While the number of people living in extreme poverty has decreased by more than half since 1990, the scale of global poverty remains vast with about 10 percent of the global population still living below the international poverty line. In addition, the gap between rich and poor is widening. Both poverty and inequality have been exacerbated by COVID-19 as disadvantaged groups, in particular, cope with the long-term shocks wrought by the pandemic. Access to adequate health care is also a growing concern across the globe. Green School faculty are producing leading research on racial and gender inequality, gentrification, minorities and marginalized communities, and the complex role of globalization in both ameliorating poverty and concentrating wealth.
| Department | Name | Faculty Research |
| Economics | Berrak Bahadir | Works on the importance of wealth and income inequality for the link between borrowing and business cycles |
| Economics | Sheng Guo | Works on the effects of Global Financial Crisis on the disparity of consumption and savings of households |
| Economics | Cem Karayalcin | Conducts research on the historical causes of and current state of global income and wealth inequalities |
| Economics | Norihiko Matsuda | Works on the effects of a social safety net program on the well being of the elderly |
| Economics | Tobias Pfutze | Works on the impact of social protection programs in various countries |
| Economics | Mihaela Pintea | Works on how socioeconomic background affects educational attainment and health |
| Economics | Abu Shonchoy | Works on global public health questions related to early childhood development and nutrition for infants using RCT methods |
| Economics | Nicholas Wright | Works on (i) Education policies in developing nations and (ii) evaluation of public health policies in the US |
| Economics | Hakan Yilmazkuday | Works on the spread of COVID-19 and its unequal economic effects across socioeconomic and demographic groups |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Kevin Grove | Works on the social, cultural and spatial determinants of health inequalities and health system resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Zachary Levenson | Analyzes struggles over housing and mass evictions in Cape Town, South Africa |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Kathy Linenberger | Works on public health, social epidemiology, social welfare and violence prevention programming |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Shearon Lowery | Works on public health issues, including drug and alcohol consumption and sexual health |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Matt Marr | Examines how social context at multiple scales shapes homelessness in Japan and the US |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Rod Neumann | Examines socially and spatially unequal access to resources in and around conservation protection areas |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Ulrich Oslender | Examines impacts of and resistance to geographically uneven development in Colombia's Pacific coast |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Mark Padilla | Works on structural and social drivers of public health inequalities in Latin America, the Caribbean and the US |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Genevieve Reid | Works on geographies of health inequalities and health mobilities in Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Sheilla Rodriguez-Madera | Works on social, economic and environmental determinants of health inequalities in Latin America |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Derrick Scott | Works on housing, land tenure, and smart growth in US, Caribbean and Sub-Saharan African cities |
| Global and Sociocultural Studies | Nelson Varas-Diaz | Works on social, economic and environmental determinants of health inequalities in Latin America |
| History | Tovah Bender | Works on social networks among non-elites when the republican Florentine government shifted towards oligarchy |
| History | Rebecca Friedman | Witness Institute for Visual Journalism/Preservation of Democracy Across Borders |
| History | Catherine Mas | Works on the history of campaigns to expand healthcare access to under-served populations |
| History | Okezi T Otovo | Works on the history of Black women's health care and racial inequalities in maternal health |
| History | Bianca Premo | Works on history of children and reproductive rights in colonial and early 20th-century Latin America |
| History | Dan Royles | Works on HIV/AIDS in the US and engagement by US activists with global HIV/AIDS pandemic |
| History | Chantalle F Verna | Works on these themes within the context of domestic and international affairs in Haiti, as part of African Diaspora and structural racism worldwide |
| Politics and International Relations | Susanne Zwingel | Works on International women’s rights and their translation; gender equality advocacy around the world; global governance and gender; feminist, constructivist, and post-colonial IR theories; gender and armed conflict |
| Public Policy and Administration | Shaoming Cheng | Works on local government management and governance and community transformation |
| Works on local governments' managerial and governance changes in response to the challenges of cybersecurity | ||
| Public Policy and Administration | Donavon Johnson | Works on administrative burden and their implications for underserved populations and vulnerable groups |
| Public Policy and Administration | Meredith Newman | Works on local government policy evaluation, with a focus on human resources |