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Student Research in Economics


Last updated December 6, 2021

By Camiell Foulger

Students at Furman have plenty of opportunities to become engaged in undergraduate research, but our department has one good example from this summer to share with you!

Lindsey Diehl and Cabot Fowler, two student research fellows from our department, investigated the married wage premium. They learned the wage advantage married men receive over single men is around 5 to 10% because employers perceive married men to be more productive and stable. 

Although married women previously did not have a wage advantage because employers viewed them as potential flight risks if they had children; now, employers treat men and women more equally in the workplace. Because of this historical shift, our student researchers hypothesized both married men and women would receive a wage advantage. Over the course of several weeks, Lindsey and Cabot investigated wage trends and determined both men and women received a married wage premium in the 2000s, but married women receive only half as much as married men.

Hollingsworth Undergraduate Research Program

While many research opportunities exist in our department, we have one notable program during the summer months. This program is open to all Furman students; however, economics majors who exhibit academic achievement will receive priority.

When applying, students can either provide a possible topic for their long-term project, or they can collaborate with a professor to devise a suitable subject for study.

Once students are accepted, research teams are established. Each team comprises of one to two faculty members and one to three students, who delve into one project over eight to ten weeks.

At the end of the project, students draft a research brief which they then present during a few seminars during the following academic year. Additionally, they should seek to present their findings at an academic conference or publish their work in a journal, both processes of which their faculty supervisor will guide them in. 

Learn more about the Hollingsworth Research Program on our Research & Internship page, or contact us for additional information.