Megan Doherty Bea is an Assistant Professor of Consumer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She studies family financial well-being and access to financial services from a sociological perspective informed by law, economics, and geography. Bea’s current research focuses on structural factors that shape small dollar loan markets and how social policy and financial regulation can foster more equitable access to affordable financial products. Her research has been published in top general and special interest journals in sociology and consumer science, including the American Sociological Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, Law and Society Review, and the Journal of Consumer Affairs. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology at Cornell University. Prior to graduate school, Bea was the Associate Director of the Group of Thirty, an economic think tank.
