Overview
Professor Field’s major fields of interests are development economics, labor economics, economic demography, and health. Specifically, her research focuses on the areas of marriage and family, property rights, global health, and finance and entrepreneurship. She has received grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and IZA/DFID Growth and Labour Markets in Low Income Countries, among others. She has published work in various journals, including the American Economics Journal and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Her research regularly takes her out of the U.S., and she is currently working on projects that explore adolescent empowerment and education in Bangladesh, female labor market participation in Pakistan, the effects of microfinance on women and households in South Asia and India, and the impacts of access to family planning resources on fertility and health in Zambia.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Economics
·
2024 - Present
Economics,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Economics
·
2015 - Present
Economics,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Population Research Center
·
2010 - Present
Duke Population Research Center,
Duke Population Research Institute
Affiliate of the Duke Center for International Development
·
2023 - Present
Duke Center for International Development,
Sanford School of Public Policy
Recent Publications
Drivers of Change: Employment Responses to the Lifting of the Saudi Female Driving Ban
Journal Article American Economic Review · September 1, 2025 We conduct a field experiment to quantify the impact of the lifting of the Saudi women’s driving ban on women’s employment by randomizing rationed spaces in driver’s training. Treated women are 41 percent more likely to be employed yet are 19 percent less ... Full text CiteAre Behavioral Change Interventions Needed to Make Cash Transfer Programs Work for Children? Experimental Evidence from Myanmar
Journal Article Economic Development and Cultural Change · April 1, 2025 We experimentally evaluate the effect on child malnutrition of a maternal cash transfer program in Myanmar that was supplemented with social behavior change communication (SBCC) in a subset of villages. The combination of interventions significantly reduce ... Full text CiteCOVID-19, Job Loss, and Intimate Partner Violence in Peru
Journal Article Economic Development and Cultural Change · October 1, 2024 A large literature has explored the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on intimate partner violence (IPV) worldwide. However, few studies provide clear evidence on the mechanisms through which the pandemic exacerbated violence, and many rely on hotline or pol ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Interactive Mobile Support for Community Health Workers Promoting Breastfeeding
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Chicago · 2025 - 2028Interactive Mobile Support for Community Health Workers Promoting Breastfeeding: Investigating the Impact on Maternal and Infant Health in a Developing Country Context
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Chicago · 2022 - 2028Interactive Mobile Support for Community Health Workers Promoting Breastfeeding
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Chicago · 2025 - 2027View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Princeton University ·
2003
Ph.D.