He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with degrees in Economics, Political Science and Statistics in 1999. He earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2005. Michael’s research is in the area of empirical labor economics, with an emphasis on wage inequality. His current projects explore causes for gay and lesbian differences in wages, labor force participation, unemployment, occupational choice and work hours. Michael is the recipient of Pomona’s Wig Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, an MIT Economics Fellowship and a Sloan Dissertation Fellowship.