Social Sciences
Explore faculty and student work in economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, and other disciplines shaping our understanding of society.
Why America’s Strategy For Reducing Racial Inequality Failed
Harvard professor Christina Cross debunks the myth of the two-parent Black family.
by Saima Sidik
Can Price Transparency Reduce Healthcare Spending?
Economists question whether price transparency can reduce healthcare spending.
“The Rise and Fall of American Growth,” reviewed by Shane Greenstein
Definitive economic history—and a debatable, despairing forecast
Dustin Tingley on the domestic politics of foreign policy
Political scientists demystify unseen institutional tensions.
Gundalow rides promote appreciation of history and the environment
Public boat tours with The Gundalow Company, in Portsmouth, N.H.
Harvard economist Claudia Goldin examines the gender wage gap
Economist Claudia Goldin investigates what causes the gender wage gap, and what doesn't.
Political theorist Danielle Allen is profiled by Spencer Lenfield
Danielle Allen’s mission to return equality to the heart of American democracy
Harvard economist Richard Freeman on the risks of robotization of the economy
Most people’s jobs are at risk of becoming robotized, argues labor economist Richard Freeman.
Susan Dunn reviews Jefferson biography by Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf
Thomas Jefferson's “fractal” view of American self-governance
by Susan Dunn
Harvard historians: ice records shed light on medieval climate
Historians at Harvard's Initiative for the Science of the Human Past investigate ice cores.
Economists debate the merits of school choice
Economists rethink the merits of school-choice systems.