Joelle Saad-Lessler (jsaadles)

Joelle Saad-Lessler

Industry Professor & Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Business

School of Business

Education

  • PhD (2003) Columbia University (Economics)
  • MA (1996) Columbia University (Economics)
  • BA (1994) Columbia College (Economics)

Research

Economics of Retirement, Labor Economics,
Economics of Immigration

Experience

Stevens Institute of Technology, School of Business, Hoboken, NJ
Associate Dean of Undergraduates, August 2019-present
Industry Professor, September 2023 - present
Associate Industry Professor, September 2016-August 2023

The New School, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, New York, NY
Research Economist July 2010 - July 2016

Long Island University, Brookville, NY
Assistant Professor of Economics September 2001-August 2012

Institutional Service

  • Steering Committee for MSCHE accreditation Member
  • Extended Promotion and Tenure Committee Member
  • Curriculum Committee Chair
  • ATI Grant Initiative Member
  • Associate Dean of Undergraduates in SOB Chair
  • General Education Committee Member
  • Jed 2.0 Task Force Member
  • Test Optional Committee Member
  • Assessment Committee Member
  • DEI committee Member
  • FEFA Area Academic Committee Member
  • Inclusive Leadership program Member
  • Scholarship committee Chair
  • Dean's advisory committee Member
  • Living and Learning Communities Member
  • Stevens Core Committee Member
  • Hiring committee Member
  • SOB Board of Advisors Member
  • First Year Experience Committee Member
  • Strategic Planning Committee Member
  • University Registrar Search Committee Member
  • Alumni engagement Strategic Planning Committee Member
  • Joint Committee on Improving the Evaluation of Teaching Member
  • DEI certificate program Member
  • BSB Committee Chair
  • First Year Read Dialogue Program Member
  • Course Coordination initiative Chair
  • Search committee for Vice Provost for Research and Innovation Member
  • Joint Faculty Senate - Administrators - Student Committee on Teaching Evaluations Member
  • Search committee for Dean of Undergraduate Academics Member
  • Search committee for Vice President for Enrollment Management Member
  • Search committee for TT in Economics faculty position Member
  • Search Committee for NTT Economics Faculty Chair
  • Student research advising Member
  • Search committee for communications manager Member
  • Search committee for manager of academic operations Member
  • Student research advising Member
  • Graduate Education Continuity Planning Group Member
  • Undergraduate education continuity group Member
  • Mental Health Task Force Member
  • Dean's lecture series Member
  • Curriculum committee Member

Professional Service

  • LERA Session Chair
  • NIRS Researcher
  • National Institute on Retirement Security Researcher

Professional Societies

  • AEA – American Economic Association Member
  • LERA – Labor and Employment Relations Association Member

Grants, Contracts and Funds

"Cash Is King: Effects of Un(der)reported Income on the Social Safety Net". With Karen Richman, Teresa Ghilarducci and Frank Heiland. Social Security Administration. 2024. $100, 479 – Work the grant was halted on Feb 21, 2025 due to changes at the Social Security Administration.

"Does the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test Widen Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Retirement Income?" With Karen Richman, Frank Heiland and Tony Webb. Social Security Administration. 2024. $100,415 – Work the grant was halted on Feb 21, 2025 due to changes at the Social Security Administration.

"Understanding Late Arriving Immigrants' Social Security Eligibility and Retirement Security: A Mixed-Method Study." With Na Yin, Ruth Finkelstein, Yiyi Wu and Yu-Jhen Chen. Social Security Administration. 2024. $150,000 – Work the grant was halted on Feb 21, 2025 due to changes at the Social Security Administration.

“Collectivism all around: informal networks, savings shortfalls, and financial education in the US” with Richman, K. E., The National Endowment for Financial Education, $124,332, 2018

“Determinants of Retirement Savings Accumulations: The Role of Life Events” with Ghilarducci, T., The National Endowment for Financial Education, $120,000, 2015

“Falling Through the Cracks: The Crisis of Jobs and Healthcare for Unemployed Americans Aged 55-64” with Ghilarducci, T., The UpJohn Institute, $10,000, 2012

“The Crisis of Jobs and Healthcare for Unemployed Americans Aged 55-64”, with Ghilarducci, T., the Borchard Foundation Center for Law and Aging, $20,000, 2011

Selected Publications

Book Chapter

  1. Richman, K.; Saad-Lessler, J.. Latinos’ Retirement Savings, Collectivism and Holistic Financial Literacy. Holistic Financial Literacy: Laying the Groundwork. Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
  2. Saad-Lessler, J.; Ryan, K. (2024). Pedagogical Lessons from the Pandemic. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and Organisation (pp. 433-446). Springer Nature Switzerland.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-65782-5_27.

