CBRSS welcomes four Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars

The Center for Basic Research in the Social Sciences (CBRSS) has announced the arrival of four new visiting scholars, as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Scholars in Health Policy Research Program. This is a two-year postdoctoral fellowship program for outstanding new Ph.D.s in economics, political science, and sociology who wish to advance their understanding of health policy research.

The program is directed by Nicholas Christakis, professor of medical sociology in the Department of Health Care Policy; Gary King, David Florence Professor of Government; and Joseph Newhouse, John D. Macarthur Professor of Health Policy and Management, and director of the Division of Health Policy Research and Education at the School of Public Health. Over the next several years, CBRSS will host up to eight scholars per year.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research are as follows:

Katherine Carman recently completed her Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University. Her primary research interests are in the fields of public economics and health economics. Carman’s past research has examined the role of social influences on charitable contributions, the adequacy of life insurance holdings, and the financial impact of changes in marital status.

Erica Field completed her Ph.D. in economics in 2003 from Princeton University, and will be joining Harvard’s Department of Economics as an assistant professor in the spring of 2005. Her primary fields of interest are labor and development economics, and economic demography. Her past research has examined the household welfare effects of urban land titling programs on labor supply, credit access, and fertility, and the effect of educational debt burden on career choice. Field’s current research examines the link between health inequality, individual health investments, and economic mobility.

Debra Javeline is an assistant professor of political science at Rice University. Javeline studies mass political behavior and attitudes, including the willingness of individuals suffering severe economic hardships to engage in political protest or to litigate. Recent publications include “Protest and the Politics of Blame: The Russian Response to Unpaid Wages” (University of Michigan Press, 2003) and “The Role of Blame in Collective Action: Evidence from Russia” (American Political Science Review, 2003). Javeline specializes in survey research methodology. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar, Javeline is beginning a new project on the links between social factors and public health. She is especially interested in whether politically active and politically passive individuals experience different health outcomes.

Julia Lynch is currently on leave from the University of Pennsylvania, where she is an assistant professor in the political science department. Her research focuses on the politics of the economy and the welfare state. She is particularly interested in the interaction between political economy and demography. Current research includes an investigation of public perceptions of intergenerational fairness in health policy in the United States and Europe, and a project evaluating how demographic changes influence what kinds of social policies labor unions prefer.

For more information, visit http://www.rwj.harvard.edu.