Alexander Ruder serves as CED director and principal adviser on the Atlanta Fed’s Community and Economic Development team, specializing in workforce development. Before joining the Atlanta Fed, Ruder was an assistant professor (tenure track) in public policy and a Center for Innovation in Higher Education economics of education fellow at the University of South Carolina. He has also held positions as a research project manager at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and as the Illinois workNet business services coordinator at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. He serves as a member of the Fulton County Workforce Investment Board (WorkSource Fulton) and is on the board of directors of the Georgia Justice Project.
Ruder's scholarly work has appeared in publications such as Economics of Education Review, Journal of Public Policy, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Upjohn Press. He holds a PhD from Princeton University, an MPP from the Harris School at the University of Chicago, and a BA from the University of Florida.
Restructuring the Eligibility Policies of the Child Care and Development Fund to Address Benefits Cliffs and Affordability: Florida as a Case Study
Brittany Birken, Elias Ilin, Alexander Ruder, and Ellyn Terry
Discussion Paper 2021-01 (June 2021)
Abstract | Full text 
Benefits Cliffs as a Barrier to Career Advancement for Low-Income Adults: Insights from Employment Services Providers
Alexander Ruder, Julie Siwicki, Ellyn Terry, and Tamilore Toyin-Adelaja
Discussion Paper 2020-2 (March 2020)
Abstract | Full text
Benefits Cliffs and the Financial Incentives for Career Advancement: A Case Study of the Health Care Services Career Pathway
David Altig, Elias Ilin, Alexander Ruder, and Ellyn Terry
Discussion Paper 2020-1 (January 2020)
Abstract | Full text
What Works at Scale? A Framework to Scale Up Workforce Development Programs
Alexander Ruder
Discussion Paper 2019-1 (June 2019)
Abstract | Full text
Elias Ilin, Alexander Ruder, and Alvaro Sanchez. "Mitigating Benefits Cliffs: The Career MAP Program in Washington, DC." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (October 4, 2023).
Brittany Birken, Austin McTier, Alexander Ruder, and Alvaro Sánchez. "The Potential of One Change." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (August 1, 2023).
Brittany Birken and Alexander Ruder. "CLIFF Dashboard Evaluations: Insights from Three State Pilots." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (August 30, 2022).
Elias Ilin, Alexander Ruder, and Ellyn Terry. "Guaranteed Income (GI) Dashboard: Visualizing Public Benefits Loss for Participants in GI Pilot Programs." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (October 21, 2021).
Elias Ilin, Alexander Ruder, and Ellyn Terry. "The Racial Income Gap and Benefits Cliffs." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (September/October 2020).
Elias Ilin, John Robertson, Alexander Ruder, and Ellyn Terry. "Amid the COVID-19 Crisis, a Tale of Two Southeastern Cities." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (COVID-19 Publications 2020).
Elias Ilin, John Robertson, Alex Ruder, and Ellyn Terry. "Amid the COVID-19 Crisis, a Tale of Two Cities," macroblog. April 9, 2020.
Alexander Ruder. "Research on Understanding and Overcoming Benefits Cliffs." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (January/February 2020).
John Robertson, Alexander Ruder. "Do Higher Wages Mean Higher Standards of Living?," macroblog. January 16, 2020.
Ruder, Alexander I. and Neal D. Woods. “Procedural Fairness and the Legitimacy of Agency Rulemaking.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 30(3): 400–414 (November 5, 2019).
Miller, Susan M. and Alexander I. Ruder. “Holding Agencies Accountable: Exploring the Effect of Oversight on Citizens’ Approval of Members of Congress.” Journal of Public Policy (June 19, 2019).
Alexander Ruder. "Scaling Up Workforce Development Programs." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Partners Update (May/June 2019).
Alexander Ruder, Mels de Zeeuw, and Ann Carpenter. "Promising Workforce Development Approaches." Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Workforce Currents (January 2019).
Susan M. Miller and Alexander I. Ruder. "Holding Agencies Accountable: Exploring the Effect of Oversight on Citizens' Approval of Members of Congress." Journal of Public Policy (forthcoming 2019).
Alexander I. Ruder and Neal D. Woods. "Procedural Fairness and the Legitimacy of Agency Rulemaking." Conditional acceptance to Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (2019).
Alexander I. Ruder and Michelle Van Noy. "Knowledge of Earnings Risk and Major Choice: Evidence from an Information Experiment." Economics of Education Review 57: 80–90 (2017).
Alex I. Ruder. "Agency Design, Mass Media, and the Blame for Agency Scandals." Presidential Studies Quarterly 45(3): 514–539 (2015).
Alex I. Ruder. "Institutional Design and the Attribution of Presidential Control: Insulating the President from Blame." Quarterly Journal of Political Science 9:301–335 (2014).
Stuart Andreason and Alexander Ruder. "Introduction: Investing in Systems for Employment Opportunity." In Stuart Andreason, Todd Greene, Heath Prince, and Carl E. Van Horn, editors, Investing in America's Workforce: Improving Outcomes for Workers and Employers. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research (November 2018).
Alexander Ruder. "Programs to Increase the Supply of Skilled Workers." In Stuart Andreason, Todd Greene, Heath Prince, and Carl E. Van Horn, editors, Investing in America's Workforce: Improving the Outlook for Workers and Employers. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research (November 2018).
William Mabe, Scott Powell, and Alex Ruder. "Doing More with Less: Leveraging Advances in Data Science to Support an Intelligent Workforce System." In Carl Van Horn, Todd Greene, and Tammy Edwards, editors, Transforming U.S. Workforce Development Strategies for the 21st Century. Kalamazoo, MI: Upjohn Institute Press (2015).
Alex Ruder and Michelle Van Noy. "Adjusting Expectations: The Impact of Labor Market Information on How Undergraduates View Majors and Careers." Rutgers University Education and Employment Research Center Issue Brief (August 2018).
Alexander Ruder and Michelle Van Noy. "Job Security and the Informed Major Choice of U.S. University Students." Rutgers University Education and Employment Research Center Report (July 2017).
Alexander I. Ruder and Michelle Van Noy. "Labor Market Expectations and Major Choice for Low-Income, First-Generation College Students: Evidence from an Information Experiment." Rutgers University Education and Employment Research Center Report (June 2017).
Ronnie Krauder, William F. Mabe, Scott Powell, Alex Ruder, Maria Heidkamp, and Ian Myre. 2016. "One-Stop Career Center Process Evaluation." In Evaluation of One-Stop Career Centers in New Jersey. John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development (May 2016).
William F. Mabe, Scott Powell, and Alex Ruder. 2016. "Evaluation of Occupational Skills Training on Labor Market Outcomes." In Evaluation of One-Stop Career Centers in New Jersey. John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development (May 2016).