Melissa A. Hardy, Ph.D.
1980, Indiana University
Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology, and Demography
Director, The Gerontology Center
118 Henderson
(814) 865-1710
mah38@psu.edu
Research
Work and Retirement, including the influence of organizational incentives, pensions, family decision-making, health, job satisfaction; Public Policy, including Social Security, the Age Discrimination and Employment Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Medicare and Medicaid; Political Attitudes, including analysis of social change and individual aging; Women's Issues and Aging, including poverty and financial security, caregiving, long-term care, intergenerational assistance, and health; Cognitive Components of Saving and Investment behavior, including planning horizon, discounting, risk tolerance, deferred gratification; Older Workers, including training, displacement, work schedules, job demands, organizational incentive structures.
Current Research Projects
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. "Workforce aging in the new economy: A comparative study of information technology employment" (Julie A. McMullin, PI; Victor Marshall, Joann Marshall, University of North Carolina; Neil Charness, Florida State University). October 2002 - September 2006.
- NIH, "Gene and Environmental Influences on SES and Health." (Co-PI; George Vogler, PI). September 2004 - August 2006.
- NIA, "Center on Population Health and Aging." (Co-Investigator; Duane Alwin, PI). August 2004 - July 2008.
Teaching Interests
Quantitative
Analysis Techniques
Longitudinal Methods; Aging & Social Change;
Public Policy and Aging
Social Inequality
Education
- Albright College, Reading, PA, B.A., 1974, Sociology
- Indiana University, M.A., 1976, Sociology
- Indiana University, Ph.D., 1980, Sociology
Research and Professional Experience
- Chair, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America, 2005.
- Director, Gerontology Center, Pennsylvania State University, 2003-
- Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Professor of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 2003-
- Courtesy Professor, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 2002 - 2003
- Bellamy Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 2001 - 2003
- Director, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1995-2003
- Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1992-1995
- Professor, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1991- 2000
- Director of Research, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, Florida State University, 1990-1995
- Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1985-1990
- Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1980-1985.
- Instructor, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1976-1977.
- Research Assistant, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1974-1976, 1978-1979.
Honors and Awards
Member,
Phi Kappa Phi, 2002.
Professorial Excellence Award, Florida State University, 1999.
Outstanding Conference Paper, Third Annual GSOEP Conference (with L.
Hazelrigg), Berlin, Germany, 1998.
Teaching Award, Florida State University, 1995.
Teaching Award, Department of Sociology. 1988-1989.
Florida State University: Developing Scholars Award. 1986-1987.
Professional Service (national/international)
- Chair-Elect, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America, 2005.
- Council
member, American Sociological Association Section on
Methodology, 2002-2005. - Member,
National Research Council Steering Committee on Adaptive
Aging, 2002-03 - Chair,
Work, Retirement and Pensions, Valencia Policy Forum,
Report to
the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Research Agenda on Ageing for
the 21st Century. Valencia, Spain. 2002. - Chair, Section on Aging and the Life Course, American Sociological Association, 1998-1999.
- Elected Member, National Academy of Social Insurance, 1998
- Fellow, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America, 1993.
Professional Appointments
- Editorial Board, Sociological Methodology, 2005-
- Member,
International Advisory Committee for 2002 Gerontechnology
Conference. Design Committee for the National Longitudinal Surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001- - Scientific
Advisory Committee, CREATE (Center for Research and
Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement). Funded by
National Institute on Aging, 1999-2004. - Executive
Director of the Legislative Panel for the Study of End-of-Life
Care, 1998-1999 - Editorial Board, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 1998-2001, 2003-2005.
- Editorial Board, Research on Aging, 1997-
- Florida Commission on Government Accountability Benchmarks Revision Task Force, 1997.
- Editorial Board, Social Forces, 1992-1995.
- US representative for International Meeting Research Group: Aging at Work and Strategies of the firm, 1992-
- Member of Sampling Operations Working Group for Health and Retirement Survey, conducted by the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan and funded by National Institute on Aging. 1991-92.
- Member/Reviewer,
Human Development and Aging Study Section,
National Institutes of Health, 1988-1992. - Editorial
Board, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 1989-93.
Associate Editor for American Sociological Review, 1986-1989.
Selected Publications
BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS
- Hardy,
Melissa and Alan Bryman (Editors). 2004. Handbook
of Data
Analysis. London: Sage, Inc. - Hardy,
Melissa A. (Editor). 1997. Studying Aging and Social
Change:
Conceptual and Methodological Issues. Beverly Hills and London: Sage
Publications. - Hardy, Melissa A., Lawrence E. Hazelrigg, and Jill Quadagno. 1996. Ending a Career in the Auto Industry: Thirty and Out. New York, NY: Plenum Publishing.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1993. Regression With Dummy Variables. Sage University Paper Series on Quantitative Application in the Social Sciences. Beverly Hills and London: Sage Publications.
