We know much about the broad economic dimensions of what is now referred to as the “Great Recession,” but far less is known about its social consequences. For example, unemployment statistics are cited almost daily in the media, but very little is understood about which sectors of the population are most severely impacted by unemployment.

RSF’s program on Social Inequality is broadly concerned with the impact of rising inequality on the increasing disparity in the quality of life between the rich and poor. But rising inequality may also have a negative effect on the quality of life across all socioeconomic classes. Maria Charles (University of California, Santa Barbara) suggests that one implication might be changes in consumption patterns and savings – as inequality rises, people may consume more and consequently save less and incur more debt.

America’s social policy of mass incarceration has been tied to a host of negative life consequences that are differentially distributed among racial and socioeconomic groups. Recent work linking incarceration to social and economic inequalities has largely examined imprisonment as a reflection of inequality, with a second stream of research focusing on how incarceration exacerbates inequality.

Chinese immigrants represent the third largest immigrant group in the United States, after the Mexican and Filipino foreign-born. Although half of the immigrants from China have settled in just two states – California and New York – their numbers are increasing rapidly in small towns and cities which previously attracted relatively few Chinese immigrants. For example, between 2000 and 2006, the Chinese population in Wyoming, Nebraska, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Idaho more than doubled.  What explains the shift in destination choices for new Chinese immigrants?

Retail is the second largest industry sector in the United States. One in five American workers is employed in this $4.3 trillion industry. It is a particularly important source of employment for workers without a college degree. But it is also notoriously a low-wage, no-benefits industry, plagued by high turnover and part-time jobs. In an increasingly competitive global economy, the American retail sector exemplifies an emerging combination of high technology and deteriorating compensation and working conditions.

Storefront communities in urban areas, comprising small, individually-owned stores, represent a unique space for interaction between different ethnic and social groups.