Dora L. Costa is an American economist. After teaching at MIT from 1993 to 2007, Costa is now a Professor of Economics at UCLA. Costa is noted for her studies of social class and health inequality and for her work on social capital

Social capital

Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...

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In 1986, Costa earned her B.A. at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1993, she earned her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. She is a married to her collaborator Matthew E. Kahn, a professor of economics at UCLA.

Books

• The Evolution of Retirement: An American Economic History 1880-1990, 1998. University of Chicago Press
• Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War with Matthew E. Kahn, Princeton University Press, 2008