Lerner's Lucas receives accolades for economics research

2:06 p.m., Dec. 19, 2013--Adrienne Lucas, assistant professor of economics in the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, has achieved the 27th position among the top 100 young economists globally active since 2009, RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) recently announced.

RePEc is an international index of research in the field of economics and ranks young economists active in publishing for five years, 10 years and 20 years or less through an analysis of research productivity as measured through number of works, citations, number of published pages and abstract views. 

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Based on her ranking, Lucas has had a measurable influence in the field of economics. 

Lucas’ research is in the field of development economics, specifically education and disease, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. Her work has appeared in top journals, including the American Economic Review (AER). In her most recent working paper, Lucas estimates the effect of a primary school literacy intervention in Kenya and Uganda on student achievement and attrition.

“The University of Delaware has allowed me the opportunity to pursue the research that I am passionate about, finding answers to questions that are vital to global economic development,” said Lucas. “This recognition demonstrates the impact of that research.”

According to RePEc, Lucas’ most cited work is "Malaria Eradication and Educational Attainment: Evidence from Paraguay and Sri Lanka," which appeared in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics in 2010.

Other frequently cited works include “The Impact of Malaria Eradication on Fertility,” published in 2013 in Economic Development and Cultural Change; and “Access, Sorting and Achievement: the Short-Run Effects of Free Primary Education in Kenya,” published in 2012 in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.

In the coming months, Lucas plans to use a sabbatical to work on a number of projects on education and health policy in Kenya and Zambia.

Her work was featured in a recent issue of University of Delaware Research magazine.