Ana Hernández Kent
Senior Researcher
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Ana Hernández Kent is a senior researcher on the Community Development Research team at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She conducts research, performs data analysis and advises on issues of economic equity. Her primary research interests include:
- Examining economic disparities and opportunities through a demographic lens
- Exploring wealth inequality and the role of systemic biases and historical factors in facilitating or blocking wealth accumulation
- Highlighting the essential role that women play in the economy and child care’s economic importance for women, families and businesses
Kent received a Ph.D. in experimental psychology with concentrations in social psychology and quantitative methods in behavioral sciences from Saint Louis University, where she also earned a master’s degree in experimental psychology. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame.
Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Financial Times, Daily Mail, The New Yorker and CNN, among other outlets.
Journal Publications
- Is College Still Worth It? The New Calculus of Falling Returns
with William R. Emmons and Lowell R. Ricketts, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, October 2019
Working Papers
- Methodological Nuance in the Survey of Consumer Finances: Prioritizing Usage of the Respondent Over the Reference Person
with Lowell R. Ricketts, Institute for Economic Equity Working Paper - Pink Flowers in a Blue Garden: A Persistent U.S. Gender Wealth Gap
Op-Eds
- History, More Than Current Choices, Best Explains the Racial Wealth Gap Today
with Ray Boshara and Lowell R. Ricketts, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Feb. 21, 2022 - The importance of Hispanics and Latinos to the U.S. economy
CNBC, Sept. 15, 2021
- May 11, 2023. Moderator for Connecting Communities’ Two Sides of One Child-Care Dilemma virtual event
- May 9, 2023. Presentation: All Debt Created (Un)Equal: Gender and Racial Gaps in Student Debt, to Consumer Action
- March 23, 2023. Panel Discussion for FOCUS St. Louis Women in Leadership program
- March 2, 2023. Presentation: Women in the Economy: An Underleveraged Powerhouse, to the Association for Corporate Growth St. Louis
- Feb. 16, 2023. Presentation: Understanding Inequality and Poverty through a Demographic Lens, to FOCUS St. Louis’ Youth Leadership program
- Feb. 9, 2023. Presentation: Economic Outcomes of First-Generation, Four-Year College Graduates: They Get a Financial Boost, but Don’t Catch Up, to the Tulsa Higher Education Consortium
- Nov. 1, 2022. Presentation: The Latino Wealth Gap and Latinos in the Economy, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for Hispanic Heritage Month