Studies

The Determinants and Effects of CEO-Employee Pay Ratios

2013 study from Northeastern University and Bentley University showing the underlying factors that influence how CEO pay is determined and how it affects workers.

The Vanishing Middle: Job Polarization and Workers’ Response to the Decline in Middle-Skill Jobs

2013 study form the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City showing how job polarization is not merely the result of a decline in U.S. manufacturing, but rather is a structural issue across sectors.

Reading list on income inequality: A Storify presentation of data and findings

Updated April 2013: A review of relevant studies and papers on U.S. income inequality, as presented through the Storify publishing platform.

Investing in Children: Changes in Parental Spending on Children

2012 study in the journal Demography showing how American parents are spending increasing amounts of resources on their children.

“Resource curse,” poverty and Appalachia; lessons in research, data and politics

2013 study from Ohio State University on the effects of coal mining and poverty in the Appalachia region.

Federal Student Loan Debt Burden of Noncompleters: Statistics in Brief

2013 report for National Center for Education Statistics examines the median federal student debt burden accrued by students who did not complete a postsecondary credential within six years.

Improving Employment and Earnings for TANF Recipients

2012 paper from the Urban Institute summarizing the latest research on programs that assist poor families and the strategies that have proved most effective.

Happiness Among the Garbage: Differences in Overall Happiness among Trash Pickers in León (Nicaragua)

2013 study in The Journal of Positive Psychology providing rare insights into the community of trash pickers living in extreme poverty in Nicaragua.

How Long Will It Take to Lift One Billion People out of Poverty?

2013 paper in the World Bank Research Observer that estimates, under an optimistic scenario, a billion people could be lifted out of extreme poverty by 2027.

Getting on the Right Track: Improving Low-Income and Minority Access to Mortgage Credit after the Housing Bust

2012 report from Harvard University on impact of the 2008 housing crash on low-income and minority individuals.

University Based Service Learning: Relating Mentor Experiences to Issues of Poverty

2012 study from Vanderbilt University on the effects of a service learning mentoring program and college students’ learning about social inequality.

Women, work and work/life balance: Research roundup

2013 review of academic scholarship and government research on women, work and work/life balance.

Affirmative action in university admissions: Research roundup

Roundup of recent research on affirmative action, diversity and racial attitudes at U.S. universities.

Effects of raising the minimum wage: Research review and key lessons

2013 literature review of academic studies that look at the minimum wage, its effects and policy implications.

Why Has Regional Income Convergence in the U.S. Stopped? Zoning and Inequality

2012 paper from Harvard University exploring how restrictive zoning across the United States had decreased labor mobility and stalled progress toward diminishing income inequality.

Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market

2013 and 2010 studies for the National Bureau of Economic Research on changes in the U.S. labor market, the “hollowing out” of middle-income jobs, and disparities between high- and low-wage jobs.

What Do We Really Know About Racial Inequality? Labor Markets, Politics, and the Historical Basis of Black Economic Fortunes

2011 paper from the University of Chicago consolidating previous scholarship that attempts to explain ongoing employment and earnings disparities for African-Americans.

Is it Generalized Anxiety Disorder or Poverty? An Examination of Poor Mothers and Their Children

2012 study from Rutgers finds that overly broad definitions of mental illness have resulted in improper categorization of some poor mothers as suffering from psychiatric conditions.

Gentrification and Low Income Neighborhoods: Entry, Exit and Enhancement

2010 study from the United States Census Bureau and New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy on gentrification and displacement.

The Rise of Residential Segregation by Income

2012 study from the Pew Research Center on how the American demographic landscape is seeing increasing numbers of areas segregated by income.