I have always been interested in how female labor force participation impacts the economic wellbeing of families. In my PhD I studied this relationship in the context of divorced families with children in the United States. My work has contributed to several strands of research in this context, including: 1) how earnings and employment trajectories of divorced mothers evolve over the course of a divorce, 2) the role of child physical custody arrangements in earnings, economic well-being, and cost-sharing of mothers’ post-divorce households, and 3) the way mothers divide their time between employment, housework, and investments in children through several years after divorce. I have used diverse data in my work, including longitudinal and cross-sectional data coming from state administrative agencies in Wisconsin and nationally representative surveys, and applied a mixture of quantitative and qualitative techniques to answer my research questions. In my postdoctoral research at the Institute for Research on poverty, I am focusing on the economic wellbeing of low income families, particularly the role of debt in the financial portfolio of such families, the extent to which low income debt differs from mainstream debt, and its interaction with public policy and family structures. 

Peer Reviewed Articles

Bartfeld J., Chanda T. (forthcoming). Economic outcomes of shared placement among divorced mothers in Wisconsin. Social Sevice Review.

Chanda T. (2022). Economic wellbeing and labor supply patterns of subsequently divorcing mothers in Wisconsin. Journal of Family and Economic Issues. 

Mukhopadhyay, S., Chanda T. (2022). Abused but “not insulted”: Understanding intersectionality in symbolic violence. Indian Journal of Human Development, 16(1):119-138.

Heckman, S., Robb, C., & Chanda, T. (2022). Excess credits and labor market outcomes: Is there a return on additional hours of education? College Student Journal, 56(1), 12-28.

Work in Progress

“Placement, parenting, and work: An inquiry into the relationship between children’s living arrangements and labor market outcomes of divorced mothers in WI.”

“Does divorce lead to lower maternal time investments in children? A longitudinal study using the PSID CDS.”

“Children’s living arrangements and mothers’ economic well-being post-separation: Can shared care alleviate separated mother’s economic difficulties in Finland and the United States?”, with Mari Haapanen, Quentin Riser, Anneli Miettinen, Judith Bartfeld and Mia Hakovirta.

“Recent trends and determinants of children’s post-separation living arrangements: evidence from Wisconsin”, with Jungjin Koo and Judith Bartfeld

“Child Placement and Mothers' Long-Term Post-Divorce Circumstances: An Examination of Objective and Subjective Economic Well-Being”, with Judith Bartfeld 

“Stability of Placement Arrangements Among Divorced Wisconsin Mothers with Sole Mother and Shared Placement Orders”, with Judith Bartfeld 


Policy Reports

Bartfeld, J., Chanda, T., Berger, LM., Riser, QH. (2023). Shared Placement, Child Support Payments, and Sharing of Child-Related Expenses: Overview and Mothers’ Perception of Fairness. Report to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Bartfeld J., Chanda, T. (2022). Child support, child placement, repartnering, and divorced mothers’ objective and subjective economic well-being: insights from combining survey and administrative data. Report to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Bartfeld, J., Chanda, T., Berger, LM. (2021). Stability Of Placement Arrangements Among Divorced Wisconsin Families With Sole Mother And Shared Placement Orders. Report to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Berger, LM., Riser, QH., Bartfeld, J., Chanda, T. (2021). Satisfaction With Placement Arrangements Among Divorced Wisconsin Families With Sole Mother And Shared Placement Orders. Report to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Bartfeld, J., Chanda, T. (2020). Shared Placement and Post-Divorce Economic Well-Being. Report to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin–Madison.