Karen Hamrick

Karen Hamrick has been at ERS since 1990. She is an economist in the Diet, Safety, and Health Economics Branch with a research focus on labor markets. Her current research area is Americans' time use patterns.  Her previous research was on the labor market response to changing market conditions in rural areas, in particular, worker displacement.

Current Projects:

Time Use Patterns. Karen is the lead in ERS's time use project, the development and fielding of a supplemental module of questions on food and eating to the American Time Use Survey.  The Eating & Health Module was fielded 2006-08.  Time is a valuable resource, and time use data allows researchers to analyze the choices people make in how they spend their time, along with the time and income constraints they face.  She is currently researching Americans' time use on food and eating; physical activity such as walking and cycling; and travel to grocery shopping.  Research also includes analysis of low-income individuals' time use patterns and time constraints.

Karen holds Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in economics from The George Washington University, and also a B.A. degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics from The George Washington University.

Karen is a member of the American Economics Association, the Society of Labor Economists, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the International Association for Time Use Research.

Karen S. Hamrick, Margaret Andrews, Joanne Guthrie, David Hopkins, and Ket McClelland, How Much Time Do American Spend on Food?, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Information Bulletin No. EIB-86, November 2011.

Kalenkoski, Charlene M., Karen S. Hamrick, and Margaret Andrews. (2011). "Time Poverty Thresholds and Rates for the US Population." Social Indicators Research 104(1): 129-155.

Reifschneider, Marianne J., Karen S. Hamrick, and Jill N. Lacey. (2011). "Exercise, Eating Patterns, and Obesity: Evidence from the ATUS and Its Eating & Health Module." Social Indicators Research 101(2): 215-219. 

Andrews, M. and K. Hamrick (2009). "Shopping For, Preparing, and Eating Food: Where Does the Time Go?" Amber Waves 7(4): 4. 

Karen Hamrick, editor. Rural America at a Glance, 2005, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Information Bulletin No. EIB4, September 2005.

Kenneth Hanson and Karen S. Hamrick. Moving Public Assistance Recipients Into the Labor Force, 1996-2000. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report No. 40, May 2004.

David C. Ribar and Karen S. Hamrick. Dynamics of Poverty and Food Sufficiency. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report No. 33, September 2003.

Karen S. Hamrick. Displaced Workers: Differences in Nonmetro and Metro Experience in the Mid-1990s. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Research Report No. 92, Oct. 2001.

Karen S. Hamrick, Stephen A. MacDonald, and Leslie A. Meyer, "Trade Liberalization: International Trade Agreements Bring Adjustment to the Textile and Apparel Industries," Rural Conditions and Trends, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2000, pp. 31-41.

Karen S. Hamrick, "Minimum Wage Increase Would Have Greater Impact on the Food System than on the Overall Economy," Food Review, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Volume 22, Issue 1, 1999, pp. 17-26.

Last updated: Thursday, April 25, 2013

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