In the News

After Trump: How authoritarian voters will change American politics

After Trump: How authoritarian voters will change American politics

April 28, 2016

Vox | Quotes Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, and Vanessa S. Williamson (Ph.D. '14), Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. Also cites research of Skocpol and Alex Hertel-Fernandez (Ph.D. candidate in Government & Social Policy) showing that wealthy donor networks have largely supplanted the GOP in the share of financial resources available for conservative causes and candidates.

To Ban the Box or Not Ban the Box? How Policy Change Can Affect Hiring and Employment

To Ban the Box or Not Ban the Box? How Policy Change Can Affect Hiring and Employment

April 27, 2016

Chicago Policy Review | Reviews new paper by Daniel Shoag (Ph.D. '11,  Assistant Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School) and Stan Veuger (AEI), which finds that ban-the-box measures increased employment of residents in high crime neighborhoods by as much as 4%, benefiting low-skilled African-American men, while reducing employment opportunities for women as employers responded by increasing experience requirements. View the paper.

Cities that used lead pipes to carry water have higher murder rates says new study

Cities that used lead pipes to carry water have higher murder rates says new study

April 22, 2016

International Business Times | Coverage of research by James Feigenbaum (Ph.D. candidate in Economics) and Christopher Muller (Ph.D. '14, now an RWJ Health & Society Scholar and Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley) linking lead exposure and violent crime in the early 20th century. Feigenbaum and Muller presented their paper, which is forthcoming in Explorations in Economic History, in the April 18 Inequality Seminar.

How Violence Shapes Children for Life

How Violence Shapes Children for Life

April 20, 2016

Washington Post | Discusses new research by Patrick Sharkey (Ph.D. '07), Associate Professor of Sociology at NYU, which suggests that places with more violent crime lower children's prospects for economic mobility. Nathaniel Hendren, Assistant Professor of Economics, comments on the study.

Lead Water Pipes Linked to Higher Murder Rates

Lead Water Pipes Linked to Higher Murder Rates

April 20, 2016

The Huffington Post | Spotlights research by James Feigenbaum (Ph.D. candidate in Economics) and Christopher Muller (Ph.D. '14, now an assistant professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley) linking lead exposure and violent crime in the early 20th century. Feigenbaum and Muller presented this work, which is forthcoming in Explorations in Economic History, in the Inequality Seminar on April 18. Read the Feigenbaum and Muller paper.

The Tobin Project: Conference on Inequality and Decision-Making Participants Selected

The Tobin Project: Conference on Inequality and Decision-Making Participants Selected

April 15, 2016

The Tobin Project | Inequality & Social Policy doctoral fellows Beth Truesdale (Ph.D. candidate in Sociology) and Robert Manduca (Ph.D. student in Sociology & Social Policy), and alumnae Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington (Ph.D. '14) and Vanessa Williamson (Ph.D. '15), are among the group of national and international scholars selected to participate in The Tobin Project's Conference on Inequality and Decision-Making, to be held August 4-5 in Cambridge.
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How conservative megadonors built a shadow GOP that weakened the official party

How conservative megadonors built a shadow GOP that weakened the official party

April 14, 2016

Vox | Elite donor groups have pulled Republican politicians to the far right on economic policy, according to research by Theda Skocpol (Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology), Alexander Hertel-Fernandez (Ph.D. candidate in Government & Social Policy), and Vanessa S. Williamson (Ph.D. '15, now a fellow at the Brookings Institution).

Good jobs without a degree? Boston's $3 million test

Good jobs without a degree? Boston's $3 million test

April 11, 2016

Christian Science Monitor | Facing problems of income inequality, US cities looking at new ways to create well-paying jobs for workers. With insights from Alicia Sasser Modestino (Ph.D. '01), associate professor at Northeastern University.

When the Poor Move, Do They Move Up?

When the Poor Move, Do They Move Up?

April 6, 2016

The American Prospect | Quotes Patrick Sharkey (Ph.D. '07) of New York University, and Justin Wolfers (Ph.D. '01) of University of Michigan.