News

Read all about Penn at the 2024 ASA Conference, as well as recap the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science led by Xi Song. Keep and eye out for the extra large section of researcher updates! Plus, a Penn discount code for the IAPHS conference.

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Read all about PARC @ AcademyHealth and the latest news and publications from our Research Associates - and catch up on Dorothy Roberts keynote at the recent symposium on Genetic Ancestry and Perceptions of Race.

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Come check out the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting hosted June 29th - July 2nd in Baltimore Maryland. Many of our PARC researchers have papers and posters being presented! We have gathered everything here for your convenience.

“The debates offer a real-time, high-stakes environment to observe and analyze how media outlets present and potentially skew the same event,” says Watts. The Media Bias Detector organizes all the info you might need regarding how topics are covered through different well known sources. 

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In a time when Philly's overall population has decreased, he points to welcoming immigrants as a key strategy for re-invigorating the city's growth. Parrado also suggests that the ebb and flow of young professionals in - and out - of the city isn't bad news.

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"Philadelphia Lost More Than 50,000 Residents During the Pandemic. Now What?" Philadelphia Magazine, S Smith, June 22, 2024.

Xi Song details how intergenerational mobility declined in the United States after World War II but then dives further to explore the diversity of experiences for different groups. She discusses the trends in mobility as broken down by race, immigration status, and gender. 

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The research shows Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are linked to aging and affluence and have replaced infectious diseases and malnutrition as the dominant causes of ill health and death in much of the world including India. The present study examines rising rates of two NCDs heart disease and diabetes. More »

The research uses data from the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health to examine the relationship between mortality and fertility in Malawi - specifically the impact of individual-specific subjective mortality expectations on fertility choice.

READ THE PAPER.

Many workers with student loans found that saving for retirement is extremely difficult. With Secure 2.0 however, as workers pay off their student loans, their employers could match those payments with contributions to retirement accounts. Mitchell, a co-author of the National Bureau of Economic Research's study on Secure 2.0, said "My guess is that many large employers will find it useful in attracting and retaining scarce talent, but smaller firms might not."

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This newsletter includes congratulations for our spring graduates, a wrap up of the 2024 PARC Aging Retreat, upcoming events, news, and more!

After meeting John MacDonald, Maya Moritz, a criminology doctoral student, was inspired to investigate the correlation between murals and crime rate.

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Linda Aiken, Co-Director of Magnet4Europe, shares highlights of the 2024 conference. Research presented at the conference showed that hospital conditions can be improved, and in doing so have great results.

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"Magnet4Europe Celebration Conference 2024: A Milestone in Healthcare Excellence," Magnet4Europe, J Kleine & L Aiken, May 23, 2024.

Poets and Quants quoted one of her students saying that "Professor Low’s class is one of the most impactful that I’ve taken at Wharton. It has prompted the most (and some of the most thought-provoking) conversations with classmates/friends/family outside of the classroom and provided me with new frameworks for evaluating societal structures and practices. Professor Low is also very skilled at holding the attention of the lecture hall.

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Dolores Albarracín, was featured in Penn Today for her research on determining change in human behavior. Albarracín and her team strive to find the science behind behavior change to determine the best ways to promote benefits in our daily lives.

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Researchers study how households have changed over time and the effect this has on our daily lives.

Just a friendly reminder, the PARC Aging Retreat is happening this Friday! Take a look at the retreat program to see the agenda for the day.
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The Academy aims to tackle serious challenges in order to advance common goals. Albarracín among 5 others, has been elected into the honorary society.

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“We see financial literacy much like other kinds of education. It takes time to learn financial concepts and to apply them, and sometimes it takes money so that you can hire someone or take a course or what have you. " Mitchell says.

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Culhane commented on the urgency of the homeless crisis, as well as provided his take on the problem.

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“In general, the U.S. supports parents and caregivers less than many other countries,” Dr. Coe said, “which has numerous and lasting intergenerational effects on health and wealth.”

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science consists of 500 researches honored for their scientific achievements. Congrats Dolores! 

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Many African American citizens are Charleston can not trace their lineage back beyond a few generations. However with the help of Schurr, DNA tests reveal much more information regarding their past.

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In his recent article Mandell explains the changes in Methadone treatments since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, getting treatment was an inconvenience. However with the implementation of take home treatment, there have been many pros and cons that Mandell explores. 

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"Methadone treatment has been reformed for the better. States shouldn’t go back to the old ways," STAT, R Arden & D 

Mandell.

The study co-authored by Venkataramani found that lower-wage workers did not receive much economic benefit at all.

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"Doctors, Nurses, and Managers Received Wage Hikes After Medicaid Expansion While Lower-Paid Workers Did Not," Penn LDI, M Meline, April 4, 2024.

This PRB article examines new research on the impact of socioeconomic status on aging - a study by PENN PSC's Courtney Boen is among those cited.

READ THE STUDY HERE:

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The comprehensive list uses Mitchell's findings to dive deeper into what retirees wish they could have done sooner.

