Marai Hayes

Marai Hayes is an economist whose research examines how health shapes the trajectory of economic outcomes over the life course, and the potential for health and social policies to address inequities in health and economic opportunity. Her current work investigates the role of childhood health on the trajectory of labor market and wealth outcomes from early adulthood to old age as well as the long-term economic effects of major public health interventions in the U.S. Future research interests include the intergenerational transmission of health and socioeconomic status and its effects on lifelong economic inequality. She earned an MA in economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2018 and received her Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University in May 2025.

Hayes joined the Stone Center in the fall semester of 2025.