Joe LaBriola

One week until the deadline! Apply by November 3 to our postdoctoral scholars program. Two positions starting in August 2026: one focused on #mobility and #poverty, the other on #wealth and/or wealth inequality. Learn more at the link below! @thegraduatecenter.bsky.social

Postdoc at the Minnesota Population Center, @minnpop.bsky.social

Applications open now and being evaluated on a rolling basis. Pass on to demographers you know!

(This one requires folks to relocate to the Twin Cities, because it involves work in the restricted data center)

Title: Explaining the Extracurricular Investment Gap for School-age Children between Married and Cohabiting Families. Abstract: Existing research finds that differences in economic resources explain a much larger share of the spending gap between married and single parents than between married and cohabiting parents. This study focuses on extracurricular spending and considers three non-economic explanations for why children in cohabiting families receive less than those in married households: the greater prevalence of non-biological parents in cohabiting households, the relatively shorter duration of cohabiting relationships, and potentially lower levels of relational commitment. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its 2014 and 2019 Child Development Supplement, I first reproduce established differences in parental spending by family structure. Accounting for biological parent status and relationship duration does little to further reduce the gap between married and cohabiting parents. These findings suggest that unmeasured aspects of commitment may shape family-structure differences in extracurricular investments, but they also highlight the need for continued research given the growing complexity of U.S. family living arrangements and the importance of parental financial investments for children’s development and long-term outcomes.

New working paper on family structure & parental investment in extracurriculars. Economic resources explain much of the spending gap between married & cohabiting families. What remains isn't explained by biological relatedness or relationship duration. Feedback welcome!
doi.org/10.31235/osf...

Not quite--Harvard is choosing to admit a cohort of six this year (still smaller than usual I think) and not next year.

Column | The cities where home prices have changed the most (and least) over the past 130 years Did your grandparents and great-grandparents really pay less for their homes than you did, even after inflation? The Department of Data might have the answer.

The cities where home prices have changed the most (and least) over the past 130 years wapo.st/46ZuESX

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

Inequality Readers. Generally, My Best Guess IBE, in y.

At the blog, I wrote about two very interesting recent methods articles - Inference to the Best Explanation and External/Construct Validity.

Very thoughtful pushback against the ascendancy of the credibility revolution.

asocial.substack.com/p/inequality...

Hope you enjoy!

HUD Issues Layoff Notices, Targeting Fair Housing Staff With Deep Cuts Fair housing staffers who investigate claims of housing discrimination at field offices nationwide were among the hundreds of HUD staffers who received layoff notices.

HUD laid off so many fair housing investigators on Friday that it shuttered the regional offices that oversee discrimination cases in 9 states: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Day 2. #ISIWealtheConference2025 #isimunich

Day 1. #isiwealthconference2025 #isimunich

Nafeesa Andrabi, Alexander Adames, Joe Labriola and Hannah Tessler at the gingham picnic table

Community is great! 💙
Thanks for coming to the PSC picnic...
@socinequality.bsky.social @joelabriola.bsky.social #PSCPicnic

US women narrowed the pay gap with men by having fewer kids Two sociologists found that when the pace at which family sizes was shrinking slowed down, starting in the 1990s, progress toward closing the gender pay gap grew sluggish too.

@sashakillewald.bsky.social in @us.theconversation.com:
"The number of children Americans have affects the gender pay gap only because parenthood decreases women’s wages while increasing men’s wages." @umichstonecid.bsky.social
theconversation.com/us-women-nar...

Where are Chicago’s lead pipes? Lead water service lines are all over the city. But majority Black and Latino neighborhoods bear the biggest burden, our analysis finds.

tinyurl.com/ymyz7v2v

Data that taxpayers have paid for and rely on is disappearing – here’s how it’s happening and what you can do about it Detailed data that US government agencies collect and make available has underpinned research about people, medicine, science, crime, jobs, housing, climate and the economy.

theconversation.com/data-that-ta...

Michael Phelps’ Letter And The Story USA Swimming Didn’t Tell You These opinions are my own, not on behalf of SwimSwam, its staff, or its partners. I write as someone who swam year-round from 1972 to 1996...

