Research authored by Michaela Fogarty '19 looks at how access to contraception affects women's decision-making power in Indonesia.
Michaela Fogarty ’19 is one of 25 authors whose undergraduate research is published in this year’s Undergraduate Economic Review, a peer-reviewed journal supported by the Department of Economics and The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Under the mentorship of Steve DeLoach, professor of economics and chair of the Department of Economics in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, Fogarty explored the impacts of contraceptive use on women’s empowerment in Indonesia, measured by an index of women’s household decision-making power.
“Throughout my college career, I’ve been interested in research on women’s empowerment and the role of women in the world economy,” the international economics major said. “While interning at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, I heard patient stories about how contraception and family planning services change the lives of women around the world. I wanted to explore the quantitative impacts of contraception in developing parts of the world.”
After graduating from Elon, Fogarty joined RTI International as an economist.
Read more about Fogarty’s thesis, "Impacts of Contraception on Women’s Decision-Making Agency in Indonesia," here.