Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD

Silvia Helena Barcellos was a 2012-2013 RCMAR Fellow at the USC Schaeffer Center and an Economist at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. Her RCMAR project was Health Insurance and Financial Risk Among Diverse Elderly Populations.

She received her Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University in 2010. Her research interests span labor economics, development economics, and health economics. Her recent work has been published at the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, and Health Affairs.

Recent Work

Education Can Reduce Genetic Association with Obesity

A USC study finds that an extra year of education can influence whether or not someone becomes obese, especially among those at higher risk of obesity.

By Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD, Leandro Carvalho, PhD and Patrick Turley
Categorized in
- Evidence Base
Education Improves Some Aspects Of Health But May Worsen Others

We study how secondary education affects different dimensions of health in middle age. A policy change in England, Wales, and Scotland that increased the minimum school-leaving age from 15 to 16 years old improved health by reducing body fat and lung conditions, but it also increased blood pressure.

By Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD
Categorized in
- Evidence Base
Financial Education Interventions Targeting Immigrants and Children of Immigrants

Immigrants and their children in the US who receive financial education targeted at their specific needs demonstrably improve their financial literacy, but these gains in knowledge do not persist for long.

By Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD
Categorized in
- Evidence Base
Medical Expenditure Risk: How Medicare Protects the Elderly and What Would Change with Proposed Reforms

Given the potentially devastating financial consequences of a health shock, it is crucial to understand the protection health insurance, in particular Medicare, offers against medical expenditure risk.

By Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD and Mireille Jacobson, PhD
Categorized in
- Evidence Base
Uninformed Decision Making: How Prepared are Americans to Navigate the ACA?

Our work suggests that lack of preparedness is indeed a problem.

By Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD
Categorized in
- Evidence Base

Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD's Bio

Recent Work

Education Can Reduce Genetic Association with Obesity

Education Improves Some Aspects Of Health But May Worsen Others

Financial Education Interventions Targeting Immigrants and Children of Immigrants

Medical Expenditure Risk: How Medicare Protects the Elderly and What Would Change with Proposed Reforms

Uninformed Decision Making: How Prepared are Americans to Navigate the ACA?