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

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

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

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

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.

ChiaKo Hung

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

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

Aerial panoramic view of Paterson, NJ

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.

R. Jisung Park

SP2’s R. Jisung Park named to Russell Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar Class of 2024-2025

SP2's Dr. R. Jisung Park has been selected by Russell Sage Foundation as one of 17 visiting scholars for the 2024-2025 academic year.

View of the Saint Paul, Minnesota, skyline from train tracks.

Report: Trailblazing guaranteed income program in Saint Paul enhanced mental and financial well-being  

In a report authored by the Center for Guaranteed Income Research (CGIR) at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), findings from the 18-month People’s Prosperity Pilot (PPP) guaranteed income program reveal connections between the receipt of unconditional cash and improved financial health, sense of self, and economic mobility.