The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies

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This week (3/12) at 12:00 pm ET, ChangHwan Kim, PhD, professor of sociology and director of graduate studies at the University of Kansas, presents (REMOTELY) “Strategic adaptation and Asian Americans’ socioeconomic evolution, 1940 to 2018–22.” Please register to join us!

hsph.me/SDS-with-Cha...

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Sarah Cowan presents (remotely) "The effect of a Universal Cash Transfer (UCT) on fertility and newborn health” at Thursday's Hybrid Social Demography Seminar...please register now!
hsph.me/sds-with-sar...

Latest paper @jamapediatrics.com led by SPHERE postdoc @emilydore.bsky.social finds longstanding disparities in infant health by poverty status using national data, e.g., for preterm birth and low birthweight. www.doi.org/10.1001/jama... @ameracadpeds.bsky.social @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social 1/

Some findings from my talk at @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social this afternoon!

@brianckeegan.com Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your findings (and these extra beautiful graphs) at today's Social Demography Seminar!

Our director, Rita Hamad, presents at Monday's (3/2) Stone Inequality & Social Policy Seminar on the perinatal health impacts of less restrictive antipoverty cash assistance policies enacted during the pandemic @harvardmwc.bsky.social @harvardkennedy.bsky.social
hsph.me/Stone-Semina...

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Our visiting scientist Brian Keegan presents “Credibility laundering as a vector: The afterlives of reactionary knowledge in population studies," this Thursday, 2/26 (12–1:15PM ET) Please register to join us either in person or remotely! @brianckeegan.com

hsph.me/SDS-with-Kee...

SDS log and headshot of Jessica Finlay

Please register for tomorrow's Social Demography Seminar (12:00 p.m. ET) with Jessica Finlay, assistant professor of geography, University of Colorado-Boulder, presenting “Cognability: A mixed-methods approach to neighborhoods and cognitive health across the life course.”
hsph.me/Finlay-on-Zoom

Healthy hydration: Beverage choices and cancer risk | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health How can beverages increase or decrease health risks, particularly cancer?

Our former Bell Fellow Anna Grummon will be 1 of the 3 speakers at this hybrid Harvard Chan Studio event on healthy hydration slated for Feb. 26 at 1:00 p.m. ET... register now!
hsph.harvard.edu/events/healt...

Federal funding cuts driving Massachusetts brain drain | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health A combination of moves by the Trump administration—including research funding cuts, policy shifts, and an immigration crackdown—are taking a huge toll on the personal and professional lives of scienti...

What have been the impacts of federal cuts to research funding on the lives of scientists and the biotech sector in MA? Some of our own HAALSA researchers (and, yes, former researchers) share their insights...

hsph.harvard.edu/news/federal...

SDS logo and headshot of Sabrina Hermosilla

Sabrina Hermosilla from Columbia University presents “Navigating—and leveraging—existing data sources to guide sound public health programming to address social determinants of health” at TOMORROW'S Social Demography Seminar...we hope you'll join us!
popcenter.harvard.edu/blog/calenda...

Social Demography Seminar at Harvard Pop Center with Erin Kelly

@elkelly.bsky.social presented at today’s Social Demography Seminar on a workplace intervention study that investigates the role that supporting increased worker voice (in the form of health & well-being committees) has on turnover at work.

We're looking forward to welcoming our collaborator Erin Kelly as we kick off another semester of hybrid Social Demography Seminars this Thursday (2/5) at noon ET. Please register to join us!
@mitiwer.bsky.social @elkelly.bsky.social @mitsloan.bsky.social
hsph.me/sds_with_Eri...

Harvard Impact Labs awards $1.4M to launch research projects to tackle urgent social problems Harvard Impact Labs awarded $1.4 million to launch four new research projects that will tackle urgent social problems. Led by faculty from Schools across Harvard, these projects involve collaborations...

Congratulations to these faculty members (including two of our affiliates, @dschneider.bsky.social and Joscha Legewie) on being awarded funding through Harvard Impact Labs to support their transformative work for society. @impactatharvard.bsky.social

hsph.me/impact-lab-f...

