PSC In The News
Kalousova and Burgard find credit card debt increases likelihood of foregoing medical care
Pierotti finds shift in global attitudes on intimate partner violence
Highlights
Arline Geronimus wins Excellence in Research Award from School of Public Health
Yu Xie to give DBASSE's David Lecture April 30, 2013 on "Is American Science in Decline?"
U-M grad programs do well in latest USN&WR "Best" rankings
Sheldon Danziger named president of Russell Sage Foundation
Back in September
Follow us 
Rebecca L. Thornton
Funded Research:
Response of Malawians' Sexual Behavior to Information about HIV Transmission Risks (Russell Sage Foundation)
Impact of Cash Grants among South African Youth (Freedman)
Scaling up Male Circumcision Service Provision (3Ie)
Unconventional Safer Sex Strategies (Mueller)
Fertility, Intergenerational Transfers, and Economic Development in South Africa (Hewlett)
Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center.
Assistant Professor, Economics.
Ph.D., Harvard University
Dr. Thornton's research focuses on issues related to health and education in developing countries and has involved field-experiments in Africa and South Asia. Current work includes examining how learning HIV results affect savings and investment behavior, measuring how financial incentives to stay HIV negative affect sexual behavior, and examining how menstruation affects education and labor force participation.
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
Keswell, M., J. Burns, and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2012. "Evaluating the Impact of Health Programmes on Productivity." African Development Review, 24(4): 302-315. DOI. Abstract.
Kohler, H., and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2012. "Conditional Cash Transfers and HIV/AIDS Prevention: Unconditionally Promising?" World Bank Economic Review, 26(2): 165-190. DOI. Abstract.
Oster, E., and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2012. "Determinants of Technology Adoption: Peer Effects in Menstrual Cup Take-Up." Journal of the European Economic Association, 10(6): 1263-1293. DOI. Abstract.
Thornton, Rebecca L. 2012. "HIV testing, subjective beliefs and economic behavior." Journal of Development Economics, 99(2): 300-313. DOI. Abstract.
Godlonton, Susan, and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2012. "Peer effects in learning HIV results." Journal of Development Economics, 97(1): 118-129. PMCID: PMC3212403. DOI. Abstract.
Kerwin, Jason, S. Foley, Rebecca L. Thornton, P. Basinga, and J. Chinkhumba. 2011. "Missing safer sex strategies in HIV prevention: a call for further research." African Population Studies, 25(2): 267-285.
Oster, Emily, and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2011. "Menstruation, Sanitary Products and School Attendance: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 3(1): 91-100. DOI. Abstract.
Thornton, Rebecca L., Laurel E. Hatt, Erica M. Field, Mursaleena Islam, Freddy Solis Diaz, and Martha Azucena Gonzalez. 2010. "Social security health insurance for the informal sector in Nicaragua: a randomized evaluation." Health Economics, 19(Suppl. 1): 181-206. DOI. Abstract.
Kremer, Michael, Edward Miguel, and Rebecca L. Thornton. 2009. "Incentives to learn." Review of Economics and Statistics, 91(3): 437-456. Abstract.
Angotti, Nicole, Agatha Bula, Lauren Gaydosh, Eitan Zeev Kimchi, Rebecca L. Thornton, and Sara E. Yeatman. 2009. "Increasing the acceptability of HIV counseling and testing with three C's: Convenience, confidentiality and credibility." Social Science & Medicine, 68(12): 2263-2270. PMCID: PMC2785859. DOI. Abstract.
Current PSC Trainees:
Susan Godlonton, Jason Kerwin.