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"5 Biggest Regrets of Retirees (Hint: Claiming Social Security Too Early Is One of Them)" The Globe And Mail, March 30, 2024.

The article written by MacDonald, focuses on social science as well as identifying root causes that form many social issues.

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"The Precautionary Principle," Vital City, J MacDonald, March 27, 2024.

Penn Today features the Population Studies Center as the co-sponsor for the Symposium on Immigration Policy, and Chenoa Flippen as the event host. 

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Mitchell explained that “This lack of financial literacy then translates into greater financial regret among older women” 

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Duckworth was described by "Having spent years studying the best ways to Nudge people with choice-preserving but psychologically wise interventions to help them make better decisions." 

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"Cass Sunstein on Nudging, Sludge, and the Power of ‘Dishabituation’," Knowledge At Wharton, A Basiouny, March 25, 2024."

Pauly and Burns say that strategies across private equity investment have largely stayed consistent. However, the investigators say there’s “less public information on firm performance” today. So, they argue, the current “brouhaha” should be tempered by past experience.

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The study found that increased incarceration rates had a noticeable effect on the birth weight of newborns. Both Boen as well as Venkataramani found that incarceration rates do have a direct impact on the overall health of the population.

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Penn SAS News features Irma Elo for being appointed as Tamsen and Michael Brown Presidential Professor. 

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Take a look at the Penn Population Studies Newsletter for upcoming events, new PARC research associates, and researchers featuring in news articles. 

“Nurses want to leave their jobs when care conditions are poor and those same unfavorable care conditions are not good for patients either,” said Aiken. Aiken then explains how the pandemic has effected our healthcare system long term.

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Penn LDI features a study by Eugenia South that gathers personal experiences to aid the dismantling of structural racism in medicine. 

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Penn LDI features the new study by Rachel Werner and Norma Coe, that examined data on over 2 million Medicare beneficiaries who had knee or hip replacements, among the most common surgeries. More »

“Financial education is most effective when there is a rigorous curriculum, a specific course devoted to personal finance (rather than embedding these concepts into other classes), and trained teachers,” said Mitchell in a Journal Article last fall.

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“A goal would be for employers to offer more access and, when possible, encouragement to learn and implement important financial lessons during the worklife,” Mitchell said. 

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"Wage Gap Statistics: The Numbers Behind Pay Disparity," MarketWatch, R Henderson, T Addison, March 6, 2024.

Penn Today and Knowledge at Wharton features Angela Lee Duckworth for her new study on that found that breaking down a commitment to volunteer 200 hours per year for a nonprofit into smaller subgoals increased the amount of time More »

Sieg, who has also been a National Bureau of Economic Research research affiliate in public economics and political economy since 2000, focuses his research on public and urban economics, as well as the political economy of state and local governments.

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"Holger Sieg Named Baird Term Professor of Economics," Penn Arts & Sciences, February 29, 2024.

Penn Today and Annenberg School for Communication highlights Tukufu Zuberi at the 2nd Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture in Public Social Science, discussing Du Bois’ contributions to the field and to humanity.

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Volpp, the principal investigator of PMHH and director of the Penn Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics, explains how the program works and who is eligible. 

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"Introducing Penn Medicine Healthy Heart: A Personal Companion to Heart Health," Penn Medicine News, M Toal, February 27, 2024.

Pauly explains how popular branded drugs are sold at prices nearly three times lower, on average in Canada. However, the FDA has long forbidden the import of these drugs due to purity concerns. 

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"FDA Authorized Drug Importation Plan. Naysayers Are Balking. - It's not an efficient solution." MedpageToday, M Pauly, February 24, 2024. 

Knowledge at Wharton features executive director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council Olivia Mitchell joining the show to discuss why retirement gets better with annuities.

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The new  Penn Population Studies Newsletter highlights researches in the news, awards received by researchers, new working papers, and some exciting events coming up. 

Mother Jones quotes Dorothy Roberts on coerced home searches. Roberts says "Coerced home searches, invasion of families’ privacy, and threatening parents with child removal are integral aspects of a system designed to disrupt the most marginalized communities in America." 

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The Atlantic features Olivia Mitchell in an article discussing what companies owe retirees. 

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"What Companies Owe Retirees." The Atlantic, L Kelley, February 20, 2024. 

Penn Today and the Annenberg School for Communication features Duncan Watts for his new study. More »

Penn Today highlights a new study by Eugenio Paglino, Irma Elo, and Samuel Preston on the relation between natural and Covid-19 deaths. 

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Take a look at the Penn Population Studies Newsletter for upcoming events, recent publications by PSC and PARC research associates, and researchers featuring in news articles. 

Hawaii Public Radio features Dorothy Roberts talking about the death of a 10-year-old Oʻahu girl, who officials say was abused and starved by her legal guardians. 

