Eliana Buckner

PhD Candidate in Health Policy (G2, Economics)

Eliana Buckner graduated from Northwestern University in 2021 with a BA in Economics and a Certificate in Managerial Analytics from the Kellogg School of Management. As an undergraduate, she provided research support to Professor Matthew Notowidigdo on several projects related to Medicaid, and interned at The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution. Her undergraduate honors thesis examined the impact of Medicaid Managed Care health insurance plan mergers on plan quality and market concentration, and received the Robert M. Coen Award for Distinguished Honors Thesis. After graduating, Eliana worked as a Senior Research Assistant in the Labor Markets section at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. In this role she contributed to several projects involving health and labor economics, such as the decisions of health care workers to remain employed at long-term care facilities during COVID-19 outbreaks. Currently, her research focus is all things health insurance, from examining access and affordability of medical care at the household level, to firm competition and market dynamics. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and cooking elaborate recipes for friends.