Mary Zaki is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics of the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on household finance and food consumption issues especially among low-income populations. She currently is studying household spending patterns between paycheck receipts, the effects of high cost credit on food consumption, the relationship between pay frequency and price-saving shopping activities, the effects of social welfare program work-requirements on labor outcomes, the effects of credit instrument disclosures on consumer understanding and subsequent borrowing and purchasing decisions, the effectiveness of food access programs in food deserts and the effect of school breakfast program expansions on student health outcomes and test scores. She received her B.S. and B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University.
