TOPICS

Public Policy

Posted on March 8, 2007 in Brief Reports

Experts: Michael Rosenfeld

By Michael J. Rosenfeld Professor of Sociology Stanford University mrosenfe@stanford.edu, 415.205.1892 Prior to 1970, the overwhelming majority of all couples were same-race married couples. Couples who lived together outside of marriage, whether heterosexual or same-sex, were practically invisible. Inter-racial marriages were extremely rare. In fact, until 1967, many states in the US had laws against interracial […]

Are Mothers Really Leaving the Workplace?

Posted on March 8, 2006 in Brief Reports

By Heather Boushey, Ph.D. Senior Economist Center for American Progress Recent media reports claim that mothers are increasingly “opting out” of employment to stay home with their families. But according to a new study released by the Council on Contemporary Families and the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the 20-year trend has been in […]

Topics of Expertise: Division of Labor in Families / Labor & Workforce / Work & Family

Reversing Course: The Impact of “Faith-Based” Sexual Health and Family Planning Policies at Home and Abroad

Posted on January 17, 2006 in Brief Reports

By AnneMarie Murdock Research Intern Council on Contemporary Families Recent trends in U.S. sexual education and reproductive health policies threaten to jeopardize the significant progress made during the 1980s and 1990s in improving teen sexual health domestically and HIV/STD infection rates, unwanted pregnancies, and reproductive health care worldwide. This is due to many reasons, one […]

Topics of Expertise: Fertility,Reproduction & Sexual Health / Gender & Sexuality / Health & Illness / Health Care / Reproductive Health / Singles & Dating

Will Providing Marriage Rights To Same-Sex Couples Undermine Heterosexual Marriage? Evidence From Scandinavia

Posted on May 1, 2004 in Brief Reports

Experts: M. V. Lee Badgett

By M. V. Lee Badgett Professor of Economics University of Massachusetts, Amherst As a way to understand what might happen, some writers have looked to the experience of those Scandinavian countries that pioneered giving a marriage-like status to gay and lesbian couples. Denmark adopted such a law in 1989, Norway in 1993, Sweden in 1994, […]

Topics of Expertise: Gender & Sexuality / LGBTQ Partnering & Families / Marriage & Divorce

Family Policy in the U.S., Japan, Germany, Italy, and France: Parental Leave, Child Benefits, Family Allowances, Child Care, Marriage, Cohabitation, And Divorce.

Posted on May 1, 2003 in Brief Reports

Twentieth century social policy in industrial nations was originally formulated on the assumption that one particular family model was both the most prevalent and the most desirable. A family was supposed to consist of a married couple — one male breadwinner and one female homemaker — and their children, and the wages of a man were assumed to be enough to support a wife and children. Almost all women were assumed to be housewives.

Accordingly, women and children’s access to market income was organized through marriage, as was their access to social insurance. Male workers could claim social insurance benefits for themselves and their dependents from the state, unions, employers and other institutions, but women seldom had any way to make claims independently. When husbands died, widows with children could draw pensions from the state and/or receive aid from the husband’s union, while women without husbands usually had no legal way to make such claims. At the same time, work was organized on the assumption that all men were married to women who could devote their time and labor to the care of children.

Topics of Expertise: Labor & Workforce / Work & Family

Marriage, Poverty & Public Policy

Posted on April 28, 2002 in Press Releases

According to recent census figures, 6 percent of married couple families with children live in poverty, compared to 33 percent of families headed by single moms. To many, the conclusion seems obvious. Marry off those single moms and they reduce their risk of poverty by a factor of more than 5, right? Plus, their children […]

Topics of Expertise: TANF & Public Assistance

Marriage, Poverty, and Public Policy

Posted on April 28, 2002 in Brief Reports

Experts: Stephanie Coontz

In this briefing paper, we question both this explanation of poverty and the policy prescriptions that derive from it.Marriage offers important social and economic benefits. Children who grow up with married parents generally enjoy a higher standard of living than those living in single-parent households. Two parents are usually better than one not only because they can bring home two paychecks, but also because they can share responsibilities for child care. Marriage often leads to higher levels of paternal involvement than divorce, non-marriage, or cohabitation. Long-term commitments to provide love and support to one another are beneficial for adults, as well as children.

Topics of Expertise: Economic Inequality / TANF & Public Assistance

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EXPERTS

Monica J. Casper

Dean and Professor of Sociology, San Diego State University

Constance Ahrons

Professor Emerita, University of Southern California

M. V. Lee Badgett

Professor of Economics, School of Public Policy UMass Amherst; Williams Institute UCLA

Chloe E. Bird

Senior Sociologist, RAND Corporation; Professor of Sociology and Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Jessica Calarco

Associate Professor of Sociology, Indiana University

Daniel Carlson

Assistant Professor of Family, Health, and Policy in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Utah

Deborah Carr

Professor of Sociology, Boston University

Andrew Cherlin

Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Johns Hopkins University

Philip Cohen

Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland

Stephanie Coontz

Director of Research and Public Education, Council on Contemporary Families; Professor, The Evergreen State College

Carolyn Cowan

Professor Emerita, University of California, Berkeley

Philip Cowan

Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley

Robert Crosnoe

Chair, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin

Christina Cross

Postdoctoral Fellow/Assistant Professor of Sociology, Harvard University

Rebecca Davis

Associate Professor of History, University of Delaware

Paula Fomby

Associate Research Scientist, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research

Frank Furstenberg

Professor of Sociology, Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania

Lawrence Ganong

PhD Professor and Co-Chair of the College of Environmental Science, University of Missouri

Elizabeth Gershoff

Professor, University of Texas at Austin

Kathleen Gerson

Collegiate Professor of Sociology, New York University

Jennifer Glass

Professor of Sociology , University of Texas, Austin

Janet C. Gornick

Director, Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, Graduate Center CUNY

Jeffrey Hayes

Program Director, Institute for Women's Policy Research

Natalie Hengstebeck

AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow

Roberta Iversen

Associate Professor and Faculty Director of the Master of Science in Social Policy program, University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice

Arielle Kuperberg

Associate Professor of Sociology, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Bethany Letiecq

Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science, George Mason University

Ricci Levy

President and CEO, Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Sigrid Luhr

Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

Joan Maya Mazelis

Associate Professor, Rutgers University-Camden

Adina Nack

Professor of Sociology, California Lutheran University

Laura Napolitano

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University - Camden

Ruth Nemzoff

Resident Scholar, Brandeis Women's Studies Research Center

Abigail Ocobock

Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame

Elizabeth Peters

Director, Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population, Urban Institute

Richard Petts

Professor of Sociology, Ball State University

Barbara Risman

Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago

Michael Rosenfeld

Professor of Sociology, Stanford University

Luke Russell

Assistant Professor, Illinois State University

Virginia Rutter

Professor of Sociology, Framingham State University

Sharon Sassler

Professor, Cornell University

Kevin Shafer

Associate Professor of Sociology, Brigham Young University & McMaster University

Betsey Stevenson

Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan

Susan Stewart

Professor of Sociology, Iowa State University

Ellen Wartella

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Communication, Professor of Psychology, and Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Professor of Medical Social Sciences Director, Center on Media and Human Development School of Communication Chair, Department of Communication Studies

Kristi Williams

Professor, Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University

Justin Wolfers

Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan

Nicholas Wolfinger

Professor of Family & Consumer Studies and Adjunct Professor of Sociology, University of Utah

Emma Zang

Assistant Professor, Yale University