The Russell Sage Foundation has recently approved the following Presidential Authority awards in two key programs, Social Inequality and the Future of Work. Click the titles below to read more about each award.

Awards approved in the Social Inequality program:

The Voting Rights Act After the Shelby Decision
Obie Clayton (Clark Atlanta University)

In light of the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision and the continuing national debates on the Voting Rights Act, sociologist Obie Clayton will organize a symposium at Clark Atlanta University on the role of racial and gender integration in bringing about successful political and civic outcomes for African American, Latinos, Native Americans and other minorities.

The Implications of Millionaire Migration for Progressive Taxation
Cristobal Young (Stanford University)

Sociologist Cristobal Young will examine the extent to which millionaires relocate to avoid progressive state income taxes, analyzing the interconnection of different millionaire populations and focusing on state border regions in order to assess whether larger millionaire populations exist in states with lower taxes.

Administrative Burdens in Social Policy
Donald Moynihan and Pamela Herd (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Public administration expert Donald Moynihan and sociologist Pamela Herd will examine how the burdens individuals encounter in their interactions with government affect the implementation of social policies. These administrative barriers may not only impact the ability of policies to achieve stated goals, but they may also have an impact on inequality.

Reverse Mortgages and Racial Inequalities in Wealth and Health
Danya Keene (Yale University)

Public health expert Danya Keene will undertake an in-depth qualitative study of reverse mortgage loans among African American, white and Latino homeowners. The study will examine the life circumstances and decision-making processes that precede reverse mortgage loans, and the implications of reverse mortgages for the social and economic well-being of black, white and Latino homeowners.

Medicaid and the Political Marginalization of the Poor
Jamila Michener (Cornell University)

Building on her previous findings, Michener will analyze Medicaid’s implications for political life in disadvantaged communities. In particular, she will focus on explaining the processes that influence the political lives of Medicaid beneficiaries, including an in-depth analysis of the national elite discourse around Medicaid, and variability in state Medicaid policies.

Gender Inequality and Career Dynamics Among Professionals
Martina Viarengo (The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies)

Economic historian Martina Viarengo will examine gender gaps in career dynamics (such as job mobility and earnings) in the legal sector for lawyers working in one of the largest multinational law firms in the world, focusing on how policies and firm practices affect these gaps.

How the Economic Segregation of School Districts Affects the Income Achievement Gap
Ann Owens (University of Southern California)

Sociologist Ann Owens will examine whether segregation by income between school districts within metropolitan areas is associated with the achievement gap between high- and low-income students within metropolitan areas.

How Low-income College Students' Perceptions of Post-graduate Earnings Affect Major Choice
Michelle Van Noy and Alex Ruder (Rutgers University)

Educational sociologist Michelle Van Noy and political scientist Alex Ruder will examine whether information regarding post-graduation earnings and employment outcomes associated with college majors may influence students’ earnings expectations and how they choose their majors differently based on their socioeconomic backgrounds.

Awards approved in the Future of Work program:

Post-1979 American Employment Performance in International Perspective
David Howell (The New School)
Jointly funded with the Washington Center for Equitable Growth

Economist David Howell will use of national household survey data, including the U.S. Current Population Survey, to explore the relationship between economic growth and both the generation of decent jobs (those not characterized by very low pay or inadequate hours) and the growth in real pay for decent jobs in the U.S., compared to the U.K., Canada, Germany and France.

The Impact of Domestic Subcontracting on Wages, Job Quality, and Inequality
Annette Bernhardt (University of California, Berkeley), Susan Houseman (W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research), Rosemary Batt (Cornell University), Eileen Appelbaum (Center for Economic Policy Research)

Sociologist Annette Bernhardt, economists Susan Houseman and Eileen Appelbaum, and labor expert Rosemary Batt will develop a conceptual framework and a proposal for a research agenda for a new RSF funding initiative on domestic contracting and document the prevalence of the practice and its impact on wages, job quality, and inequality.

The Effects of Tipped Sub-minimum Wages on Tipped Workers' Employment and Earnings
Michael Reich and Sylvia Allegretto (University of California, Berkeley)

Economists Michael Reich and Sylvia Allegretto will conduct a research study of the effects of the subminimum wage received by tipped workers (also known as the tipped wage) in order to explore how provide insight into the proposed Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which was introduced in the Senate in March 2013.