Deadline: 4-May-22
The Russell Sage Foundation is seeking applications for its Social, Political, and Economic Inequality Grants Program to support innovative research on the factors that contribute to social, political, and economic inequalities in the U.S., and the extent to which those inequalities affect social, psychological, political, and economic outcomes, including educational access, job opportunities, social mobility, civic participation and representation, and the transmission of advantage and disadvantage within and across generations.
The Foundation seeks innovative investigator-initiated research that will expand their understanding of social, political, and economic inequalities and the mechanisms by which they influence the lives of individuals and families. They welcome projects that explore the relevance of economic, racial, ethnic, age, gender, immigration, residence, or other statuses for the distribution of social, political and economic outcomes within and across these groups. RSFpriorities do not include analyses of health or mental health outcomes or health behaviors as these are priorities for other funders. For the same reason, RSF seldom supports studies focused on educational processes or curricular issues but does prioritize analyses of inequities in educational attainment or student performance.
Areas of Interest
The kinds of questions that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Economic Wellbeing, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility
- To what extent has increased economic inequality (in income, wealth, consumption) affected equality of opportunity and intergenerational mobility? Have these effects varied by race/ethnicity/gender/geography/immigration status?
- What are the determinants and consequences of racial/ethnic/gender disparities in income, wealth, and consumption?
- To what extent have state, local or federal policies ameliorated or exacerbated social, political, and economic inequalities and their consequences?
- What are public attitudes toward such policies, such as affirmative action, social safety net programs, or the construction of public housing in low-poverty areas, and how do they shift over time and why?
- Can linked administrative data further their understanding of social mobility or economic opportunity within and across generations?
- Political Institutions and the Policy Process
- To what extent has rising inequality affected political voice and participation, partisan polarization, political responsiveness, legislative performance or government actions and have these effects varied along economic, educational, geographic, generational or racial/ethnic/gender dimensions?
- What factors are associated with variability in political participation and voting within and between urban and rural areas, and what are their implications for social, political and economic outcomes?
- To what extent has voter suppression and gerrymandering reduced political participation and affected social and economic opportunities? Who is most affected?
- To what extent do direct and indirect interactions with the carceral state affect opportunities for political participation?
- To what extent have Supreme Court and other legal decisions regarding issues of equity and fairness, including voter participation, electoral redistricting, and the racial composition of schools affected the educational and economic outcomes of disadvantaged populations?
- Psychological and/or Cultural Changes
- To what extent has increased inequality affected values, beliefs, and behaviors, including young people’s career or educational aspirations?
- Has increased inequality affected attitudes and values about the roles and responsibilities of social institutions, business, and government and how?
- What are the psychological consequences of income scarcity and other forms of economic distress, and what does it mean for people’s lives and their everyday ability to function and make decisions?
- Educational Attainment
- Has increased inequality affected educational opportunities, achievement, or attainment? What policies or interventions can ameliorate disparities in student outcomes?
- Are family resources (parents, grandparents) more important now for educational and economic attainment than in the past?
- To what extent does school diversity (i.e., teachers, staff, students) affect opportunities for student success? How do teacher attitudes, behaviors and bias affect students’ experiences and student outcomes?
- How might linking educational administrative data to employment, tax or other records provide new insights about life trajectories and factors relevant to educational persistence and attainment and labor market outcomes?
- Work, Labor Markets and Occupations
- Are changes in the labor market and occupational structure related to changes in social, political, and economic inequalities and mobility and how do they vary by demographic groups?
- As algorithms increasingly guide decisions about hiring and promotion (as well as decision-making in realms such as education, criminal justice, credit determinations, the allocation of social services), to what extent do they incorporate or correct for social biases which might disparately affect some groups more than others?
- How do labor market intermediaries (e.g. job training programs, temporary employment agencies, or labor unions) affect economic mobility and opportunity, and for whom?
- Children and Families
- In a time when economic rewards are differentially distributed and safety net resources are constrained, what are the implications for families and children both in the course of everyday life and when they experience significant shocks?
- To what extent do social, psychological and biological factors mediate the negative effects of adverse environments on children’s educational and economic attainment? What factors impede or promote resilience to adversity?
- How does incarceration of family members affect young people’s opportunities regarding housing, employment, education, income, marriage, etc.?
- To what extent will the changing demographic composition of the population affect opportunity and mobility among young people and young adults?
- Have the returns to the traditional transitions to adulthood (e.g., completing secondary and postsecondary education, getting married, or acquiring full-time employment) changed for young adults and how? Are various demographic groups differentially effected by these changes?
- Neighborhoods and Communities
- What are the causes and consequences of economic or racial segregation in neighborhoods and communities? How does segregation affect life outcomes and are place-based interventions effective in promoting greater opportunity and mobility?
- What are the causes and consequences of declining geographic mobility from areas experiencing economic distress and how do they differ by race/ethnicity, gender, education, or other statuses?
- What are the legacies of redlining and exclusionary housing zoning ordinances for the opportunity and mobility of African Americans and others?
- To what extent might big data, such as online apartment rental advertisements or home values, help us understand the changing nature of neighborhoods and their effects on residents and communities?
- How has gentrification affected social, political, and economic opportunities for the disadvantaged?
- Criminal Justice & the Legal System
- How does the experience of incarceration affect both immediate opportunities and long-term opportunities in the domains of housing, employment, education, and income?
- How have criminal justice policies impacted opportunities for mobility, and for whom?
Funding Information
Funding can be usedfor research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time for conducting research and writing up results. Trustee Grants are generally capped at $175,000, including 15% indirect costs, over a two-year period. Presidential Awards are capped at $35,000 (no indirect costs). PIs may request up to $50,000 (no indirect costs) when the proposed research project has special needs for gathering data (e.g.: qualitative research) or gaining access to restricted-use data.
Eligibility Criteria
- All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.
- RSF particularly encourages early career scholars to apply for Presidential grants or theirPipeline Competition. All nationalities are eligible to apply and applicants do not have to reside in the U.S., but the focus of the proposed research project must be on the U.S. as per their mission.
For more information, visit https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/social-inequality