Sara Gundersen

Recognitions

• Valparaiso University Excellence in Teaching Award for Course Development, recipient, Valparaiso University, 2020-2021
• Wheat Ridge Ministries – O.P. Kretzmann Fund  Research Grant, recipient, Valparaiso University, February 2019
• College of Arts and Sciences, Emerging Teacher Award, recipient, Valparaiso University, August 2015
• College of Arts and Sciences, Emerging Teacher Award, nominee, Valparaiso University, August 2014
• Valparaiso University CELT Grant, recipient, May 2013
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, recipient, Clark University, 2006–2007

Education

B.A. – University of Wisconsin, Stout
M.A. – Clark University
Ph.D. – Clark University

Areas of Specialization

Development economics, economics of education, econometrics, teaching economics

Courses Taught

Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Environmental Economics, Economics of Race and Gender, Economics of Developing Nations, Econometrics, and Managerial Economics

Publications

• Gundersen, Sara and Sedefka Beck. “Religion and Gender.” Handbook of Labor, Human Resources, and Population Economics, edited by Zimmermann, K., (2023).
• Gundersen, Sara, and Allison Shwachman Kaminaga. “Presentations To The President: A Role-Play Assignment For A Macroeconomics Principles Class.” Journal of Economics Teaching 7.3 (2022): 185-199
• “The Pentecostal Gender Paradox: Pentecostalism and Intimate Partner Violence in Ghana.” Journal of Economics, Management and Religion (2021): 2150003
• “Reward or Punishment?  An Examination of the Relationship Between Teacher and Parent Behavior and Test Scores in the Gambia,” co-written with Michael McKay, International Journal of Educational Development, 68, pp. 20-34, 2019
• “One Size Doesn’t Fit All:  A Project Designing Small-Scale Economic Development Projects,” co-written with Allison Scwachman Kaminaga, The Journal of Economic Education, DOI: 10.1080/00220485.2018.1551099, 2019
• “Will God Make Me Rich? An Investigation into the Relationship between Membership in Charismatic Churches, Wealth, and Women’s Empowerment in Ghana.” Religions 9, no. 6 (2018): 195
• “A Gospel of Prosperity?  An Analysis of the Relationship between Religion and Earned Income in Ghana, the Most Religious Country in the World,” co-written with Sedefka Beck, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 55.1, pp.105-129, 2016
• “Disappointing Returns to Education in Ghana: A Test of the Robustness of OLS Estimates using Propensity Score Matching,” International Journal of Education Development, vol. 50, pp. 74-89, 2016
• “Does Education Signal Ability in Ghana? An Analysis Comparing Wage Earners with the Self-Employed”, International Journal of Education Economics and Development, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 236-261, 2015
• “Is Market Power Destructive? An Undergraduate Assignment Using Adam Smith’s Criticisms of Monopolies,” International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 3.4, pp. 415-423 (published under Sara Bothun), 2012

Professional Affiliations

• American Economic Association (AEA)
• Center for the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP)