Karen Duncan, PhD, PHEc

Research summary

Dr. Karen Duncan is a social scientist focused on the economic and financial security of families and individuals. Her research interests include consumer insolvency, family businesses, time use, work-family interrelationships, and the cost of raising children. Recently, her work has explored the economic costs of family caregiving and how these costs contribute to financial hardship. Dr. Duncan has received funding from various organizations, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and the Canadian Home Economics Foundation. She has extensive experience analyzing household survey data and has received awards for both her research and teaching excellence.

Research interests

• Cost of raising children
• Consumer insolvency
• Economic and financial security of families
• Economic costs of family caregiving
• Family businesses
• Time use
• Work-family interrelationships

Research affiliations

• Member, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada research committee on financial literacy

Dr. Karen Duncan is an associate professor in community health sciences at the University of Manitoba. Her research focuses on the economic and financial security of families and individuals, with a particular emphasis on the economic costs of family caregiving and financial hardship. Other research interests include work-family interrelationships, consumer insolvency, families in business, time use, and the cost of raising children.

Dr. Duncan earned her PhD and Master of Science from Ohio State University and her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics (with distinction) from the University of Saskatchewan. She has received several awards for both research and teaching excellence, including the University of Manitoba Students' Union and University Teaching Services Teaching Excellence Award (2005) and the Manitoba Association of Home Economists (MAHE) Excellence in Teaching Award (1997, 2000, 2004).

She is a member of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s research committee on financial literacy and has served on the board of Community Financial Counselling Services in Winnipeg. Dr. Duncan is also a past president of the American Council on Consumer Interests. Her research has been funded by organizations such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and the Canadian Home Economics Foundation.

Dr. Duncan has extensive experience analyzing household survey data, resulting in numerous publications and presentations. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in family economic health, family finance, consumer issues, work-family dynamics, and caregiving across the life course.

Her work has earned recognition in the field of family economics and family resource management, particularly for exploring the connections between paid work, unpaid family caregiving, and their implications for families and policy. 

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio State University

Master of Science (MSc), Ohio State University

Bachelor of Science in Home Economics (BScHEc), with Distinction, University of Saskatchewan

Awards

2020

• First place, research poster competition, American Council on Consumer Interests

2005

• Teaching Excellence Award, University of Manitoba Students’ Union and University Teaching Services

2001

• Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors 2001 Award for Excellence (presented to members of the research team of “Family Businesses: Interaction in Work and Family Spheres”) in recognition of outstanding contributions to Northeastern multistate research
• Founders’ Award for Excellence in Research Methodology, Canadian Association for Research in Home Economics

1997, 2000, 2004

• Manitoba Association of Home Economists (MAHE) Excellence in Teaching Award