Peter Muennig

Peter Alexander Muennig is an American public health researcher and professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.[1] He was the founding director of the Global Research Analytics for Population Health (GRAPH) center at Columbia University.[2] His research focuses on how to maximize population health by optimizing a mix of social and economic policies, particularly welfare and education interventions.[3] This work generally combines randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with cost-effectiveness analysis.[4]

As of April 2025, Muennig has 11,845 citations, an h-index of 55, and an i10-index of 148.[5]

Early life and education

Muennig earned his MD from the University of California, San Diego in 1994 and his Master of Public Health (MPH) from Columbia University in 1998.[1] He has been a member of the American Public Health Association since 1996 and has served on the editorial board of Global Public Health.[6]

Career and research

Muennig has used cost-effectiveness analysis as a tool for examining the most efficient non-medical social policies in which to invest.[2] He has also been the principal investigator on well over $20 million of private and federally funded welfare and education experiments to obtain causal data on their health impacts for these cost-effectiveness models.[7] In some cases, he has worked with government agencies to evaluate changes to welfare policies that plausibly improve the health of recipients.[8]

One of his studies analyzed the United States’ nationwide transition from Aid to Families with Dependent Children to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.[9] He did this using two state-level RCTs Connecticut Jobs First and the Florida Transition Program that contributed to nationwide welfare reform.[10] Muennig and his team found that even though the reform improved income for recipients on average, it also increased mortality over the long term. This was likely because some participants lost all access to income and may have ended up homeless as a result of the expiration of benefits after 5 years in the new program.[11]

Muennig has also investigated the long-term health benefits of early childhood education programs.[12] By analyzing decades of data from families who participated in government-funded pre-kindergarten programs in the 1960s and 1970s, he found that these programs not only contributed to higher earnings, but also improved health outcomes.[13] He is currently working on a large recontacting trial for Tennessee Project STAR, an 11,600 student RCT examining the impact of smaller classroom sizes[14] that was conducted in Tennessee in 1985–1987.[15]

Muennig has contributed to studies on social determinants of health, immigration, urban health disparities, and healthcare cost-effectiveness.[16] He continues his work with organizations such as MDRC and Mathematica to assess ongoing policy experiments. His more recent work studies the use of digital credentials to reduce barriers to welfare enrollment.[17][18]

Global and urban health initiatives

Muennig has been involved in global health efforts, particularly in Thailand, where he has run a non-governmental organization providing education and healthcare access to stateless children since 1999.[19] He has also conducted research on immigrant health, urban health disparities, and the social factors contributing to New York City's life expectancy trends.[20][21] His work on the cost-effectiveness of building parks over a major expressway in the Bronx led to funding a $2 million pilot study and congressional support for the proposed $1 billion parks project. The project is now dependent on resource allocation decisions from the Inflation Reduction Act.[22][23]

Selected publications

Muennig is the author of four books and more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.

  • Muennig P, Reynolds M, Fink DS, Zafari Z, Geronimus AT. "America's Declining Well-Being, Health, and Life Expectancy: Not Just a White Problem." American Journal of Public Health. 2018.
  • Muennig P, Caleyachetty R, Rosen Z, Korotzer A. "More money, fewer lives: the cost-effectiveness of welfare reform in the United States." American Journal of Public Health. 2015.
  • Courtin E, Kim S, Song S, Yu W, Muennig P. "Can Social Policies Improve Health? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 38 Randomized Trials." Milbank Quarterly. 2020.
  • Muennig P, Finn J, Johnson G, Wilde ET. "The effect of small class sizes on mortality through age 29: evidence from a multi-center randomized controlled trial." American Journal of Epidemiology. 2011.
  • Muennig P, Glied SA. "What changes in survival rates tell us about U.S. health care." Health Affairs. 2010.

Recognition and awards

  • Stanford University Center for Population Health Sciences Lecture Series (2016)
  • Health Affairs Most Read Article (2010)
  • Glenda Garvey Teaching Academy (2010)
  • ASPH/Pfizer Early Career in Public Health Teaching Award (2008)
  • Academy of Distinguished Teachers (2008)

References

  1. ^ a b "Peter Muennig". Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Policy – Peter Muennig". Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. August 7, 2018.
  3. ^ "Peter Muennig". Lifepath Project.
  4. ^ "New Journal Seeks to Reduce Bias in Scientific Publishing". Columbia Public Health News. August 2022.
  5. ^ Sanburn, Josh (August 8, 2016). "Flint Water Crisis May Cost the City $400 Million". Time.
  6. ^ Mace, Liz (September 1, 2022). "Mailman School's Peter Muennig on Board of New Worldwide Free Pre-Print Platform Qeios, Crowd-Sourced Peer Review Journal". Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).
  7. ^ "Daniel Belsky & Peter Muennig Awarded Multi-Million Dollar Grant from NIA for "MyGoals for Healthy Aging Randomized Controlled Trial"". Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). March 9, 2023.
  8. ^ "Peter Muennig". University of Miami.
  9. ^ Muennig, Peter; Caleyachetty, Rishi; Rosen, Zohn; Korotzer, Andrew (February 2015). "More Money, Fewer Lives: The Cost Effectiveness of Welfare Reform in the United States". American Journal of Public Health. 105 (2): 324–328. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302235. PMC 4318295. PMID 25521891.
  10. ^ Courtin, Emilie; Muennig, Peter (July 23, 2022). "Courtin and Muennig Respond to "Trials of Social Determinants"". American Journal of Epidemiology. 191 (8): 1457–1458. doi:10.1093/aje/kwac065. PMC 9989331. PMID 35445693.
  11. ^ Wilde, Elizabeth T.; Rosen, Zohn; Couch, Kenneth; Muennig, Peter A. (March 2014). "Impact of welfare reform on mortality: an evaluation of the Connecticut jobs first program, a randomized controlled trial". American Journal of Public Health. 104 (3): 534–538. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.301072. PMC 3953799. PMID 23678929.
  12. ^ "Enhanced Early Childhood Education Pays Long-term Dividends in Better Health". Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. January 19, 2011.
  13. ^ "Study reveals the complex impacts of the earned income tax credit enhancements on mental and physical health". EurekAlert!.
  14. ^ "RFK Jr. issues new directive after state's SNAP move on soda". Newsweek. March 28, 2025.
  15. ^ Muennig, Peter; Johnson, Gretchen; Wilde, Elizabeth Ty (June 15, 2011). "The Effect of Small Class Sizes on Mortality Through Age 29 Years: Evidence From a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial". American Journal of Epidemiology. 173 (12): 1468–1474. doi:10.1093/aje/kwr011. PMID 21540326.
  16. ^ "People - Peter Muennig | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC.
  17. ^ "Digital ID Credential Could Help Those With Greatest Need Get Benefits". Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. April 8, 2025.
  18. ^ "Why Being Poor Is Bad for Your Health | The Leonard Lopate Show". WNYC.
  19. ^ "Kwahdao History". kwahdao.org.
  20. ^ "Life Expectancy in U.S. Declines Slightly, and Researchers Are Puzzled (Published 2016)". The New York Times. December 8, 2016.
  21. ^ Koerth, Maggie (May 9, 2022). "Why Even A Less Effective COVID-19 Vaccine Is Worth Getting". FiveThirtyEight.
  22. ^ "The Legacy of the Cross-Bronx and a Future Without Environmental Racism | The Brian Lehrer Show". WNYC.
  23. ^ "Planting a park on the Cross-Bronx expressway would save money and lives". EurekAlert!.
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