Valerie K. Bostwick is an Associate Professor of Economics at Kansas State University. She has been with the Department of Economics at KSU since 2019, prior to which she was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Ohio State University. Dr. Bostwick earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2016 and a B.A. in Economics & Political Economy from Princeton University in 2007.


Her research interests include the economics of education, labor economics, and applied microeconomics. Her work focuses in particular on higher education, the policy inputs that determine student success, and the pipeline of individuals into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Dr. Bostwick has published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Labor Economics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Economic Inquiry, and Contemporary Economic Policy. She has also authored a book chapter on gender peer effects in graduate programs. This work highlighting the importance of female peers in doctoral STEM programs has been featured by press outlets such as Inside Higher Ed and Science magazine.

Valerie K. Bostwick joined IZA as a Resarech Fellow in April 2023.