News

Economic Inequality and the Founding Fathers

Economic Inequality and the Founding Fathers

April 25, 2016

The Atlantic |Discussion of new book, American Growth and Inequality since 1700, by Peter Lindert and Jeffrey Williamson (Laird Bell Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard), also highlights The Citizen’s Share: Reducing Inequality in the 21st Century, by Joseph R. Blasi, Richard B. Freeman (Herbert Ascherman Professor of Economics), and Douglas L. Kruse.

Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System

Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System

April 25, 2016

Council of Economic Advisers | The Council of Economic Advisers makes the economic case for criminal justice reform. The report draws on and cites academic research by Inequality & Social Policy affiliates Bruce Western, Amitabh Chandra, David Deming, Roland Fryer, David Hureau (Ph.D. candidate in Sociology & Social Policy), Devah Pager, and Robert J. Sampson.

Stephen Hawking speaking at the launch of the Black Hole Initiative at Sanders Theater, Harvard University

Stephen Hawking visits Harvard for the inauguration of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative

April 25, 2016
"World-famous theoretical cosmologist Stephen W. Hawking discussed the history of and recent breakthroughs in research on black holes at the inauguration of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative in Sanders Theatre on Monday afternoon.
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Nancy F. Cott Begins Term as the Organization of American Historians (OAH) President

April 25, 2016

BLOOMINGTON, IN—Nancy F. Cott, the Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University, began her term as the president of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) for 2016-2017 on April 9.

Outgoing OAH President Jon Butler passed the ceremonial gavel to Cott after concluding the group’s annual business meeting earlier this month in Providence, Rhode Island.
Cott’s writings range widely over questions concerning women, gender, marriage, feminism, and citizenship from the eighteenth century to the contemporary United States. Her books include The Bonds of...

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American Ghetto

American Ghetto

April 24, 2016

The Chronicle Review | By Mario L. Small, Grafstein Family Professor of Sociology. Review of Mitchell Duneier's Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea. "The heart of book," writes Small, "is three detailed studies of black scholars who in the 1940s, ’60s, and ’80s wrote definitive texts on urban conditions among African-Americans," with William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, and The Truly Disadvantaged (1987) the focus of the third.

Leah Wright Rigueur on African Americans and Politics

Leah Wright Rigueur on African Americans and Politics

April 22, 2016

Harvard Kennedy School | Leah Wright Rigueur, an historian and assistant professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, sits down for a wide-ranging analysis of the 2016 presidential campaign, African Americans' relationship to the Republican and Democratic parties, and Black Lives Matter in historical context.

Do Felons Make Good Employees?

Do Felons Make Good Employees?

April 22, 2016

NPR Morning Edition | Devah Pager, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, explains how the military provided a natural experiment to test how those with felony records perform on the job and what she found.