Florencia Torche

The Birthrate Is Plunging. Why Some Say That’s a Good Thing.

Happy to have contributed to this along w/ @karenguzzo.bsky.social @marthajbailey.bsky.social & Melissa Kearney. My favorite from Karen: “We spent decades shaming women 4 having kids under the wrong circumstances, 4 not having their ducks in a row. Now they are holding up their end of the bargain.”

Results show a marked relationship between increases in local wealth inequality and reduced mobility for children in the lower half of the income distribution.

⚠️ New WP ⚠️ with @ftorche.bsky.social: Can childhood exposure to local wealth inequality help explain growing class gaps in income mobility? Short answer: Yes! Read the full answer here: doi.org/10.31235/osf... #Demography #Sociology #EconSky

85% of babies in 2026 will be born in Asia and Africa.

New Post-Doc Opportunity:

Princeton OPR is hiring postdocs in population studies.

PhD in demography or related fields (sociology, economics, epi, etc.) welcome.

Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/181246

Review begins 3/1/16. Please share!

The McLanahan Award is given in honor of Sara McLanahan, a remarkable scholar, mentor, and policy advisor. The award goes to a senior scholar for extraordinary contributions to the study of family change, the well-being of children and families, and related social policies.

Beginning of job description. It states: "The Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor who has expertise in a broad range of epidemiologic methods. About the Job The Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, invites applications at the rank of Assistant Professor (tenure-track). As a faculty member, the individual will actively contribute to the Division’s mission through research, teaching, advising, and professional service activities. Key responsibilities include: ● Maintain and expand expertise in the application of foundational and cutting-edge epidemiologic methods. Candidates are expected to have a deep understanding of causal inference, bias mitigation, and statistical modelling. Expertise across diverse epidemiologic methods and content areas is welcomed. ● Develop a research program that incorporates rigorous epidemiologic methods, and collaborate with other faculty as a co-investigator on new grant initiatives. Example areas of possible methodologic applications include, but are not limited to, causal analysis, bias analysis, infectious disease modelling, mutational signatures in cancer, -omics data applications, spatial and temporal analyses, pharmacoepidemiology, quasi-experimental methods, implementation science, generative artificial intelligence and/or machine learning, digital health, wearables, etc. ● Contribute to Epidemiology curriculum development, teach epidemiologic methods as part of the Epidemiology PhD methods sequence and other classes as needed, and participate in development of the PhD qualifying examinations. Advising PhD, post-doctoral, and master's students is also expected. ● Actively engage in service, including at a national level through professional organizations focused on epidemiologic methods. ● Serve as a resource for translating up-to-date epidemiologic methods to applications i…

Good morning epi methods community! Please consider applying for (and spreading the word about) this position here at Minnesota. It's a great place to be! (You can read the whole description and apply here: apply.interfolio.com/179313) #EpiSky

Did you publish a sociological book about families in 2024 or 2025? You should nominate it for the ASA Goode Book Award! I'm on the committee and looking forward to reading nominated books 🤓

finally, we're living through precedented times

“Severe Tornadoes & Infant Birth Weight”: In considering “environmental hazards as drivers of inequality & stratification,” @nickdemark.bsky.social et al. show how severe tornadoes led to ↓ in birth weight for the infants of Black mothers, esp. early in pregnancy. read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...

Billionaires with $1 salaries – and other legal tax dodges the ultrawealthy use to keep their riches The richest Americans can largely avoid paying income and other taxes. A new book explains the history.

The obscenely wealthy rarely earn much in taxable income, and our system is replete with ways for the mega-rich to avoid paying taxes. Yet we're still blaming immigrants for our economic woes - and that's exactly how the mega-rich want it. It's all misdirection so they can hoard wealth and power.

In “Consequences of Community Violence for Contraceptive Use & Provision in Mexico,” @signesvallfors.bsky.social @mlcaudillo.bsky.social & O. Torrisi find exposure to violence is associated with accelerated transition to first use, esp. for long-term exposure. read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...

Effects of the President’s Party on Infant Health Across Racial & Ethnic Groups in the United States - Florencia Torche, Tamkinat Rauf, 2025 This visualization extends previous research reporting a positive effect of prenatal exposure of Democratic presidencies on the health outcomes of Black and Whi...

