Go here to read about Katie Baird’s new memoir 

Growing Mangos in the Desert 

(Apprentice House Press, 2022) 

Katie Baird is a Professor of Economics at the University of Washington Tacoma. She specializes in public economics and public policy. Recent projects include analyses of the financial burden out-of-pocket medical costs place on citizens in different countries, and a cross-national comparison of the incidence of health care spending.  She has also published research examining the effect of drop boxes on voting patterns in Washington state. Most recently she published a memoir based on her experiences with the village of Cive in Mauritania. 

Between 2010 and 2013, Dr. Baird wrote bi-weekly columns on public affairs for Tacoma’s News Tribune.  In 2015 she was elected to the Pierce County’s Charter Review Commission.  

Earlier research investigates the link between education policy and social mobility; this work culminated in her book Trapped in Mediocrity.  

Prof. Baird’s blog is here, and Curriculum Vitae  here.