‘If you can keep it’: Cornell scholars tackle democracy’s modern threats
From the early days of Cornell’s founding to the present, scholars have studied the idea and the practice of democracy.
Inequality lies at the heart of current debates about opportunity and equity, implicating numerous contemporary policy issues. Public and scholarly interest in inequality has intensified, not merely because of historic increases in income and wealth disparity in the United States and other advanced industrial countries, but also because inequalities of race, ethnicity, gender, and social class are evolving in dramatic and complicated ways. Cornell University is a leading center of scholarship on inequality, drawing strength from its many departments and college
Director's Statement
Cornell University’s Center for the Study of Inequality (CSI) is devoted to understanding patterns, causes, and consequences of social and economic inequality. CSI fosters new and cutting-edge research, trains undergraduate and graduate students, encourages the exchange of ideas among inequality researchers, and disseminates research findings to a broader public. It supports research and knowledge that is evidence-based and systematic, whether it is “basic” research that develops formal models of the social processes that underpin inequality or “applied” research that assesses the intended or unintended consequences of policies that affect equality of opportunity.
CSI is based in the Sociology Department in the College of Arts and Sciences, but has more than 100 Faculty Affiliates from around campus. Faculty affiliates study a diverse range of topics, including:
- labor market processes and earnings inequality
- educational attainment and school-to-work transitions
- poverty and homelessness
- intergenerational mobility and equality of opportunity
- residential segregation, neighborhoods, and urban poverty
- racial and ethnic inequality, immigration
- changing family forms and its impact on child development
What is CSI?
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Pursue the Minor that makes a Major difference
Click here to learn more about the minor in Inequality Studies, including our new Health Equity Track.
CSI News
Isabel Perera’s ‘The Welfare Workforce’ honored with two book prizes
Cornell College of Arts and Sciences professor Isabel M. Perera won the Charles H. Levine Memorial Book Prize and the 2026 European Studies Book Award for “The Welfare Workforce.” Her book examines disparities in mental health care policy.
Humanities students take D.C. trip to advocate for funding
Cornell University Humanities Scholars traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for increased National Endowment for the Humanities and National Archives funding, meeting with congressional offices to highlight the impact of humanities programs on education. Their two‑day trip underscored how federal support strengthens community partnerships, language programs, and public humanities initiatives benefiting campuses and local organizations…
SNAP benefit lapse: U.S. ‘officially losing’ war on poverty
The loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits November 1 if the government shutdown holds benefits will have profound repercussions for democracy, says government scholar Jamila Michener.
How rural vs urban polarization can be repaired
The study by Cornell government scholars Suzanne Mettler and Trevor Brown spans five decades and includes every U.S. county.
Those most willing to address health disparities tend to be overlooked
Cornell researchers found that by prioritizing the perspectives of white Americans instead of those from underrepresented groups, studies of pandemic disparities likely missed important insights from those most affected by COVID-19.
Student spotlight: Haowen Zheng
Haowen Zheng, a doctoral candidate in sociology from Zibo, China, now studies why people move long distances within a country and how those moves shape their lives.
Cook-Gray Lecture will examine transformative labor movement
Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College, will deliver the 2025 Alice Cook-Lois Gray Distinguished Lecture on April 15: “Poverty Wages, 'We're Not Lovin' It': Gender, Race and Inequality Rising in the 21st Century.”