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Penn Today features Courtney Boen as the thesis advisor of Taussia Boadi. Their research looks at the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, birth outcomes, and resilience in Black women.

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Penn LDI highlights that Wharton Healthcare Analytics Lab will be collaborating with Kevin Volpp, and his team at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics to integrate dynamic adaptation and personalization into clinical trials. 

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Penn Today features Atheendar Venkataramani for finding that black adults across the U.S. suffer from sleep problems following exposure to news about unarmed black individuals killed by police during police encounters.

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Postdoctoral fellow Helene Purcell co-authored a paper along with Justine Herve and Sneha Mani. 

Research Associate Jeremy Greenwood co-authors a paper along with Effrosyni Adamopoulou, Nezih Guner, and Karen Kopecky. 

Research Associate Jere Behrman co-authors a paper with Shireen AlAzzawi, Hai-Anh Dang, Vladimir Hlasny, and Kseniya Abanokova. 

Research Associate Jere Behrman co-authors a paper along with Muhammad Farhan Majid and Hanna Wang. 

Min Kim writes a paper on Financial Literacy, Portfolio Choice, and Wealth Inequality.

Medpage Today features Linda Aiken talking about the late Claire Fagin. She says she was a "nurse visionary with the savvy to make things happen". 

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"Nurse Community Mourns 'Trailblazer' Claire Fagin, PhD, RN." Medpage Today, S Firth, February 6, 2024. 

Research Associate Petra Todd co-authors a paper along with Shasha Wang.

Penn Medicine features Atheendar Venkataramani's research that found statistically significant decreases in sleep duration among Black adults, after exposure to deaths of unarmed Black individuals during police encounters.

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The article featuring Venkataramanis' study shows that black people were consistently more likely to report harmfully low levels of sleep after such a killing than they did before it occurred, the researchers found, regardless of whether the killing was a nearby event or a high-profile incident captured in media.

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Penn Today highlights research associate Dorothy Roberts addressing the question on civil rights being enough, during the 23rd annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice. 

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Knowledge at Wharton features Duncan Watts for his study on quantifying individual and collective common sense. 

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"What Is Common Sense?" Knowledge at Wharton, N Magubane, January 30, 2024. 

Check out the first Penn Population Studies Newsletter of 2024. This newsletter showcases researchers featured in the news, upcoming events such as PARC aging chats and the aging retreat, updates on the PSC Colloquium Series, and information on the Quartet Pilot Research Project Competition.

Penn Today features research associate Duncan Watts for his study on individual and collective common sense. 

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"The Commonalities of Common Sense." Penn Today, N Magubane, January 23, 2024. 

“Coaches try to break goals down to a point that the first levels of goal achievement are almost guaranteed… Psychologists call this goal gradients—the idea that people work much harder to achieve goals that are seen as being in reach.” Volpp said. 

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"How AI Can Help Humans Become More Human," Time, A Huffington, January 22, 2024.

Parents quotes research associate Paula Fomby on contraceptive methods. 

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"American Families Will Shrink in the Near Future, New Study Says." Parents, B A Mayer, January 19, 2024. 

MarketWatch quotes Olivia Mitchell, stating that individuals experiencing loneliness or depression are significantly more susceptible to falling victim to fraud.

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Penn LDI features Courtney Boen's research, which illuminates the health consequences of a Racialized Society and explores potential strategies for mitigation. 

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Annenberg School for Communication highlights a new report by Dolores Albarracín on identifying effective ways to halt the spread of misinformation online, including debunking and “prebunking".

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Penn LDI highlights Dolores Albarracín shedding light on a new factor in understanding how people think of climate change: exposure to record-breaking heat.

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“We’ve substantially caught up, which is incredible. It’s actually an amazing feat.” said Buttenheim regarding falling rates of vaccination in children.

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"America Is Having a Senior Moment on Vaccines," The Atlantic, D Engber, January 11, 2024.

Research Associate Hans-Peter Kohler co-authors a paper along with Alberto Ciancio, Fabrice Kampfen, and Rebecca Thornton. 

Knowledge at Wharton highlights Olivia Mitchell's study making a case for deferred income annuities with some equity exposure in defined contribution plans.

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The New York Times features research associate Dennis Culhane for his study on modern homelessness. 

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“What really kills you is when they tell you it will arrive on Monday but it arrives on Friday,” says Fernández-Villaverde. Regarding supply chain shock post pandemic. 

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"How Supply-Chain Snarls Made Everyone Wrong on Inflation," The Wall Street Journal, J Lahart, January 4, 2024.

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Penn LDI highlights health policy research blogs featuring PARC and PSC associates. 

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"LDI Research Blogs That Caught Your Attention in 2023." Penn LDI, K Kamara & M Bolas, January 3, 2024. 

Penn LDI showcases attention-grabbing news articles that spotlight some of the PARC and PSC research associates. 

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"LDI News That Caught Your Attention in 2023." Penn LDI, H Levins, January 3, 2024. 

Responding to the release of the U.S. More »