How would you describe your research in 1 or 2 sentences?
I study household decision-making about fertility and how that relates to the economic realities in the household and other decisions that the household makes. In particular, I am interested in how families’ perceptions of the costs and benefits of children affect their fertility

Can you explain that a little further?
I find the fertility decline in the United States and other industrial countries fascinating.  What has caused people (conditional on being married) to choose smaller and smaller family sizes over the past 200 years?  I think the answer to this question is economic in nature and that it has something to do with their changing perceptions about the value of children. In a day and age when most women work, taking time off in order to have children is a costly proposition.  Especially compared to women a century prior who had no such opportunity cost.  But economists have had a hard time proving that fertility is related to the costs and benefits of children.  I am working to find better ways of measuring the changing value of children and a household’s response to that changing value.

How did you decide to enter your field, and what brought you to your topic?
Professor Joel Mokyr inspired me in my second year of graduate school to enter the black hole which is fertility research.  This field is enormous, mainly because it is not just comprised of economists but also sociologists, demographers, political scientists, historians, etc. But this variety also makes it that much more interesting.

Who is your advisor?
Naturally, Joel Mokyr. Chris Taber, Joe Ferrie, and Raquel Bernal also serve on my committee.

What are your interests outside of research?
I love to be outdoors (even in the winter) and to travel. I also love to entertain and to meet new people. In the fall, I am a dedicated college football fan.

What are your future plans?
I'll finish my dissertation (fingers crossed) in June of 2009. At that point, my husband and I are looking forward to moving wherever the job market takes us. I'm hoping to stay in academia and take an appointment in an economics department or business school.