ARTICLES AND CHAPTERS
- Hardy, Melissa A. 2006. Work and Aging. Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by George Ritzer. Blackwell Pub.
- Hardy Melissa A. 2005. Sociological Paradoxes and Graduate Statistics Classes. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 33 (July): 263-284.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 2005. "Older Workers." In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Robert Binstock & Linda George, eds. Academic Press.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 2004. "Summarizing Distributions." In Handbook of Data Analysis, Melissa A. Hardy and Alan Bryman (Eds.). London: Sage.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and John Reynolds. 2004. "Incorporating categorical information into regression analysis." In Handbook of Data Analysis, Melissa A. Hardy and Alan Bryman (Eds.). London: Sage.
- Shuey, Kim and Melissa A. Hardy. 2003. "Assistance to Aging Parents and Parents-in-Law: Does Lineage Affect Family Allocation Decisions?" Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(2): .
- Brooks, Robert G., Melissa A. Hardy, Ray Moseley, Janine Myrick, Amy Jones. 2003. "Advancing End-of-Life Care: Lessons Learned from a Statewide Panel." Journal of Palliative Medicine.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Chardie L. Baird. 2003. "Is It All About Aging? Technology and Aging in Social Context." In Impact of Technology on Successful Aging, Neil Charness and Warner Schaie (Eds.) New York: Springer Publishing.
- Willson, Andrea and Melissa Hardy. 2002. "Racial Disparities in Income Security for a Cohort of Aging American Women." Social Forces.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 2002. "The Transformation of Retirement in 20th Century America." Generations.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Andrea Willson. 2002. "Cohort Change." In Encyclopedia of Aging, David J. Ekerdt, Editor. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Kim Shuey. 2000. "Pensions Decisions in a Changing Economy: Gender, Structure and Choice." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55B S271-277.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Kim Shuey. 2000. "Retirement." In Encyclopedia of Sociology, Edgar F. Borgatta and Marie L. Borgatta (eds). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 2000. "Control, Choice and Collective Concerns: Challenges of Individualized Social Policy." In Evolution of the Aging Self, Warner Schaie and J. Hendricks (editors). Springer Publishing Company, 251-268.
- Hirsch, Barry T., David A. Macpherson, and Melissa Hardy. 2000. "Occupational Age Structure and Access for Older Workers: The Role of Compensation, Skills, and Working Conditions." Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 53 (April): 401-418.
- Hazelrigg, Lawrence E., and Melissa A. Hardy. 2000. "Scaling the semantics of satisfaction." Social Indicators Research, 49: 147-180.
- Reid, Jennifer and Melissa A. Hardy. 2000. "Multiple Roles and Well-Being Among Midlife Women: Testing Role Strain and Role Enhancement Theories". Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56B (1): S329-339.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Lawrence E. Hazelrigg. 1999. "Fueling the Politics of Age: On Economic Hardship Across the Life Course (comment)." American Sociological Review. 64 (August):570-576.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Lawrence E. Hazelrigg. 1999. "Changing Policies on Employment and Pension Coverage in U.S. Firms." Ageing International, 25(2): 24-45.
- Hazelrigg, Lawrence E., and Melissa A. Hardy. 1999. "Establishing frameworks of contentment." Vierteljahresheft zur Wirtschaftsforschuung:135-140.
- Hardy, Melissa and Lawrence Hazelrigg. 1999. "A Multilevel Analysis of Early Retirement Decisions among Auto Workers in Plants with Different Futures." Research on Aging. 21(2):275-303.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Kim Shuey Kruse. 1998. "Realigning Retirement Income: The Politics of Growth." Generations. 22(1):22-29.
- Hazelrigg, Lawrence and Melissa A. Hardy. 1997. "Perceived Income
Adequacy Among Older Adults: Issues of Conceptualization and
Measurement, with an Analysis of Data." Research on Aging 19(1):
69-107. - Hardy, Melissa and Linda Waite. 1997. "Doing Time: Articulating Biography and History in the Study of Social Change." In Studying Aging and Social Change: Conceptual and Methodological Issues, edited by Melissa Hardy . Beverly Hills and London: Sage Publications.
- Hazelrigg, Lawrence and Melissa Hardy. 1997. "Early Retirement and 'Bridge Jobs': A Case Study of Blue-Collar Workers in a Troubled Industry in USA." In Arbeteoch Halse, edited by B. Furaker, Asa Kilborn, and Peter Westerholm. Goteborg.
- Hardy, Melissa. 1996. "Employment, Economic Status and Retirement." The Gerontologist, 36(3):361-362.
- Quadagno, Jill and Melissa A. Hardy. 1996. "Private Pensions, State Regulation and Income Security for Older Workers: The Case of the Auto Industry." In The Privatization of Social Policy? Occupational Welfare and the Welfare State in American, Scandanavia, and Japan, edited by Michael Shalev. London: Macmillan.
