Research

Dr. McCarty's research interests include applied microeconomics and public policy, particularly in the areas of volunteering, charitable giving, education policy and public health policy. She uses both traditional econometric and experimental methods. A list of ongoing and completed research can be found on her SSRN page (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=746439).

Published:

Hagues, R., & McCarty, S. H. (in press, 2022). Examining policies towards adolescent pregnancies across Africa: What is the relationship between religion and education policy? Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work.

Hagues, Rachel, and McCarty, S. (2022) The Consequences of Forcing Pregnant Girls Out of School: a Study Focused on Tanzania. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, DOI: 10.1007/s41134-021-00186-w.

Kalenkoski, Charlene, and McCarty, S. (2020/2021) In or Out or Somewhere in Between? The Determinants of Gradual Retirement. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, DOI 10.1007/s10834-020-09734-4.

Thornton, J, Stokes, C, and McCarty, S. (2019) An Evangelical Anomaly: Religious Observance and Intertemporal Choice. Religion and Education, 46:4, 401-433, DOI: 10.1080/15507394.2019.1643216

McCarty, S. Helms (2018). Formation: A Symposium on Living as a Christian in Economics. Faith & Economics, 71, 25-61 (53-56).

McCarty, S. Helms, Angner, E., Scott, B., and Culver, S. (2017). Mandated Volunteering: An Experimental Approach. Applied Economics, available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00036846.2017.1414931.

McCarty, S. Helms, Diette, T., and Holloway, B. How Low Can You Go? An Investigation into Matching Gifts in Fundraising. Accepted in 2017 for publication in Review of Behavioral Economics.

Thornton, J., McCarty, S. Helms, and Stokes, C. Divine Restraint: An experimental analysis of religious preference and intertemporal discounting, accepted at Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics.

Yerkes, R., Bates, L., McCarty, S. (2016). "Implications of Tax Provision and Subsidy on Municipal Bond Yields," accepted at Journal of Investment.

Helms McCarty, S., Diette, T., & Holloway, B. (2015). Acquiring New Donors: A Field Experiment Using Bonus Trigger Incentives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly., doi: 10.1177/0899764015583120.

Helms, S. & McKenzie, T. (2014). Gender Differences in Formal and Informal Volunteering in Germany. Voluntas, 25(4), 887-904. doi: 10.1007/s11266-013-9378-1.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11266-013-9378-1

Helms, S. & Diette, T. (2014). Trading the Television for a Textbook? High School Exit Exams and Student Behavior. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 14 (3), 22.

Helms, S. (2013). Involuntary Volunteerism: The Impact of Mandated Service in Public Schools. Economics of Education Review, 36, 295-310.

Helms, S., Scott, B., & Thornton, J. (2013). New Evidence on Charitable Gift Restrictions. Applied Economics Letters, 20 (17), 1521-1526.

Thornton, J. & Helms, S. (2013). Afterlife Incentives in Charitable Giving. Applied Economics, 45(19), 2779-2791.

Diette, T. & Helms, S. (2013). Sweat the Small Stuff: The Effect of Small Incentive Changes on Participation in Service-Learning. International Review of Economic Education, 12, 20-32.

Helms, S. & Thornton, J. (2102). The Influence of Religiosity on Charitable Behavior: A COPPS Investigation. Journal of Socio-Economics, 41, 373-383.

Helms, S., Scott, B., & Thornton, J. (2011). Choosing to give more: experimental evidence on restricted gifts and charitable behaviour. Applied Economics Letters, 19 (8), 745-748.

Abraham, K., Helms, S., & Presser, S. How Social Processes Distort Measurement: The Effects of Survey Nonresponse on Inferences about Volunteer Work in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 114(4), January 2009: 1129-1165.

[Also National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper, W14076]

Under review:

Thornton, J., McCarty, S. Helms, and Stokes, C. (2016). An Evangelical Anomaly: Religious Observance and Intertemporal Choice.

Works in progress:

Do State Precursor Laws Matter? An Investigation into the Methamphetamine Market in the US, joint with Bryce Sutton, Melissa Woodley, and Yulia Khodneva, mimeo, Samford University, 2012.

Wasting the Summer Away? Student Time Use as an Explanation for Summer Learning Loss, joint with Timothy Diette, mimeo, Samford University, 2012.

Getting In Over Their Heads: Correlation of Individual Characteristics & Risky Mortgage Decisions, joint with Bisakha Sen and Anindya Sen.