The Department of Economics is proud to announce that Abigail Meloche, a second year Bachelor of Economics student, has been announced as a successful candidate of CUROP 2023. The Carleton University Research Opportunity Program (CUROP) holds a competition each year for undergraduate research internships. Candidates design a research project in collaboration with a faculty member and if they are successful they receive funding in order to complete their research project over the summer. Abigail worked with Professor Frances Woolley to design her research project.
Hear about Abigail’s project in her own words: “Financial literacy permits people to access the benefits of economic growth, while reducing poverty, social exclusion and social immobility (Batsaikhan & Demertzis, 2018). Unfortunately, disadvantaged youth face additional barriers in accessing financial literacy information, rendering it more difficult to achieve their financial goals (Buckland, 2010)(Kaiser & Menkhoff, 2017). My research will explore the role of socioeconomic status in determining financial literacy rates across multiple countries. Then, it will identify when a financial literacy education intervention would be effective. This information would permit education policy makers to develop a financial literacy curriculum catered to students most in need. More broadly, this information may also guide policy that penalizes corporations that profit off vulnerable groups and incentivizes participation in education saving and pension plan programs in certain regions.”
Congratulations Abigail on this incredible achievement and we wish you all the best for your research project this summer!