Some new background from Mel Stewart here: swimswam.com/michael-phel.... Some proposed solutions he has: get a CEO with swimmer experience and tie their pay to the growth of the sport

My sense is that there is a lot of discontent about USA Swimming that is just bubbling up now because the US team slightly underperformed relative to expectations at Worlds. But it also feels like a lot of people who know more aren't sharing all the details.

Swammer who still follows the sport here. It's a little vague, but several threads: 1) USA Swimming hasn't had a CEO for a year, 2) its registration is flat, 3) national team pay is insufficient to keep athletes afloat, 4) swimmers got sick at Worlds training camp, maybe by doing tourist activities?

With Deep N.I.H. Cuts, Research Into Health Disparities Falters In its campaign against “woke” science, the Trump administration has closed down studies and programs focused on the gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups.

Dr. Sunghee Lee (@sungheelee.bsky.social‬) featured in this NYT article examining the consequences of deep NIH cuts on health disparities research. Her work on dementia in underrepresented populations was defunded despite its critical value.
Read more: myumi.ch/W6dZb
#HealthEquity #SocialResearch

Join the Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics on Tuesdays from 10:30-12 noon as we host our Fall 2025 Speaker Series.

Have you seen what we're up to next semester? 👀 From #Econ & Public #Policy to #Sociology & Urban Planning, our fall lineup of speakers represent an array of fields studying social #inequality. #AcademicSky We hope you can joins us! 👇

inequality.umich.edu/fall-2025-sp...

August 1, 2025 AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations Statement from the American Economic Association on the Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today. The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day. Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias. The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity. Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions. We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure. Lawrence Katz President, American Economic Association Katharine Abraham President-Elect, American Economic Association Karen Dynan Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics Kenneth Troske Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing

As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements

This is a big deal

If you live in Ann Arbor and want to see Ann Arbor become more accessible for a greater range of households, please write city council / your ward representatives before tomorrow night's meeting to express your opposition! Or, even better, call the city clerk's office to sign up to speak :) (3/3)

The resolution would limit the construction of multifamily housing in residential neighborhoods, and allow for certain neighborhoods to implement setback requirements, lot coverage maximums, and limits on bedrooms per units. (2/3) a2gov.legistar.com/LegislationD...

I just emailed @a2gov-mirror.bsky.social to urge the City Council to vote NO on tomorrow's resolution, which will significantly limit the amount of new housing that can be built under the proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan. (1/3)

Your Credit Score Is Shaped by the Neighborhood Where You Grew Up What helps poor kids grow up to make better decisions about money? A new study of 25 million people finds an unexpected answer.

New paper!! We show access to credit differs by race, class & geography-diffs in credit scores emerge early & persist through life. Childhood contexts play large role-credit scores of parents & neighbors predict later-life repayment, even cond. on income, wealth, ed. www.wsj.com/economy/cred...

Financial and Transfer Income as Components of the Regional Economic Base Government transfers and financial income form a major component of the basic sector in the United States.

New working paper alert! Posted at @equitablegrowth.bsky.social, it investigates the economic geography of social transfer programs and financial income--with implications for the Medicaid and SNAP cuts proposed in the reconciliation bill 👀

equitablegrowth.org/working-pape...

New Data are now available from the PSID Data Center. The 2023 PSID Main Interview Data and Medicare Data are now available. Learn more by visiting the website. The image is blue with white text. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics logo is at the bottom.

New data are here! #PSIDdata are now available in the PSID #Data Center and zip packages. Learn more: buff.ly/weBpf1n

must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away

10 more days to apply! 👇 #academicsky #postdoc #nowhiring

Late-breaking postdoc opportunity at our Stone Center! Come join our amazing intellectual community @umichstonecid.bsky.social.

The Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics is now accepting applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. A Now Hiring stack of post-its is ont he left side of the graphic.

Job alert! We're now accepting applications for a Postdoc Research Fellow who will work with restricted and hard-to-access data related to the sources of class-based income #inequality on cutting-edge research topics. Apply by June 15! 👇 myumi.ch/155qg
#academicjobmarket #nowhiring #academicsky