Manuel Schechtl's Avatar

Manuel Schechtl

@schechtlm.bsky.social

Assistant Prof. at UNC-Chapel Hill | previously Postdoc at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality | PhD from Humboldt University Berlin | inequality, wealth, poverty, taxes, redistribution, social & public policy. https://schechtl.github.io

1,764 Followers  |  610 Following  |  54 Posts  |  Joined: 20.09.2023  |  1.89

Latest posts by schechtlm.bsky.social on Bluesky

While most people prefer equal inheritance, wealthy individuals are more willing to support unequal transfers when they help preserve wealth across generations ➑️ based on new experimental evidence now published with @natrinh.bsky.social and @dariatisch.bsky.social in @sfjournal.bsky.social

17.02.2026 16:46 β€” πŸ‘ 23    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ“–πŸš€New w/ @yiangli.bsky.social & Linda Waite in @ssreditorial.bsky.social. Ever wonder how your spouse’s childhood shows up in your life? Our β€œLinked Long Arms” framework shows early disadvantage can echo into later-life friendships, confidants, and community ties. More in doi.org/10.1016/j.ss...

16.01.2026 16:09 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

(If you haven’t yet pinned Paper Skygest, a personalized feed for Bluesky posts about papers, you can check it out here ‡️) (2/7)

14.01.2026 19:48 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

aaaaaah how did I miss this!? Congrats, Max!!

10.12.2025 02:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

Not exactly the problem you are describing but FEIS could be interesting here? Depending on what your treatment is doi.org/10.1177/0049...

09.12.2025 17:36 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I think this figure is very convincing in terms of causality. From this paper: doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

08.12.2025 22:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

GefΓΌhlschaos

03.12.2025 23:14 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Billionaire Migration: An Interactive Map An interactive map of city-level migration flows for 3,106 billionaires from birth to most recent residence.

New from me:

An interactive data visualization showing billionaire migration: paths from birthplace to most recent residence for > 3,100 of the world’s richest individuals.

Most importantly, fun to play around with; also, useful for thinking about q's re: elites and comparative wealth ineq. 1/5

10.11.2025 10:31 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 4
Abstract for "The truly isolated: Spatial isolation of advantage in the United States" by Shannon Rieger, Angela Li, and Patrick Sharkey, published at Urban Studies

Abstract for "The truly isolated: Spatial isolation of advantage in the United States" by Shannon Rieger, Angela Li, and Patrick Sharkey, published at Urban Studies

πŸ‘‰ Our new paper uses daily mobility data to show that spatial isolation is much more common today among those living in advantaged neighborhoods than the converse.

πŸ‘©πŸ»β€πŸ’» Lots of massive data wrangling and careful assumptions about mobility data needed - but check it out here! doi.org/10.1177/0042...

24.11.2025 17:20 β€” πŸ‘ 173    πŸ” 52    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 15
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🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro areaβ€”creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]

24.11.2025 16:31 β€” πŸ‘ 421    πŸ” 178    πŸ’¬ 9    πŸ“Œ 37

finding out what "Buffy" is right now πŸ˜…

13.11.2025 19:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Effect of Rising Income Inequality on Taxation and Public Expenditures: Evidence from U.S. Municipalities and School Districts, 1970–2000 Abstract. The income distribution in many developed countries widened dramatically from 1970 to 2000. Some scholars argue that income inequality contributes to a host of social ills by undermining vot...

Shift-share instruments! 😁 doi.org/10.1162/REST...

11.11.2025 22:14 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Effect of Increasing Wealth Inequality on U.S. Democracy at the State Level - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Manuel Schechtl, a 2022–2024 Stone Center postdoctoral scholar, discusses his Stone Center Working Paper, which combines two new sources of data to compare the extent of democratic backsliding in all ...

Rising wealth concentration tends to undermine democracy, according to a Stone Center Working Paper by @schechtlm.bsky.social. In this interview, he discusses how he drew on two new sources of data to compare democratic backsliding in 50 U.S. states.
stonecenter.gc.cuny.edu/the-effect-o...

11.11.2025 18:07 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
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Is childhood exposure to local wealth inequality associated with upward income mobility achieved in adulthood? Yes! Check out my new paper, just published in @natureportfolio.nature.com here: doi.org/10.1038/s414... #EconSky #Sociology #Demography

15.10.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 71    πŸ” 25    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3
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The association between childhood exposure to local wealth inequality and intergenerational income mobility in the United States - Nature Communications Here the author shows that childhood exposure to higher local wealth inequality is associated with lower upward income mobility for children from families with low incomes

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

15.10.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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One pathway through which childhood exposure to local wealth inequality might influence upward mobility of low-income kids is through its association with educational outcomes.

