BY

Dean Lueck and Randy Rucker. I am so grateful to have worked under my Master’s thesis advisor, Wendy Stock, because without her I would not have finished, or likely started, my dissertation. Throughout my time at the University of Minnesota (UM), I have been fortunate enough to be a graduate assistant at the Minnesota Population Center (MPC) working on the IPUMS projects. This work was helpful for my research, and the community of employees and affiliates of the MPC could not have been more encouraging. It is bittersweet to pass on the dissertation dove – it has been good to me. I am especially thankful for the support from my managers, Cathy Fitch and Trent Alexander. I am also grateful for the financial support from the Minnesota Population Center and the UM Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. The APEC labor economics dissertation support group (or Kristine West) was essential for my dissertation progress. I also received crucial data support and feedback from the Sarah Flood and additional members of the MPC’s Time-Use Working Group. The informal interdisciplinary fellows writing workshop was great, thanks to Rachelle Hil