News
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Ziliak quoted in New York Times article about expansion of feeding programs
April 2021
UKCPR Director James Ziliak was quoted in an April 4 article in the New York Times about federal expansion of feeding programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the summer feeding program for school-aged children. The multi-billion-dollar expansion of food assistance is in response to growing rates of food insecurity caused by the Covid19 pandemic, as well as an attempt to address shortfalls that fragile families have faced since the Great Recession. The expansion, initiated through executive order directed to the US Department of Agriculture, represents the largest food assistance increase since the founding of the modern food stamp program, according to Ziliak. Read the NYT article.
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Ziliak to chair panel of experts examining Supplemental Poverty Measure
February 2021
UKCPR Director James Ziliak will chair a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering Medicine panel tasked with evaluating and recommending improvements to the nation’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). The SPM is used by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to improve understanding of how lower income people are affected by the economy. Read more.
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Ziliak quoted in Washington Post on tax credit proposal
January 2021
UKCPR Director James Ziliak was quoted in a Jan. 22 Washington Post article about an economic stimulus proposal currently under discussion by the administration of Joe Biden. The plan, which is currently in development with Congressional leaders, would direct recurring monthly payments to American families and potentially increase child tax credits, according to unnamed administration officials. Read more.
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UKCPR affiliates' article 3rd most read in top-tier journal
January 2021
Research published in Health Affairs by UKCPR research affiliates Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz was among the journal’s top 20 most viewed articles in 2020. Their article “Strong social distancing measures in the United States reduced the Covid-19 growth rate” was the third most viewed article in Health Affairs, considered the leading journal of health policy thought and research. Read more.
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Ziliak quoted in HuffPost about new stimulus package
December 2020
UKCPR Director James Ziliak was quoted in a Dec. 17 article in the Huffington Post about the trade off between extended unemployment benefits and stimulus checks, now being considered in a new Congressional relief bill. Read more
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UKCPR affiliates receive inaugural WorkRise grant
December 2020
A research project led by UKCPR Research Affiliate Bradley Hardy, along with UKCPR Director James Ziliak, and UKCPR Research Affiliate Charles Hokayem is among the inaugural slate of grantees in the WorkRise initiative led by the Urban Institute. Read more.
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Funding opportunity from Tufts and USDA for research on food security measurement
December 2020
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with Tufts University and the University of Missouri, is sponsoring a funding opportunity in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement. The application deadline is Feb. 19, 2021. The grants program will fund research investigating food security measurement, data, and further research needs. This funding opportunity seeks proposals of up to $50,000 using secondary data or reviews of existing literature and larger projects of up to $100,000 that may include primary data collection and new analysis. Read more.
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Ziliak quoted in Philadelphia Inquirer article about Census poverty data
September 2020
UKCPR Director James Ziliak was quoted in a Sept. 15 Philadelphia Inquirer article about Covid-19’s impact on low U.S. poverty numbers and record household income in 2019. The Census reported a poverty rate of 10.5 percent last year and a spike in household income -- from $64,324 in 2018 to $68,703 in 2019. Read more.
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Pandemic disproportionately affects Black households
August 2020
UKCPR Research Affiliate Bradley Hardy has co-authored a new report titled Racial Economic Inequality Amid the Covid-19 Crisis. The report is published through the Hamilton Project, a non-partisan project by the Brookings Institution that focuses on fostering long-term prosperity and effective government. Hardy’s paper, co-authored by Trevon Logan of The Ohio State University, looks at how the pandemic has worsened racial inequality for Black households in the United States. Read more.
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Poverty scholars condemn opinion piece of NYU professor
July 2020
A group of leading poverty scholars and directors of the National Collaborative of Poverty Centers has issued a strong statement of criticism of a recent opinion piece in the journal Society, authored by Lawrence Mead, a political scientist at New York University. The July 2020 article -- drawn from his book Burdens of Freedom: Cultural Difference and American Power -- has received widespread condemation from the academic community. (Read entire article).