Journal Article

  1. Richman, K.; Saad-Lessler, J.; Leon-Buitrago, M. (2025). College Students’ Retirement Savings Attitudes and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Personal Finance (1 ed., vol. 24).
  2. Saad-Lessler, J.; Neymotin, F. (2023). Recent Patterns of Job-to-Job Transitions in the United States. International Journal of Employment Studies (2 ed., vol. 31, pp. 4-24). International Employment Relations Association (IERA).
    https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.502370817309772.
  3. Saad-Lessler, J. (2020). Pros and Cons of Gig Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic. SSRN Electronic Journal. Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3877639.
  4. Saad-Lessler, J. (2020). How does paid family leave affect unpaid care providers?. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing (vol. 17, pp. 100265). Elsevier BV.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2020.100265.
  5. Saad-Lessler, J.; Ghilarducci, T.; Reznik, G. L. (2018). Retirement savings inequality: Different effects of earnings shocks, Portfolio selections, and employer contributions by worker earnings level. Social Security Bulletin (3 ed., vol. 78, pp. 1-17).
  6. Ghilarducci, T.; Saad-Lessler, J. (2015). Explaining the Decline in the Offer Rate of Employer Retirement Plans between 2003 and 2012. ILR Review (4 ed., vol. 68, pp. 807-832). SAGE Publications.
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793915586383.
  7. Saad-Lessler, J.; Richman, K. (2014). The impact of collectivism on savings behavior: a case study of Mexican-Americans and non-Mexican Latinos. Review of Economics of the Household (3 ed., vol. 12, pp. 493-515). Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-014-9243-z.
  8. Saad-Lessler, J. (2010). A cross-national study of child labor and its determinants. The Journal of Developing Areas (1 ed., vol. 44, pp. 325-344). Project MUSE.
    https://doi.org/10.1353/jda.0.0074.

Magazine/Trade Publication

  1. Richman, K.; Saad-Lessler, J. (2021). Retirement Savings and Resilience: A Comparison of Latinos’ and Whites’ Responses to Retirement Insecurity. Schaumburg, Illinois: Society of Actuaries Research Institute.
    https://www.soa.org/4a4c47/globalassets/assets/library/research/race-and-ethnicity-essay-collection/2021/race-ethnicity-collection-richman-saad-lessler.pdf.

Poster

  1. Saad-Lessler, J.; Richman, K. (2019). The Role of Collectivism in Explaining Life Course Health Disparities in Older Ages. Innovation in Aging (Suppl 1 ed., vol. 3, pp. S490).

Review, Journal

  1. Ghilarducci, T.; Saad-Lessler, J.; Reznik, G. (2018). Earnings volatility and 401(k) contributions. Journal of Pension Economics and Finance (4 ed., vol. 17, pp. 554-575).

Technical Report

  1. Ringland, C.; Saad-Lessler, J.; Bond, T. (2023). The Impact of Student Loan Debt on Retirement Preparedness for Generation X: a Supplement to The Forgotten Generation: Generation X Approaches Retirement. The Impact of Student Loan Debt on Retirement Preparedness for Generation X. NIRS technical report. Washington, DC: NIRS: National Institute for Retirement Security.
    chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.nirsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/GenX-Student-Debt-Sept-2023.pdf.
  2. Bond, T.; Ringland, C.; Saad-Lessler, J. (2023). The Forgotten Generation: Generation X Approaches Retirement. National Institute on Retirement Security.
    https://www.nirsonline.org/reports/genx/.
  3. Bond, T.; Saad-Lessler, J.; Weller, C. (2020). Still Shortchanged: An Update Regarding Women’s Retirement Preparedness. Brooklyn: National Institute on Retirement Security.
    https://www.nirsonline.org/reports/stillshortchanged/.
  4. Oakley, D.; Saad-Lessler, J.; Brown, J. E. (2018). Retirement in America: Out of Reach for Working Americans?. Report published by National Institute on Retirement Security, Washington, D.C.. Washington, D.C.: National Institute on Retirement Security.
    https://www.nirsonline.org/reports/retirement-in-america-out-of-reach-for-most-americans/.

Courses

ECON243 - Macroeconomics
ECON244 - Microeconomics
ECON242 - Introduction to Economics
ECON344 - Intermediate Microeconomics
ECON343 - Intermediate Macroeconomics
FIN704 - Econometric theory and Applications