Kenneth Wolpin, Ph.D., is the Distinguished Research Professor and Lay Family Professor of Economics at Rice University. His contributions span labor economics, economic demography, development economics, health economics and empirical methodology. His expertise lies in the development and application of tools for estimating discrete choice dynamic programming models and the critical interplay between economic theory, data and econometrics. He has authored or co-authored over 60 professional papers on labor economics, economic demography, development economics, health economics and empirical methodology.

Prof. Wolpin served previously as the Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences, University of Pennsylvania; chair of the Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania; and held faculty appointments at New York University, the University of Minnesota, Ohio State University and Yale University. He has served as the Principal Investigator of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience.

Prof. Wolpin earned his doctorate from The Graduate School of The City University of New York.