Carol Jean Rapaport, Ph.D. September 1, 1957 - September 4, 2020; died after a five-year battle with a recurrence of breast cancer originally diagnosed at age 40. Born in Manhattan to Stanley and Etta (Grauer) Rapaport, and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, she is survived by her mother Etta, sister Joyce Rapaport (Michael Hyde) and nephews Andrew and Joshua.

Carol graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan, and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford. After serving as an associate professor in the Economics Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carol moved to her beloved New York City in 1996 where she worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

In 2005, Carol moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked for Bates White Economic Consulting, the Congressional Research Service, and then as a researcher with Acumen LLC until she retired in 2018 after suffering from a stroke.

Carol made major contributions to issues ranging from medical care inequalities, demand for public transportation by mobility challenged individuals, the impacts of terrorist attacks, and key aspects of housing markets.

While working for the Congressional Research Service, many staff, Congressmen and Senators relied on her sharp wit and succinct evaluations and critiques in reports, which ranged in topic from tax-advantaged health accounts to Medigap coverage. Some colleagues believe her study on firm bankruptcies and retirees’ pensions and benefits could become a benchmark as the world reels through the COVID epidemic.

Carol was the ultimate urbanite. While the last decade of her life was spent in the Washington, D.C. and Boston areas, she considered herself to be a New Yorker at heart. She was an avid reader throughout her whole life, and loved exploring restaurants, museums and theater.

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