Sunday, March 01, 2009

The Personal Cost of Public Service

Katherine Ozment tells us how she feels when her husband, MIT economist Michael Greenstone, gets a job working for the President.

I know what she is going through, or more precisely, my wife does: When I became CEA chair, I left my wife and three kids (then ages 11, 8, and 4) at our home in Wellesley, and I commuted back on weekends. Economists who take policy jobs make some sacrifices to engage in public service, but often their spouses and families make even more.