We're thrilled to have you @ritahamad.bsky.social join us as director and we look forward to advancing our mission together!

HCPDS log and head shot of Rita Hamad

Rita Hamad, MD, PhD, a leading social epidemiologist, has been appointed the next director of the Harvard Pop Center. Read about this leadership transition in today’s Harvard Gazette. @ritahamad.bsky.social @apc.org @hsph.harvard.edu @harvard.edu hsph.me/hcpds_new_di...

Please take a look at our latest newsletter with a special Call for Applications for our Harvard Bell Postdoctoral Fellowships and brief summaries of the most recent publications of our postdocs, researchers, and faculty members...

hsph.me/harvard_pop_...

Harvard Pop Center logo and call for applications language

Call for Applications! The Harvard Pop Center is now recruiting for the 2026–2028 cohort of Harvard Bell Postdoctoral Fellows. The deadline to apply is March 3, 2026. Please share!
hsph.me/harvard_bell...

The unraveling of workplace protections for delivery drivers: A tale of 2 workplace models A first-of-its-kind study finds Amazon’s delivery drivers earn less and face more instability than their unionized counterparts.

The unraveling of workplace protections for delivery drivers: A tale of 2 workplace models
@dschneider.bsky.social

theconversation.com/the-unraveli...

Child behavioral health improved with expanded Child Tax Credit | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Pandemic-era expansions to the Child Tax Credit—one of the largest income transfer programs in the U.S.—was associated with improved child behavioral health, according to a new Harvard Chan School stu...

Study by faculty affiliate @ritahamad.bsky.social & colleagues finds an association between the expanded child tax credit, temporarily distributed monthly during the pandemic, and a reduction in child behavioral problems...
hsph.harvard.edu/news/child-b...

Xiang is notable for his combination of methodological brilliance and generosity in answering methods questions from his colleagues as well as students.

Youth Mental Health Improved When Schools Reopened, Study Finds

Our faculty affiliate @ritahamad co-authored this study that evaluates the impact of school re-openings during COVID-19 on the mental health of children www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/h...

We're so looking forward to this seminar led by @atheendar.bsky.social ! Harvard Chan School Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences is co-sponsoring and it will take place at the Longwood campus in Boston (and online via Zoom). Please register to join us!

@christinajcross.bsky.social It was such a highlight to have you back at the Harvard Pop Center!

Our Bell Fellow, Shiro Furuya, will present “Revisiting theories of marital instability in the era of gray divorce: The case of retirement” at tomorrow's Social Demography Seminar... please register to join us!
hsph.me/sdsshiro

The Backlash to Cardi B's Pregnancy Is Rooted in Old, Racist Ideas Online critics who lashed out at Cardi B's pregnancy announcement were echoing old, racist stereotypes about broken families and single mothers

Kudos to this journalist for talking to actual scholars, like @docthoughts.bsky.social and @christinajcross.bsky.social who have spent years studying Black families, to bring some much needed insight.

Why Black Families Fall Through the Safety Net For most of the last 20 years, policymakers and researchers have stressed the importance of a two-parent home for children’s success. New research complicates conventional wisdom.

Why do Black kids in nuclear families struggle to succeed while white kids in these families flourish?

What do these inequalities tell us about the power & limits of the two-parent family?

Check out my new piece in @harpersbazaar.com.web.brid.gy to learn more www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...

Are for-profits, private equity to blame for rising medical costs, reduced quality, choice? — Harvard Gazette Healthcare analyst says outside investment can boost innovation, growth, care, but profit needs to be aligned with patient outcomes.

Amitabh Chandra co-authored a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine that highlights the power of private investment in healthcare, as well as the pitfalls...
news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Birth rate policies should focus on fertility preferences, not numbers, expert says | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Margaret McConnell discusses fertility choices and policies to help people facing challenges.

Margaret McConnell is quoted in the Newsweek article "The Good News Hidden in the Birth Rate Decline"
hsph.harvard.edu/news/birth-r...

Had a great interview with the Harvard Gazette about my new book, INHERITED INEQUALITY, & its connection to culture & policy: news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...