I am an associate professor of Consumer Science studying consumer finance and financial well-being. My research is motivated by a desire to understand the causes and consequences of socioeconomic and financial inequality, particularly in the American context. For this work, I bring a sociological perspective informed by law, economics, and geography to examine a range of topics. Recent research topics include financial security among young adults and consumer access to financial services in communities.
Selected Publications
Amorim, M., Bea, M. D., & Aydagul, A. (2026). “It’s a Last Resort but a First Resort”: A Relational Perspective of Payday Loan Use by American Families. Sociological Quarterly, 67(2), 386–412.
Bea, M. D., Bley, K., Faber, J. W., & Haile, S. (2025). Who pays for flooding? Local flood disasters and racial inequality in the mortgage market. Human Ecology, 52, 1341–1360.
Bea, M. D. (2024). A life course perspective of community (non)investment: Historical financial service trajectories and community outcomes. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 45, 288–307.
Goldman, A., & Bea, M. D. (2024). Banking on the Neighborhood? Inequalities in Older Adults’ Access to Local Banking and Neighborhood Perceptions. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Social Sciences, 79(4), gbad194.
Bea, M. D. (2023). Relational foundations of an unequal consumer credit market: Symbiotic ties between banks and payday lenders. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 57(1), 320–345.
For a full list of publications, see Bea’s CV.
Department
- Consumer Science
Degree Program
- PhD Human Ecology: Consumer Behavior & Family Economics
Affiliations
- Center for Financial Security
- Center for Demography and Ecology
- Department of Sociology
- Institute for Research on Poverty
Education
- PhD, Sociology, Cornell University
- MA, Sociology, Cornell University
- BA, Economics and French, Bryn Mawr College
Contact
Office: 4222 Nancy Nicholas Hall
Phone: 608-263-2199
Email: mbea@wisc.edu
Websites: