey and Robert Whaples (2014), “Are Disagreements Among Male and Female Economists Marginal at Best?” with Mary G. McGarvey and Robert Whaples (2014), Contemporary Economic Policy, 32(1):111-32.
Ann Mari May (2013), “Different Sight Lines,” Finance & Development, a publication of the International Monetary Fund.
Ann Mari May and Gale Summerfield (2012). “Creating a Space Where Gender Matters: A Conversation with Elinor Ostrom” with Gale Summerfield, Feminist Economics, 18(4), 25-37.
Ann Mari May, Elizabeth A, Moorhouse and Jennifer A. Petersen (2010), “Representation of Women Faculty at the Public Research University: Do Unions Matter?” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 63 (4): 699-718.
Ann Mari May and Robert Dimand (2009), “Trouble in the Inaugural Issue of the American Economic Review: The Cross/Eaves Controversy,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(3): 189-204.
Ann Mari May (2008), “On Gender Balance in the Economics Profession,” Economic Journal Watch, 5(2): 193-98.
Ann Mari May (2006), “’Sweeping the Heavens for a Comet’: Women, the Language of Political Economy, and Higher Education in the United States,” Feminist Economics, 12(4): 625-40.
Ann Mari May (2002), “The Feminist Challenge to Economics,” Challenge 45(6), November-December: 45-69.
Ann Mari May and Robert R. Watrel (2000), “Occupational Segregation of Women on the Great Plains,” Great Plains Research 10 (Spring): 169-88
Ann Mari May and Kurt Stephenson (1994), "Women and the Great Retrenchment: The Political Economy of Gender in the 1980s," Journal of Economic Issues, 28 (June): 533-42.
Ann Mari May (1993), "Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy, and the Carter Presidency," Presidential Studies Quarterly 23 (Fall): 699-711.
Ann Mari May (1993), "Women, Economics, and the Concept of the Market: A Second Look at Reaganomics," Journal of Economic Issues 27 (June): 471-80.
Ann Mari May (1992), "Caste, Class, and Social Change: An Institutionalist Perspective," Journal of Economic Issues 26 (June): 553-60.
Ann Mari May and Randy R. Grant (1991), "Class Conflict, Corporate Power, and Macroeconomic Policy: The Impact of Inflation in the Postwar Period," Journal of Economic Issues 25 (June): 373-81.
Ann Mari May (1990), "President Eisenhower, Economic Policy, and the 1960 Presidential Election," Journal of Economic History 50 (June): 417-27. An abstract of this article appears in the Journal of Economic Literature, (December 1990): 2112-13.
Ann Mari May and John R. Sellers (1988), "Contemporary Philosophy of Science and Neoinstitutional Thought," Journal of Economic Issues, 22 (June): 397-405.
Ann Mari May (1987), "The Presidential Political Business Cycle: An Institutional Critique and Reconstruction," Journal of Economic Issues, 21 (June): 713-22.
Ann Mari May and Robert R. Keller (1984), "The Presidential Political Business Cycle of 1972," Journal of Economic History, 44 (June): 265-71.
Articles in Edited Volumes
Ann Mari May and Yana van der Muelen Rodgers, “Gender and Graduate Education in the United States: Women’s Advancement in STEM Fields,” in Gender and Education, Debortri Dhar editor, London and New York: Bloomsbury, 2014), pp. 67-94.
Ann Mari May, “’Sweeping the Heavens for a Comet’: Women, the Language of Political Economy, and Higher Education in the United States,” Reprinted in Feminist Economics: Feminism, Economics and Wellbeing, Lourdes Benería, Ann Mari May, Diana Strassmann, editors, International Library of Critical Writings in Economicsseries, Mark Blaug series editor, Edward Elgar, 2011.
Ann Mari May, “Gender and the Political Economy of Knowledge,” in Frontiers in the Economics of Gender, eds. Francesca Bettio and Alina Verashchagina (London: Taylor and Francis, 2008): 267-85.
Ann Mari May, “Gender, Biology, and the Incontrovertible Logic of Choice,” in The 'Woman Question' and Higher Education: Perspectives on Gender and Knowledge Production in America, Ann Mari May ed., (Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008): 32-51.
Ann Mari May, “Dwight David Eisenhower,” in Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, Unive
Gender, Economics and Social Provisioning (ECON445)
The aim of this course is to gain a deeper understanding of economic theory and policy by focusing on gender analysis. The course will explore important current topics in economics, challenging mainstream economic perspectives that have historically treated women as invisible and economic outcomes as simply a matter of choice. This course examines contemporary research on gender inequality, economic life, and policymaking, offering a more comprehensive framework to explore arrangements surrounding economic provisioning.
19th Century US Economic History (ECON457)
This course challenges students to examine the transformation in economic life that accompanied the rise of market capitalism in the 19th century in the US and the impact of this transformation on people’s lives and livelihood. Drawing on the new field of environmental history, we also examine the impact of economic transformation in the 19th century on nature while we consider the ways in which these experiences with nature shaped society and culture, changing the very meaning of nature itself.
