Erkal completed her first degree at Macalester College in Minnesota. She went on to gain a master's and a doctorate degree at the University of Maryland.[1]
In 2007 Erkal published Optimal Sharing Strategies in Dynamic Games of Research and Development with Deborah Minehart of the United States Department of Justice.[2]
In 2018 Erkal was one of the authors of the paper "Effects of China's One Child Policy on its children". They analysed the effect of China's one-child policy using 400 subjects, and their conclusion was that it had created a generation of children who lacked social and economic qualities that were important for success.[3] Her co-authors were Lisa Cameron and Lata Gangadharan from Monash University and Xin Meng from the Australian National University.[3]
Erkal is known for investigating how the use of information and traditional methods of choosing leaders can result in discrimination against women.[1] In 2019 she was the lead author of a paper that proposed a policy that would encourage more women into leadership roles.[4] The paper noted that the current method of finding people to fulfil leadership roles was for candidates to "opt-in" to show their interest.[4] The paper proposed that women were willing to lead but they did not like to compete.[4] The paper proposed that candidates should be chosen after an opt-out process to determine candidates for a new position.[4]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Erkal was one of 265 economists who wrote an open letter to encourage the government to prioritise health before the economy.[5]
Erkal was elected to be a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia together with 36 others including David Kalisch, Catharine Coleborne and Lyn Parker in 2021.[6] She was appointed a member of the 2024 ARC College of Experts.[7]
