At our first annual Summer Workshop, participants learned how to use the latest Census Bureau datasets to better understand social and economic issues affecting low-income populations.

Pamela Smock, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology. Senior Associate Research Scientist, ISR/Population Studies. Associate Director, Institute for Social Research.

This event - the National Poverty Center's inaugural research conference - brought together over 150 scholars, policy analysts, and practitioners who work on issues related to marriage, cohabitation, and family functioning among the low-income population.

Daniel Weinberg, U.S. Bureau of the Census, with comments by Rebecca Blank and Sheldon Danziger

Angus Deaton, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Co-sponsored with the William Davidson Institute & the Department of Economics Labor Seminar.

Workshop on Uses of the PSID to Study Health-Related Issues. Co-sponsored with the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

Larry M. Bartels, Princeton University.

Pamela Smock and Kristin Seefeldt, University of Michigan.

Michael Katz, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania

Ronald Ferguson, Harvard University and Carla O'Connor, University of Michigan, speakers.

This workshop largely replicated last year's successful course. Read about the 2003 Summer Workshop, including participant comments.Participants were provided with training in the use of the 1% and 5% Public Use Micro-sample from Census 2000 and other Census Bureau datasets so that they can better understand social and economic issues affecting low-income populations and carry out their own analyses.

This conference features the 5 projects that we funded in 2003, each of which explored aspects of the complex relationship between poverty and health.

This lecture was the keynote address for the conference, 'Changing Social Policies for Low-Income Families and Less-Skilled Workers in the EU and the U.S.,' jointly sponsored by the National Poverty Center and the European Union Center, University of Michigan.

Fourteen papers will be presented by leading economists and other social scientists on the relationship between the macroeconomy, policy changes, poverty rates, and the extent of economic need. The papers, commissioned by the National Poverty Center, utilize the most current available data to explore topics such as:

Organized for the National Poverty Center by Ariel Kalil and Hiro Yoshikawa. June 27-28, 2005.

Organized by Kristin Seefeldt, Evelyn Brodkin (Univ. of Chicago), Zeke Hasenfeld (UCLA), Ann Lin (UM), and Marcia Meyers (Univ.of Washington).

Organized for the National Poverty Center by David Harris, Cornell University and Ann Lin, University of Michigan.

As the Debate on Social Security reform goes forward the focus on private accounts remains at its forefront. We invite you to join the discussion with keynote speaker Edward Gramlich. Edward Gramlich is the Interim Provost at U-M and the Richard A. Musgrave Professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Ronna Cook, Associate Director of the Human Services Research Group, Westat, Inc. and Maris Vinovskis, A. M. and H. P. Bentley Professor of History and Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan, moderated by Edward Gramlich, Interim Provost, University of Michigan; Richard A. Musgrave Professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. The program is sponsored by National Poverty Center and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Organized for the National Poverty Center by James House, Bob Schoeni, George Kaplan, and Harold Pollack.

Traditional measures of poverty are based on income: if income is below a given threshold, then the family is determined to be poor. Some economists have suggested that a family's well-being is better measured by their total spending rather than their total income. That is, some families can have a satisfactory standard of living even if they have low current income. This may be due to the fact that the family can support consumption by drawing down assets.

The National Poverty Center (NPC), Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan and the Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), sponsored a research conference to be held in Washington, DC, on November 16-17, 2006. The program, organized by Rebecca Blank and Sheldon Danziger on behalf of the NPC, and Dean Jolliffe and David Smallwood on behalf of ERS, consisted of eight to ten papers, with one discussant per paper. Selected conference papers are likely to appear in a conference volume or special issue of a journal.

Cecilia Muñoz, Vice President, Office of Research, Advocacy, and Legislation, National Council of La Raza; Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

On June 7, 2007 the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan will host a conference entitled The Impact of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations on the Lives of Low Income Families.

Markus Jäntti will discuss new research on intergenerational earnings mobility for Denmark, Finland, Norway, the UK and the US, with a focus on the role of gender and marital status.

The National Poverty Center (NPC) and the Ford Foundation, will sponsor a research conference to be held in Washington, DC, in the Fall of 2007. The program organized by Rebecca Blank and Michael Barr on behalf of the NPC, will bring together in one project a set of papers that cover a diverse set of topics relating to the financial lives of low income families.

There is growing awareness of the impact of early childhood events on a wide range of long run outcomes. On December 14 and 15, 2007, the National Poverty Center sponsored a workshop on the Long-run Impacts of Early Life Events to give leading researchers the opportunity to engage in a broad discussion of new findings and avenues for future research. The ten papers presented over the course of two days covered both pre- and post- natal influences on later outcomes, and considered biological, social, and economics causes and effects.

Hosted as part of the University of Michigan's 2008 Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium.

Katherine Newman, Princeton University. Co-sponsored with the National Poverty Center

Kerwin Kofi Charles Lectures
Steans Family Professor at the Harris School, University of Chicago
Scholar in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Lectures are co-sponsored by the National Poverty Center.

