About

Bio updated 2022.

Godsee supports federal clients via strategic advising, stakeholder engagement, leadership development, program evaluation, change management, behavioral insights, and data analysis/visualization. She thrives in ambiguous environments and excels at synthesizing complex ideas and insights for diverse audiences.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in Economics and Peace Studies. As a student, she worked part-time for two years at a poverty action lab in program evaluation. She is skilled in writing, research, and data analysis with proficiency in Stata, Tableau, and Excel and familiarity with RStudio and Python.

The profile below was current as of 2020 when she was part of the on-campus Kellogg community.

Godsee Joy’s senior thesis uses the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) dividends as a proxy for universal basic income to analyze the effects of that income shock on fertility and poverty. Her thesis advisor is Professor Bill Evans. Theory in economics suggests that when families have more income, they will prefer more children. If this income boost created an increase in fertility, then it becomes less clear if the dividends alleviated poverty since more members in a household means less income per person. The research with which Joy is assisting Professor Nilesh Fernando is quantitatively analyzing survey data from migrants from Sri Lanka who leave to find work in the Middle East. In particular, Professor Fernando is interested in understanding the mechanisms driving migrant choices of intermediary agencies and employers.

Though Joy did not use any fellowships to conduct research abroad, she has done two summer study abroad programs (Germany and Brazil) and is very involved in and passionate about anti-poverty program evaluation research via the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO). Joy is interested in facilitating collaboration between the private and public sectors and academia to drive and scale social impact internationally. She thus also has summer experience with government consulting in Washington, D.C. and with international and social entrepreneurship projects in SIBC.

Thesis Title: Working Title: Effects of Universal Basic Income on Fertility and Poverty
Thesis Adviser: Bill Evans

Adviser
A. Nilesh Fernando
Major(s)
Economics
Peace Studies
Minor(s)
Data Science
Current Research

Research Interests
I am interested in exploring the impacts of financial and mining transparency initiatives on local community livelihoods as well as impacts of environmental regulations and anti-poverty policies on life outcomes domestically.

Current Research
I currently provide updates to Professor Lopez on FATF resolutions, discussions, and timelines for high-risk and monitored countries when it comes to money laundering and terrorist financing. I also monitor bills, laws, and court cases from the US and UK regarding money laundering. Later this semester, I will be helping Professor Lopez with research for his book on crime, corruption, militarism, and terrorism.