Social and Economic Inequality
Economic 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.
Payne-Sturges examines food insecurity among college students
Two articles shine light on growing public health issue
New Developments at the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity
New appointments, past and upcoming programs
IPUMS - Time Use website launched
Hofferth and colleagues help make time use data readily accessible
Report on Big Data in Survey Research
Frauke Kreuter and colleagues debate key methodological issues in Public Opinion Quarterly article
Google searches for ‘n-word’ associated with black mortality
UMD-led study first to link an Internet query-based measure of racism to death rates
Laurie DeRose: The World Family Map Project
The World Family Map Project investigates what makes families strong
The Healthy Generations Program: Improving Access to Mental Health Care
New model of integrated service delivery makes mental health services more accessible to teenaged parents
How does interview methodology affect interviewer variance?
Frauke Kreuter compares the effectiveness of commonly-used face-to-face interview methods
Gneisha Dinwiddie Investigates Links Between Race, Lifelong Stress, and Cardiovascular Disease
Ongoing social and economic stress leads to racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease outcomes
Developing Nations: "Our Pollution is Your Consumption"
MPRC Faculty Associate Klaus Hubacek demonstrates how material consumption in rich countries is fueled by pollution and environmental destruction in the developing world
Race, Gender, and Educational Achievement
Odis Johnson investigates how social issues affect education
Affordable Care for All?
Faculty associate Jerome Dugan investigates the relationship between socioeconomic status, health insurance coverage, and affordable quality care
Race, Gender, and Obesity: How the Social Environment Constrains or Enables Physical Activity
Faculty associate Rashawn Ray investigates the social and environmental changes needed in order to remove neighborhood barriers to regular physical exercise
More Young Adults Are Financially Dependent on Parents Than 50 Years Ago
Demography article by Kahn, Goldscheider, and Garcia-Manglano examines changing family residence patterns
Families and Inequality
Faculty Associate Philip Cohen brings sociology research to the public eye by tackling thorny issues about race, gender, family, and inequality in an online public forum.
The Displaced New Orleans Residents Study
MPRC Director Michael Rendall is working with Faculty Associate Paul Torrens, Geography, to analyze social, economic, and health outcomes for New Orleanians
Institutional Change and the Consequences of Military Service
In a Collaborative Research project funded by the National Science Foundation, Meredith Kleykamp looks at outcomes in marriage, education, employment and earnings among veterans and non-veterans over the last 40 years.
Inequality and Teenage "Drop Out" Behaviors
Melissa Kearney and colleagues examine a hypothetical "desperation" effect on economically disadvantaged students through a grant funded by the Smith Richardson Foundation
Nurturing Dads: Social Initiatives for Contemporary Fatherhood
Faculty Associate Kevin Roy co-authors book on public policy impacts on fatherhood
Job creation linked to company age, not size
Faculty Associate John Haltiwanger's paper with two Census Bureau economists challenges conventional wisdom