AREAS OF RESEARCH
Economic Security
SP2’s Centers and Faculty demonstrate the School’s expertise in income inequality, economic mobility, universal basic income, and the labor market impact of public policies.
Featured Centers
Center for Guaranteed Income Research
Center for Social Mobility and Prosperity
![Femida Handy](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Femida-Handy-1.jpg)
FEATURED FACULTY
Femida Handy, PhD
Professor; PhD, York (Canada), 1995. Volunteering; volunteering & health; global philanthropy; corporate social responsibility; environmental habitus.
![Headshot of Dr. Ioana Marinescu](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Ioana_Marinescu_0094_f-400x500.jpg)
FEATURED FACULTY
Ioana E. Marinescu, PhD
Associate Professor; PhD, London School of Economics, 2007. Imperfect competition in the labor market, antitrust, and competition policy as applied to the labor market; evaluation of the labor market impact of public policies, e.g. unemployment insurance and the minimum wage; unconditional cash transfers, the universal basic income; technology and structural changes in the labor market; green jobs.
![Headshot of Dr. Castro Baker](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Amy_Baker_0074_f-v-400x500.jpg)
FEATURED FACULTY
Amy Beth Castro, PhD
Assistant Professor; PhD, CUNY Hunter, 2014. Economic mobility; guaranteed income; innovation; how social policies produce gender and race disparities in housing and lending.
![Meredith Doherty](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Meredith-Doherty.jpg)
FEATURED FACULTY
Meredith Doherty, PhD, LCSW
Assistant Professor; PhD, Graduate Center of CUNY. Financial burden of serious illness; cancer disparities; access to healthcare; healthcare-based social needs interventions; palliative care and oncology social work; dissemination and implementation science.
![Penn Sp2 Headshots March 2024](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ChiaKo-Headshot-400x600.jpg)
FEATURED FACULTY
ChiaKo Hung, MA, MPA, PhD
Assistant Professor; PhD, Arizona State University. Nonprofit financial management, social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, fundraising management, collaborative governance, social equity, social impact.
![Alice Xu](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Alice-Xu.jpg)
FEATURED FACULTY
Alice Xu, PhD
Assistant Professor; PhD, Harvard University. Inequality and social policy, urban and distributive politics, environmental politics, quantitative and spatial methods, Latin America, Global South.
Related News
Faculty & Research
06/25
![Meredith Doherty speaks and points with one hand, sitting at a classroom table](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/web_SP2_Dec6_192-496x271.jpg)
Study by SP2 examines potential of direct cash for cancer patients from low-income households
The three-year randomized controlled trial by SP2 is examining the potential of direct cash assistance for patients from low-income households receiving care in Philadelphia, along with their families. The study is supported by funding from actor Bradley Cooper’s One Family Foundation and a grant awarded through the Independence Blue Cross Foundation Institute for Health Equity.
Faculty & Research
03/27
![Photo of the Broad Canal in Cambridge, Massachusetts, shows a body of water with sidewalks and buildings on either side and a blue sky above](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/web_cambridge_shutterstock_544348768-496x271.jpg)
Report: Guaranteed income improved financial health for caregivers in Cambridge, MA
In a report authored by SP2's Center for Guaranteed Income Research, findings from the Cambridge Recurring Income for Success & Empowerment program reveal a positive relationship between unconditional cash and caregivers’ financial health, employment, and parenting practices.
Faculty & Research
02/26
![Aerial panoramic view of Paterson, NJ](https://sp2.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/paterson_web_shutterstock_1548515765-496x271.jpg)
Report: Guaranteed income improved financial well-being and quality of life in Paterson, NJ
In a report authored by SP2’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research, findings from the Paterson Guaranteed Income Pilot Program reveal connections between unconditional cash and recipients’ quality of life, financial well-being, ability to balance their time, and feelings of belonging.