Race, Poverty, and Inequality: Institute for Policy Research

The issues of inequality, poverty, and racism are consistent threads woven throughout IPR faculty research—and have constituted major research themes from the day the Institute first opened its doors. To examine these pernicious problems, faculty researchers cast a wide net, tackling a variety of topics that shed light on gaps in race, socioeconomic status, opportunity, and housing.

A Message From Chloe Thurston, Program Chair

In the program on Race, Poverty, and Inequality, IPR researchers examine the causes and implications of inequality, poverty and racism in the U.S. and around the world. IPR scholars tackle these questions by examining the psychological processes and role of law, politics, and social processes in creating and maintaining social inequality, whether as seen in disparities in educational outcomes, income and wealth, labor markets, exposure to violence, or health disparities.

Working Papers

Recently published articles and working papers in this program area include:

Emily A. Beam, Lasse Brune, Narayan Das, Stefan Dercon, Nathanael Goldberg, Rozina Haque, Dean Karlan, Maliha Khan, Doug Parkerson, Ashley Pople, Yasuyuki Sawada, Christopher Udry, and Rocco Zizzamia. 2026. Group versus Individual Coaching for Rural Social Protection Programs: Evidence from Uganda, Philippines, and Bangladesh (WP-26-10).

Aeroelay Chyei Vinluan, Daniel Sanji, and Michael Kraus. 2025. Asian Ethnic Subgroup Moderates the Relationship Between Asian American Discrimination Experiences and Solidarity with Black Americans (WP-25-26).

Aeroelay Chyei Vinluan and Michael Kraus. 2025. Misperceptions of Asian Subgroup Representation in STEM (WP-25-24).

All Papers

Faculty Experts

Faculty come from the fields of economics, sociology, communication, African American studies, education and social policy, and others.

News

Headshots of five IPR Faculty recognized with notable awards in 2026

Spring Honors Bloom for IPR Scholars

Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Policy Study: Comparative Perspectives on Racial Discrimination in Hiring: The Rise of Field Experiments

In the Annual Review of Sociology, IPR sociologist Lincoln Quillian and Arnfinn Midtbøen of the University of Oslo examine more than 140 field experimental studies of discrimination in the hiring of various racial and ethnic groups across 30 countries. Among their key findings, they discover that over the last 25 years, discrimination rates in the United States and the United Kingdom have not changed and that discrimination in hiring against racial and ethnic minorities is a worldwide phenomenon.

View published study

INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH