The James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Program in Wealth Distribution, Inequality, and Social Policy unites faculty, students, and researchers from across Harvard University and beyond to better understand and address the causes and consequences of wealth inequalities in different populations around the world.

Funded by the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation, the new program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy includes the work of the former Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy and adds new components, including a consortium of doctoral students in the social sciences whose research focuses on income and wealth inequality; policy-relevant and public-facing research that speaks to real-world problems; and public events to communicate research and engage members of the broader community.

On March 28, 2022 Harvard Kennedy School Dean Douglas Elmendorf announced the receipt of a $5 million gift to establish the new Stone Program, which builds on the success of the Stone PhD Scholars. The announcement of this gift coincided with the 2022 James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Lecture in Economic Inequality featuring economist and Nobel Memorial Prize recipient Joseph Stiglitz in conversation with economist David Autor, current visiting professor at Harvard Kennedy School.

Read the Harvard Kennedy School announcement.