15.10.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Simulation exercises suggest that childhood exposure to local wealth inequality is more central to upward mobility than exposure to local income inequality itself.

15.10.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Combining wealth estimates from geowealth-us and mobility data from opportunity insights, I demonstrate a negative association between childhood exposure to wealth inequality and upward income mobility outcomes later in life.

15.10.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Is childhood exposure to local wealth inequality associated with upward income mobility achieved in adulthood? Yes! Check out my new paper, just published in @natureportfolio.nature.com here: doi.org/10.1038/s414... #EconSky #Sociology #Demography

15.10.2025 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 71    πŸ” 25    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3

Do you have cited posts, reposts, and responses activated to show up on your following feed? This created a way more active timeline for me. Also added pinned feeds by topic. I like that I can customize the whole experience. πŸ˜€

06.10.2025 23:35 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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I am organizing session 711 Wealth Inequality: International
Comparative Perspectives at PAA 2026. Deadline for submissions is Oct 5th. Non-comparative papers on wealth inequality are also welcome.

01.10.2025 13:26 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I am organizing session 711 Wealth Inequality: International
Comparative Perspectives at PAA 2026. Deadline for submissions is Oct 5th. Non-comparative papers on wealth inequality are also welcome.

01.10.2025 13:26 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Manuel Schechtl will join us at the Stone Center on September 9 to present Rising Wealth Concentration and Disparities in Social Outcomes Across the United States.

Manuel Schechtl will join us at the Stone Center on September 9 to present Rising Wealth Concentration and Disparities in Social Outcomes Across the United States.

ICYMI: See what we're up to in September: mailchi.mp/umich/cid-se...
First up: @schechtlm.bsky.social on September 9! #AcademicSky #PublicPolicy #WealthInequality

28.08.2025 18:08 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Tocqueville on the incompatibility of economic inequality with democracy.

13.08.2025 21:28 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Applications Are Open for Two Postdoctoral Positions at the GC CUNY Stone Center - Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality The Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality is seeking applicants for an eighth cohort of postdoctoral scholars. These full-time, two-year positions will begin in August 2026.

We invite applications for two postdoctoral scholars! These 2-year positions start in Aug. 2026 and are based at the GC CUNY Stone Center in NYC. One is focused on #mobility and #poverty, the other on #wealth and/or wealth inequality. Apply by Nov. 3!
#EconSky #Sociology #PoliSciSky
bit.ly/40TZR6J

06.08.2025 16:13 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 26    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
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Federal place-based policy and the geography of inequality in the United States, 1990–2019 Abstract. This paper assesses the growth and spatial distribution of federal place-based policies in the United States. Using a novel dataset of federal pl

πŸ“£ Hot off the press πŸ“£
We document tremendous growth in U.S. federal place-based funding, show it has disproportionately gone to areas with more nonprofits & stronger housing markets, and find a pattern of cumulative advantage in funding among high-poverty neighborhoods.

doi.org/10.1093/sf/s...

29.07.2025 21:00 β€” πŸ‘ 28    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Unnatural Wills: Inheritance DisputesΒ and Inequality Within the conceptual frame of relational economic sociology, inheritance disputes are a canonical form of relational mismatch. But the social patterning of relational mismatches, and their various t...

I am soo excited to share my newest article, β€œUnnatural Wills.” It’s about inheritance disputes!!! Murder, gold diggers, sex work, racial passing, secret lesbian lovers…WOW this was fun to write, and I hope it’s fun to read, too.

23.07.2025 14:56 β€” πŸ‘ 75    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 9
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⚠️ New timely WP ⚠️ Rising wealth inequality and democratic backsliding at the US state-level #EconSky #Sociology #PolicySky
@stone-lis.bsky.social WP here: doi.org/10.31235/osf...

16.07.2025 17:00 β€” πŸ‘ 72    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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This is based on the geowealth-us data (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) and the state democracy index (democracypolicylab.berkeley.edu/state-democr...)

16.07.2025 17:00 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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⚠️ New timely WP ⚠️ Rising wealth inequality and democratic backsliding at the US state-level #EconSky #Sociology #PolicySky
@stone-lis.bsky.social WP here: doi.org/10.31235/osf...

16.07.2025 17:00 β€” πŸ‘ 72    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

@schechtlm is following 20 prominent accounts