Research

AMY L. ATCHISON

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

The core of my research agenda concerns the interplay between the executive and the legislature. I am particularly interested in how executive dominance over the legislature affects social policy outcomes. My dissertation addresses this topic in the context of a study of the influence of female officeholders on the adoption of female-friendly social policy in advanced industrial democracies. For initial results, please read my recent co-authored article in Poverty and Public Policy (below).

Please click the link below to read more about my research, including works in progress and future research plans.

A key element in my research is the development of a broad measure of female-friendliness. For the purposes of my research, I define female-friendly policies as those that allow women to harmonize motherhood and employment. To measure this, I am developing an index measure of the state’s support of women’s employment. Click below for more information. Please note that the index is a work in progress, and is thus subject to change.

Support for Women’s Employment Index

Research Statement