Social Impact

Northwestern study the first systematic and global look at rate of formal political involvement of the billionaire class More than a tenth of the world’s billionaires have held or sought political office, according to a new study in Perspectives on Politics. Northwestern University researchers...

Chicago’s West Side is air pollution hotspot The western edge of Chicago — including the North and South Lawndale, East Garfield Park, Archer Heights and Brighton Park neighborhoods — experiences up to 32% higher concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution...

New study examines air quality, health implications at equity-relevant geographic scales If the region surrounding Chicago — North America’s largest freight hub — shifted just 30% of its current on-road heavy-duty vehicles to electric versions, it would substantially reduce pollution and...

Over the past decade, much of the U.S. healthcare industry has begun omitting race when predicting and diagnosing disease, thought of as a way of reducing health disparities and curbing systemic racism in healthcare. But should a patient’s race be disregarded...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, June 29, ruled that admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. The decision, a 6-3 vote, is expected to have far-reaching effects on colleges...

Professor of history Geraldo Cadava has been published in The New Yorker. Cadava's op-ed, Florida's Right Turn On Immigration, details the state's stricter and stricter immigration legislation through the lens of an immigration attorney there. "The past few years have been...

Chris Kuzawa's recent piece  for the L.A. Times explores the racial health gap as an argument for reparations in California and across the United States. Christopher Kuzawa is the John D. MacArthur Professor of anthropology, a faculty Fellow of the Institute for...

Mary Pattillo, Harold Washington Professor of Sociology and chair of the Department of African American Studies, has been listed as one of Better magazine’s 2023 Top 10 of Chicago’s Black Women of Impact. The list celebrates women who “have risen to...

Despite the advent of anti-discrimination laws and a shift in social norms favoring diversity, hiring discrimination persists against racial and ethnic minorities, according to a new study from Northwestern sociologists Lincoln Quillian and John J. Lee. Data from six North American...

A recent survey of American adults conducted by researchers from the COVID States Project found that almost half of respondents reported being infected with COVID-19 at least once, with 35% saying they have tested positive more than once. The survey...