America’s Rising Inequality…and what we can do about it
“Is the United States coming apart as a society?”
One autumn afternoon, David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics and dean for the social sciences, asked a group of his colleagues gathered at the Faculty Club this question.
Read »Knowledge in Action: Confronting Social Problems
Harvard social scientists merge methodologies and cross disciplines to grapple with many of today’s most pressing societal issues—from neighborhood youth violence to the impact of globalization to the national obesity epidemic. The courses they teach, like “Economics of Social Problems,” “Crime and Disorder in the City,” and “Racial and Ethnic Politics in the United States,” help students to understand the causes of poverty, violence, class divisions, and other contemporary American challenges.
Read »Gary King creates statistical and analytical tools to probe public opinion
Gary King wonders how many calories you burn daily. The David Florence Professor of Government would also like to know how much you spent last year on consumer goods and how many people you interacted with yesterday as indicated by data collected on your cell phone.
Nicholas Christakis examines the impact of social networks on individuals’ health
“What does it mean both for individual health and the health of populations that people are embedded in sociologically and mathematically complex social networks?” My research group explores the idea that because people are interconnected, their health is also interconnected.”
Mahzarin Banaji uncovers contradictions between our conscious thoughts and unconscious beliefs
“I am interested in the human mind as it operates in a social world. My motivation is like that of all scientists—a desire to understand important aspects of reality, the thrill of discovery, the possibility that new knowledge can be applied to improving the condition of living beings.”
Niall Ferguson illuminates historic upheavals by analyzing financial markets
“My research is motivated by the feeling that historians have tended to underestimate the importance of financial markets in modern history, and that the great upheavals of our times can be illuminated by looking at the prices of securities, exchange rates, and other market data.”
Daniel Carpenter investigates the reputations and power of large, national organizations
“In university settings, the world I inhabit, the fundamental currency is that of reputation. My research reflects my fascination with reputational currents, particularly in the realm of political organizations.”
Richard Freeman assesses the impact of globalization on labor and business
“I’m concerned with the large changes that suddenly occur in economies and societies, events that lie outside the marginal calculations economists understand well. Such changes occur more frequently than we would expect from normal distributions, but are still rare and hard to understand.”