- Quadagno, Jill and Melissa Hardy. 1995. "Work and Retirement." Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Fourth Edition, Robert Binstock and Linda George, eds., 325-345.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Jill Quadagno. 1995. "Satisfaction with Early Retirement: Making Choices in the Auto Industry." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 50B(4): S217-228.
- Hazelrigg, Lawrence and Melissa A. Hardy. 1995. "Older Adult Migration to the Sunbelt: Assessing Income and Related Characteristics of Recent Migrants." Research on Aging. 17(2): 209-234.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Lawrence E. Hazelrigg. 1994. "Gender, Race/Ethnicity and Poverty in Later Life." Journal of Aging Studies, 9(1):43-63.
- Pampel, Fred and Melissa A. Hardy. 1994. "Status Maintenance and Change During Old Age." Social Forces. 73(1):289-314.
- Pampel, Fred and Melissa A. Hardy. 1994. "Changes in Income Inequality During Old Age." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 13: 239-263.
- Hayward , Mark, Melissa A. Hardy, and Mei-Chun Liu. 1994. "Work After Retirement: The Experiences of Older men in the U.S." Social Science Research 23: 82-107.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Lawrence E. Hazelrigg. 1993. "The Gender of Poverty in an Aging Population." Research on Aging, 15(3): 243-278.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1991. "Retirement." Encyclopedia of Sociology, Edgar F. Borgatta and Marie L. Borgatta (eds.), pp. 1663-72. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Quadagno, Jill and Melissa Hardy. 1991. "Regulating Retirement Through the Age Discrimination in Employment Act." Research on Aging, 13(4): 470-75.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1991. "Employment After Retirement: Who Gets Back In?" Research on Aging, 13(3): 267-288.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1990. "Retirees' Reentry into the Labor Force," Pp. 21-42 in The Future of Older Workers, Harold L. Sheppard, editor. Tampa, Florida: International Exchange Center.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1989. "Estimating Selection Effects in Occupational Mobility in a Nineteenth-Century City." American Sociological Review, Vol. 54 (October: 834-43).
- Hayward , Mark D., William Grady, Melissa A. Hardy, and David Sommers. 1989. "Retirement, Disability and Death Among Older Men in the U.S.: The Influence of the Occupation." Demography, 26(3): 393-409.
- Hayward , Mark D., Melissa A. Hardy, and William Grady. 1989. "Labor Force Withdrawal Patterns Among Older Men in the United States." Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 70(2): 425-448.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1988. "Vulnerability in Old Age: The Issue of Dependency in American Society." Journal of Aging Studies, 2(4): 311-320.[Reprinted in Aging, Self, and Community. Jaber F. Gubrium and Kathy Charmaz, editors. Greenwich, Connecticut: JAI Press, Inc. 1992.] [Reprinted in Aging for the Twenty-First Century. Jill Quadagno and Debra Street, Editors. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1996.]
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1987. "Older Workers in Florida: Results from the Survey of Florida Residents Aged 55 and Older," Florida Public Opinion, 2(2): 25-32.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Eliza K. Pavalko. 1986. "The Internal Structure of Self-Reported Health Measures Among Male Workers and Retirees." Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 27 (December): 346-357.
- Hayward , Mark D. and Melissa A. Hardy. 1985. "Early Retirement Processes Among Older Men." Research on Aging, 7 (December): 491-515.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1985. "Occupational Structure and Retirement." Pp. 111-146 in Current Perspectives on Aging and the Life Course, Vol. 1, Zena Blau (ed.). Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1984. "The Effects of Education on Retirement Among White Male Wage-and-Salary Workers," Sociology of Education, 57 (April): 84-98.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1982. "Job Characteristics and Health: The Differential Impact on Benefit Entitlement," Research on Aging, 4 (December): 457-478.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1982. "Social Policy and Determinants of Retirement: A Longitudinal Analysis of Older White Males, 1969-1975," Social Forces, 60 (June): 1103-1122.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1979. "Economic Growth, Distributional Inequality, and Political Conflict in Industrial Societies," Journal of Political and Military Sociology, 7 (Fall): 209-227.
- Hardy, Melissa A. 1978. "Occupational Mobility and Nativity-Ethnicity in Indianapolis, 1850-1860," Social Forces, 57 (September): 205-221.
- Hardy, Melissa A. and Lawrence E. Hazelrigg. 1978. "Industrialization and the Circulatory Rate of Occupational Mobility: Further Tests of Some Cross-Sectional Hypotheses." Sociological Focus, 11 (January): 1-10. [Reprinted in American Cities: A Collection of Articles. Carole Puccino, ed. Hamden, CT: Garland Publishing. 1995.]