20th Century US Economic History (ECON458)
In this course we examine economic growth and decline in the early years of the 20th century, the Great Depression and its impact on various groups in society, the wartime economy of WWII, the “prosperity” of the 1950s, the war on poverty and the Vietnam War in the 1960s, the unique problem of stagflation in the 1970s, and economic policy during the Reagan years and the role of presidential elections in the postwar economy. We discuss important issues such as the impact of racial discrimination in the housing market, women in the labor market, and the economics of climate change.
Awards and Recognition
Award for Outstanding Service for the International Association for Feminist Economics in honor of Jean Shackelford, 2012
Executive Officer: international Association for Feminist Economics, 2006-2013
Feminist of the Year, Spring 2007, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Academy of Distinguished Teachers, 1997-98 to present.
Nebraska Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1998-99.
Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award, (OTICA) System-wide Teaching Award, 1997-98.
University Distinguished Teaching Award, UNL, 1991-92.
Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Business Administration, UNL, 1989-90.
Outstanding Contribution to Students Award, 1989-90, 1997-98, 1998-99.
Stuart Leadership Foundation Innovative Teaching Award, Spring 1992-93.
UNL "Best Professors" in Lisa Birnbach's New and Improved College Book, 1992.
Select Media Coverage
The Economist (May 10, 2018), “Barrier to Entry,” https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/05/10/barriers-to-entry
UN News (United Nations News) (March 16, 2018) “UN Gender Focus: The Economics of gender balance,” https://news.un.org/en/tags/gender-survey
The Economist (February 17, 2018) “Men and women in economics have difference opinions,” https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2018/02/17/men-and-women-in-economics-have-different-opinions
The Omaha World Herald (June 2017) “Do Women get higher-status jobs in blue states? http://www.omaha.com/money/do-women-get-higher-status-jobs-in-blue-states-unl/article_2b09d0a9-76e1-503a-8584-1e121e6cd2bd.html
The Business Insider (October 2014) “Female Economists are more likely to favor government,” http://www.businessinsider.com/female-economists-more-likely-to-favor-big-government-2014-10 .
Wall Street Journal (September 20, 2013), Real Time Economics, “The Gender Gap in Economics – and Why It Matters,”
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/09/20/the-gender-gap-in-economics-and-why-it- matters/?blog_id=8&post_id=20529&mod=wsj_valetbottom_email
Omaha World Herald (April 17, 2012), “It’s not 1963, but women face wage gap,”
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120417/MONEY/701309973
ABC News (September 4, 2012), “Is the ‘Lipstick Effect’ Rooted in Evolutionary Psychology?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/researchers-evolution-drives-lipstick-effect-recessions/story?id=17059908&page=3#.UJ16UkKhD8s
Wall Street Journal (September 21, 2012), “Economics: Adam Smith vs. Eve”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578006483552963530.html
Businessweek (September 20, 2012), http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-20/web-surfers-using-apps-secretly-boost-economy-cutting-research
National Journal (October 1, 2012), “Diversity Roundup: Study Reveals Prevalent Gender Gap Among Economists”
USA Today Feature Article, (October 1, 2012), “Male Female Economist Survey”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2012/09/29/male-female-economists-differ/1583053/
NBC News Today (October 3,2012), “Women think differently – even in the ‘dismal science’
http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/10/03/14186386-women-think-differently-even-in-the-dismal-science?lite
Examiner.com (October 3, 2012), “Election 2012: Do Men and women see economic issues differently?” http://www.examiner.com/node/53654391
Inside Higher Education (September 6. 2012), “Economists’ Gender Split” http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2012/09/06/economists-gender-split
Chronicle of Higher Education (October 29, 2012), “Lady Academe and Labor-Market Segmentation: The narrative of women's success via higher education rests on a house of cards” http://chronicle.com/article/Lady-AcademeLabor-Market/135284/
Huffington Post (November 2012),“With Geithner’s Replacement The Treasury May Get a Woman’s Touch” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/25/geithner-replacement-treasury_n_2170951.html
Slate (October 1, 2012, “The Economics Gender Gap” http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/10/01/gender_and_economics_women_and_men_economists_have_very_different_views_.html
Chronicle of Higher Education (October 29, 2012), “Scholarly Publishing's Gender Gap Women cluster in certain fields, according to a study of millions of journal articles, while men get more credit” http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/gender-gap-in-economics-shows-analyses-arent-objective/30704
Chronicle of Higher Education (September 5, 2012), “Gender Gap in Economics Raises Questions About Objectivity” http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/gender-gap-in- economics-shows-analyses-arent-objective/30704
Nebraska Public Radio, “Feminist Economist Studies Land Use and Families in Africa,” (March 19, 2011)