The Russell Sage Foundation recently approved 18 research grants in its programs on Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and Social, Political, and Economic Inequality and in its special initiatives Immigration and Immigrant Integration and Implications of the 2023 Supreme Court Decision to Ban Race-Conscious Admissions at Colleges and Universities for Educational Attainment and Economic Mobility. One grant was co-funded by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation (formerly the Carnegie Corporation of New York) and one grant was co-funded by the Spencer Foundation.

These research projects include studies on how norms communicated by political party leaders and supporters affects partisan polarization; the impact of increased indiscriminate immigration enforcement on crime, policing, and wellbeing; whether different conceptions of diversity (e.g. diversity of political attitudes vs. racial diversity) are related to differences in support for race-conscious policies; how inflows of migrants due to Texas’ Operation Lone Star affected local crime, policing, and public order in receiving jurisdictions; how family relationships and life course events influence self-reported racial identity among American Indians and Alaskan Natives; how ideas of racial difference shaped civic inclusion—and exclusion—in U.S. territories; how changes in immigrant labor supply affect wages, farm production, and domestic food prices; the factors that shape public support for and opposition to mass deportation policies in the United States; the impact of climate hazards on rural households’ wellbeing in the Eastern Sierra Nevada region of California; and whether exposure to examples of racial exploitation and exclusion reinforces stereotypes against minority groups.

Following is a list of the recent grants. Please click on each for a brief description of the research project.

Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context

Alexa Bankert (University of Georgia) will examine how norms communicated by political party leaders and supporters affects citizens’ willingness to engage civilly across partisan lines.

Joshua Kalla (Yale University), David Broockman (University of California, Berkeley), and Roni Porat (Hebrew University) will investigate how “persuasion-oriented listening” impacts exclusionary attitudes towards undocumented immigrants.

Steven Lauterwasser (Vot-ER) will investigate how AI assistance compares to human assistance on reducing administrative burdens when enrolling in public benefits.

Immigration and Immigrant Integration

Graeme Blair (University of California, Los Angeles) and David Hausman (University of California, Berkeley) will examine how increased indiscriminate immigration enforcement affects crime, policing, and the economic wellbeing of citizens and non-citizens in the U.S.

Xiaojin Chen (Tulane University) and Siying Guo (Wayne State University) will explore how the use of social media impacts the migration journeys and post-entry adaption of undocumented Chinese immigrants who enter by land from Mexico. This grant is co-funded by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.

Implications of the 2023 Supreme Court Decision to Ban Race-Conscious Admissions at Colleges and Universities for Educational Attainment and Economic Mobility

Teri Kirby (Purdue University) and Mary Scudder (Purdue University) will examine whether different conceptions of diversity (e.g. diversity of political attitudes vs. racial diversity) are related to differences in support for race-conscious policies. This grant is co-founded by the Spencer Foundation.

Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration

Rezarta Bilali (New York University) and Michelle Twali (New York University) will investigate how narratives of the Black experience that emphasize resistance and resilience in the face of ongoing oppression in U.S. influences willingness to engage in civic and collective action.

Jose Bucheli (University of Texas at El Paso) and Rhet Smith (University of Texas at El Paso) will examine how the sudden inflow of migrants to U.S. cities due to Texas’ Operation Lone Star affected local crime and public safety in receiving cities.

Amelia Frank-Vitale (Princeton University) and Lauren Heidbrink (California State University, Long Beach) will explore how immigration judges and other courtroom actors respond to sweeping procedural changes and shifting employment expectations.

Danielle Gartner (Michigan State University) and Stephen Gasteyer (Michigan State University) will investigate how family relationships and life course events influence self-reported racial identity among American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

Carlo Medici (University of California, Los Angeles) will explore how demographic shifts shaped unions’ inclusion of diverse workers and how unions, in turn, impacted immigrant and Black workers’ access to economic and political opportunity.

Katrina Quisumbing King (Northwestern University) will investigate how ideas of racial difference shaped civic inclusion and exclusion in U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Guam.

Ashish Shenoy (University of California, Davis) and Julián Arteaga (Inter-American Development Bank) will examine the impacts of changes in immigrant labor supply on wages, farm production, and domestic food prices.

César Vargas-Núñez (Claremont McKenna College), Gabriele Magni (Loyola Marymount University), and Hans Ludens (Hoover Institute at Stanford University) will investigate the factors that shape public support for and opposition to mass deportation policies in the United States.

Abigail Williamson (Trinity College) and Megan Dias (Cornell University) will examine the factors that influence whether local municipalities enact more or less welcoming policies for immigrants.

Social, Political, and Economic Inequality

Alexander Kustov (University of Notre Dame) will identify voters’ issue priorities and investigate whether these priorities can change and be depolarized.

Gabrielle Wong-Parodi (Stanford University) will examine the impact of climate hazards on rural households’ wellbeing in the Eastern Sierra Nevada region of California.

Linda Zou (University of Maryland, College Park) will examine whether exposure to examples of racial exploitation and exclusion reinforces stereotypes against minority groups and undermines support for policies addressing racial inequalities.