Link to the Socius article: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New visualization in @sociusjournal.bsky.social

Extending our prior work with new data through 2024 we show infant health improves under Democratic presidents

Black, White, Hispanic & Asian babies benefit, with largest gains for Black infants.

Joint w terrific @tsrauf.bsky.social

Important new paper on policy implementation and how to reduce stigma and boost participation in safety net policies.

I’m hiring a postdoc! Flexible in terms of details, but I’m looking for someone to collaborate with on research about labor market inequality. I’ll review applications as they come in and the posting just went up here:
apply.interfolio.com/178873

U.S. Birth Rate Trends: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications for American Families Consider joining us on Wednesday, December 10, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in 2075 Rayburn House Office Building for ice cream and engaging presentations about U.S. fertility trends and related policies. An expert panel of leading social scientists will discuss national and international birth rate trends and evidence on the effects of policy incentives, such as tax credits and paid family leave, in impacting an individual’s decision to start a family. The discussion is particularly timely given the Trump Administration’s interest in encouraging higher birth rates nationwide. Speakers: Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Dr. Melissa Kearney, University of Notre Dame Dr. Jennifer Sciubba, Population Reference Bureau

Looking forward to participating in this Congressional Briefing on U.S. birth rates with @econmsk.bsky.social & @prbdata.bsky.social's Jennifer Sciubba next week, sponsored by @popassocamerica.bsky.social.

If you're in the DC area, join us! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

3 factors at play: (1) legacy admissions, (2) non-academic credentials, (3) athletes

Start from the top, get rid of legacy preferences gwagner.com/legacy

@oppinsights.bsky.social

I’m recruiting a postdoctoral associate at NYU Abu Dhabi. Position is for 3 years with excellent salary, housing and benefits. Please share widely. For more information and application, link ⬇️

apply.interfolio.com/177935

Call for two or more open-rank academic positions in Sociology

LAST CALL! #Sociology Professorships in Copenhagen, Denmark!

We're hiring 2+ open-rank profs (Asst/Assoc/Full). Any area.

Deadline: this Saturday, Nov 15!

Join a leading European sociology department. Please repost!

jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabeli...

🚨 We’re hiring! Yale Sociology is searching for a Senior Quantitative Sociologist to join our department.

Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/174709

The Trump administration’s threat to deploy troops in Portland is unlawful.

Here’s a thought.

Focus on protecting the healthcare of the American people.

State Terror A brief guide for Americans

Revisiting this piece I wrote in April 2025. "State Terror: A brief guide for Americans"
snyder.substack.com/p/state-terror

Interested in intergenerational mobility in the United States? Join the National Academies for a webinar on Economic and Social Mobility in the United States on Monday, September 22, at 2:00 p.m. ET.

More information & registration: www.nationalacademies.org/event/45575_... @nationalacademies.org

Thrilled to co-author 2 recent qualitative papers that perfectly demonstrate the importance of mixed methods research to inform US policy. In the first aptly titled "It's confusing as hell" we examined lived experiences of low-income people applying for the EITC. academic.oup.com/healthaffair... 1/

You Really Need to See Epstein’s Birthday Book for Yourself This time, the conspiracy theorists were right.

I wrote about what I think is a genuinely revealing document of elite depravity and impunity. It is shocking and sickening. But it's also a crucial moment. We're about to see what happens when conspiracy theorists actually get what they asked for but it turns out not to be what they want.

Ending publication of monthly Current Economic Statistics (CES) would violate the will of Congress as expressed federal law.

It would also violate OMB's Statistical Policy Directive 3, which governs all Principal Federal Economic Indicators, including the CES.
www.bls.gov/bls/statisti...

⚠️ 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...

In Memoriam: Distinguished Professor Emeritus Richard Alba An eminent demographer and sociologist, he challenged conventional thinking on how immigrants integrate into U.S. society.

Very saddened to learn of the passing of Richard Alba, a towering figure in the sociology of immigration. His work shaped the understanding of assimilation, ethno-racial boundaries, and the changing American mainstream.
🔗 www.gc.cuny.edu/news/memoria...

welcome to Bluesky, @stefanie-deluca.bsky.social !