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

Saving the News—and Democracy

Should government bolster the free press?

by Ryan Doan-Nguyen

Post-COVID Learning Losses

Children face potentially permanent setbacks

by Ryan Doan-Nguyen

When Wildfires Make Your Air Unhealthy

Joseph Allen emphasizes that retreating indoors is an incomplete solution.

by Ryan Doan-Nguyen

Nepotism’s Impact in the Job Market

How connections in blue-collar work disadvantage women and blacks

by Max J. Krupnick

Making Charitable Giving More Competent

How psychological insight can make altruism more rewarding and effective

by Colleen Walsh

Enablers of the Unethical

A Harvard Business School professor turns the stage lights on the supporting cast that facilitates unethical acts

by Daniel Oberhaus

Seeking Climate Solutions

Teams of Harvard researchers have developed concrete proposals for addressing specific climate impacts.

by Jonathan Shaw

The Modern World Reconceived

Interpreting politics through the rise of technocracy, morality, and the “web of capital”

by J. Bradford Delong

Humans on Horseback

New evidence on domestication of horses—and the spread of an ancient Eurasian culture

by Jonathan Shaw

Research Clusters Seek Climate Solutions

Teams of Harvard researchers will develop concrete proposals for addressing specific climate impacts.

by Jonathan Shaw