In her winning paper, Felkey disproves the theory that women in developing nations care more about their children than do men.

“Evidence shows that, in developing countries, aid given to a family should be given to the female if the aim is to enhance child outcomes,” said Felkey, associate professor of economics and business and chair of gender, sexuality and women’s studies. “Economists had taken this as evidence that women care more about their children than men.”

Instead, Felkey found balance of power in the husband-and-wife relationship at play, not gender differences in feelings for their own children. In her research, Felkey specializes in household economics, behavioral economics, development economics, quantitative methods, and microeconomic theory.

Editors selected Felkey’s paper as winner based on their review of all the papers published in the journal during 2013.

To read “Husbands, Wives and the Peculiar Economics of Household Public Goods,” click here. 

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