Areas of research include child support, family structure, government policy, and consumer information acquisition. There are five researchers focusing on three different areas of the broad field of Family and Consumer Economics.
Faculty coordinate their research with teaching and outreach responsibilities.
Professor Brenda Cude and Assistant Professor Michael Ward focus primarily on Consumer Economics topics and issues. Cude's research on environmental marketing claims has been used by the Federal Trade Commission. Ward's major contributions continue to be in the area of telecommunications competition and regulation, and his research sheds light on likely effects of currently debated regulatory proposals. Cude and Ward share an interest in consumer information research. Ward is currently investigating the use of the Internet to lower consumer information costs.