Overall, Frisvold’s research agenda explores the role for government policies to enhance education and health outcomes, with an emphasis on policies targeted toward low-income children. More specifically, his research examines three interrelated themes: (1) understanding whether and how public investments in disadvantaged children improve health and education outcomes, (2) examining the influence of public policies on obesity, and (3) understanding the relationship between education and health. Prior to joining Iowa in 2013, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan and an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at Emory University.