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Social and Economic Inequality

sei-icon-100Economic growth and development depend upon all citizens having the opportunity to maximize their potential, whether this is in terms of family formation, career path, or other long-term objective. MPRC researchers study inequalities by race / ethnicity, social class, age, gender, context, and nativity / immigration status in this and other signature themes.

MPRC research in this category is unique in its focus on key institutional contexts. Although population research usually focuses on the individual or family as the unit of analysis, from an ecological perspective, the individual and family are nested in a set of broader institutional contexts. Such institutions include prisons, the criminal justice system, health care systems, family and welfare policy, the labor market, the military, firms, schools, states, or countries as the context for population-related behaviors.

Areas of focus include :

  • Individual and family inequality
  • Schools and colleges
  • Organizations and firms
  • Criminal justice system
  • Military

Examples of current projects in these areas are listed here.


Exploring the culture of despair

Exploring the culture of despair

Faculty Associate Melissa Kearney and Philip B. Levine find that inequality trumps location in predicting early childbearing out of wedlock

Exploring the culture of despair - Read More…

Macroeconomic Conditions and Marital Dissolution

Macroeconomic Conditions and Marital Dissolution

Faculty Associate Melissa Kearney explores marriage markets through an R03 with North Carolina State University

Macroeconomic Conditions and Marital Dissolution - Read More…

Penalties for Paid and Unpaid Care Work

Penalties for Paid and Unpaid Care Work

Faculty Associate Joan Kahn studies children's health under grant from the Russell Sage Foundation

Penalties for Paid and Unpaid Care Work - Read More…

Chen studying women's transition to later adulthood

Chen studying women's transition to later adulthood

Interdisciplinary project working with scholars from the University of North Carolina

Chen studying women's transition to later adulthood - Read More…

India Human Development Survey Second Wave (IDHS-II)

India Human Development Survey Second Wave (IDHS-II)

An NICHD grant valued at about $2.5 million over five years is funding the second wave of survey research for IHDS

India Human Development Survey Second Wave (IDHS-II) - Read More…

Shifts in Racial / Ethnic and Gender Composition in the Military

Shifts in Racial / Ethnic and Gender Composition in the Military

Social structure, social systems and social networks with applications to military personnel and operational issues

Shifts in Racial / Ethnic and Gender Composition in the Military - Read More…

Reconsidering Military Identity

Reconsidering Military Identity

David and Mady Segal reconsider the traditional formulations of the military profession.

Reconsidering Military Identity - Read More…

Institutional Context: Schools and Child Development

Institutional Context: Schools and Child Development

Melissa Milkie is completing an NICHD-funded project on “Social statuses, schools, and children’s problems”

Institutional Context: Schools and Child Development - Read More…

How Does Parental Stress Affect Child Outcomes?

How Does Parental Stress Affect Child Outcomes?

Natasha Cabrera has completed a paper on “Parenting and early predictors of Latino children’s cognitive and social development: Direct and Indirect Effects”

How Does Parental Stress Affect Child Outcomes? - Read More…

Intergenerational Parenting and Health

Intergenerational Parenting and Health

MPRC Associate Terrence Thornberry is studying Intergenerational Health using the Rochester Youth Development Study

Intergenerational Parenting and Health - Read More…

Using IHDS Data to Explore Inequality in India

Using IHDS Data to Explore Inequality in India

Sonalde Desai and Reeve Vanneman study the "Determinants of Maternal and Child Health in India"

Using IHDS Data to Explore Inequality in India - Read More…