Kerwin Kofi Charles Lectures
Steans Family Professor at the Harris School, University of Chicago
Scholar in Residence at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Lectures are co-sponsored by the National Poverty Center.

Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat, Duke University. Co-sponsored with the Population Studies Center.

Featuring four papers by Peter Gottschalk and Robert Moffitt; Donggyun Shin and Gary Solon; Kristin Seefeldt and Helen Levy; Lloyd Greiger, Sheldon Danziger and Peter Gottschalk.

Lecture by Mary C. Waters, Harvard University and Christina Paxson, Princeton University

Jointly sponsored by the National Poverty Center, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan and the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Reception and booksigning to follow.

Kristin Seefeldt, a Research Investigator at the Ford School and Assistant Director of the National Poverty Center, will speak from her new book, published December, 2008 by the W.E. Upjohn Institute.

featuring William Julius Wilson, Harvard University

Keynote speaker for the Interdisciplinary Group on Poverty and Inequality conference 'Emerging Issues in Poverty and Inequality'

Recent research on the economics of human development deepens understanding of the origins of inequality and excellence. It draws on and contributes to personality psychology and the psychology of human development. Inequalities in family environments and investments in children are substantial. They causally affect the development of capabilities.

Please RSVP to attend this workshop indicating whether you will attend breakfast and/or lunch.

More low-income families now need assistance on how to find financial vehicles that will allow them to more effectively manage debt, savings and their financial lives. A recently released book edited by Rebecca M. Blank and Michael S. Barr, Insufficient Funds: Savings, Assets, Credit, and Banking among Low-Income Households (Russell Sage Press, 2009) discusses the problems and suggests how to bring more low-income families into the formal financial sector by offering them better financial service products. The book also recommends improved opportunities for saving, and regulation of credit and financial markets in ways that help lower-income families avoid credit and investment options that create long-term financial problems. Insufficient Funds is the fourth volume in the National Poverty Center Series on Poverty and Public Policy, published by the Russell Sage Foundation, featuring NPC research.

Professor Danziger is the Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Research Professor at the Population Studies Center. His research focuses on social welfare policies and on the effects of economic, demographic, and public policy changes on trends in poverty and inequality. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, Director of the National Poverty Center, and Director of the Research and Training Program on Poverty and Public Policy. Professor Danziger received his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

We study the effect of deunionization on rising inequality, with a variance decomposition that accounts for how unions raise average earnings and also reduce inequality in earnings among union workers.

This workshop is the first of two sessions that will provide an introduction to the SIPP, a nationally representative survey administered by the U.S. Census Bureau.

David R. Harris is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He leads the Office of Human Services Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE).

With the federal government on the sidelines of immigration reform, several states have passed legislation meant to control and deter unauthorized immigration. Arguably the most restrictive of such efforts is Arizona's 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA), which in part holds employers accountable for verifying worker eligibility. Dr. Raphael's lecture will assess the labor market effects of LAWA and whether LAWA has changed the demographic composition of Arizona's resident population.

This working seminar brought together a small group of researchers, policymakers, Congressional and HHS staff, and state and local administrators interested in issues related to 'the safety net,' with a particular focus on issues related to the TANF program. This goal of this event was to facilitate open discussion about future research and policy directions. We examined how the safety net functioned during the recession and how programs and policies might best respond in the near term, given the high unemployment rates which are forecast. The agenda, recommended readings, and presentation slides may be found below.

This conference on the 'Long-run Impacts of Early Life Events,' brought together leading researchers to engage in a broad discussion of new findings and avenues for future research in this area. The conference featured paper and poster presentations from a range of scientific disciplines, including economics, demography, epidemiology, and human development.

All students, family, and friends are cordially invited to meet the faculty and staff of the Ford School and tour the classrooms, public spaces, and suites of Weill Hall, which opened its doors just six years ago.

Students in the U.S. currently rank 25th in math and 17th in science among their peers in other industrialized countries. Yet research shows that 80 percent of future jobs will require literacy and skills in these areas. To meet future workforce needs and maintain our global competitiveness, we must improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills among students and increase access to STEM careers particularly among underrepresented populations. Afterschool programs have begun to play a significant role in developing new informal science education approaches for students across the country. This panel will explore future workforce demands in STEM fields, provide statewide examples of how STEM afterschool initiatives are developing college and career-ready students, and discuss the importance of informal science education initiatives for student success.

How big is the current cultural, economic, and social divide? How does it differ from the divide Michael Harrington brought to light 50 years ago in his book, The Other America? What is the role of government as inequality rises? What can be done to close the gap? Syndicated columnist, Clarence Page, will moderate this debate between Jared Bernstein and Charles Murray on the future of inequality in America.

This event will bring together a variety of stakeholders to discuss what we know, what we are doing, and what can be done to address the continued hardships faced by many Michigan residents in the wake of the Great Recession and the current slow economic recovery.

Students, family, and friends are invited to meet the faculty and staff of the Ford School and tour the classrooms, public spaces, and suites of Weill Hall, which opened its doors in 2006!