Population Studies Center

WA’s New Long-Term Care Experiment to Watch LDI Senior Fellow Norma Coe weights in on the new WA Cares program and discusses her recent study on the long-term care insurance market.

Public long-term care insurance (LTCI) is here.

Research emphasizes the difficulty of relying on voluntary LTCI coverage to shift long-term care risk.

LDI Director of Research Norma Coe breaks down the LTCI market and what this public model could change: ldi.upenn.edu/our-work/res...

How Hospitals Can Ease Staff Burnout, Improve Patient Safety An evaluation of Magnet4Europe suggests that organizational change can improve clinician well-being and patient safety.

NEW: Adopting more of the Magnet framework was linked to lower nurse burnout & improved patient safety in European hospitals.

LDI Fellow Linda Aiken and Penn CHOPR's Gary Rettberg explain what the Magnet4Europe evaluation means for health system workforce reform: https://bit.ly/4kS9k74

National Variation in Black Immigrant Preterm Births and the Role of County-Level Social Factors - Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Preterm birth rates among Black individuals continue to be inequitably high in the USA. Black immigrants appear to have a preterm birth advantage over US-born counterparts. This national cross-section...

While Black immigrants to the U.S. have a lower risk of preterm birth than native Black birthing people, new research by LDI Fellow Diana Montoya-Williams based on national data from 2011-2018 shows that this advantage may depend on where immigrants live. https://bit.ly/4kSF8Zy

Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.

Why does cash save lives in Tanzania but barely move the needle in Texas?

Aaron Richterman and @hthirumurthy.bsky.social offer a road map for what effective cash assistance can look like in this country, if we choose to build on it. www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

Four Conditions Make Cash Transfers Save Lives The success of other countries shows these programs can work in the United States.

NEW: In @theatlantic.com, LDI Fellows Aaron Richterman (@draaron.bsky.social) and Harsha Thirumurthy (@hthirumurthy.bsky.social) share four ways to design cash transfer programs that can reduce poverty and improve health in the U.S.

Read more here:
www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

How ancient attraction shaped the human genome | Penn Today Research led by geneticist Sarah Tishkoff’s finds that prehistoric mating preferences is a likely explanation for why modern humans have small amounts of Neanderthal genetic elements on their X chromo...

Prof. Sarah Tishkoff’s lab has found that prehistoric mating preferences is a likely explanation for why modern humans have so little Neanderthal DNA on their X chromosomes, challenging the idea that human evolution was driven solely by survival of the fittest. https://bit.ly/4kZsAzv @upenn.edu

Staffing Mandates Boost Care Without Closing Nursing Homes A new LDI study finds that nursing home staffing mandates raised care levels without triggering closures.

Do nursing home staffing mandates hurt profits?

💡 New evidence from LDI Exec Director @rachelwerner.bsky.social & Fellow Norma Coe in Health Affairs finds staffing mandates boost care without reducing profits, supporting the case to restore federal minimum staffing standards
https://bit.ly/4aMqkZd

Cash Transfer Programs Can Help Health Outcomes Using data from 37 low- and middle-income countries, the research provides evidence that these programs substantially reduce mortality rates population-wide.

NEW: Our latest brief covers research from LDI Senior Fellows @draaron.bsky.social @hthirumurthy.bsky.social and Jere Behrman that provides the first population-level evidence that cash transfer programs substantially reduce mortality.

Read more here:
https://bit.ly/47gpGkl

Neanderthal males and human females had babies together, ancient DNA reveals When ancient humans mated, dad was a Neanderthal, mom was Homo sapiens.

A new study from PIK Prof. Sarah Tishkoff of Biology is featured in the @washingtonpost.com and proposes that interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals was based on a strong sex bias: preferential mating between Neanderthal males and human females. @upenn.edu

What Makes Cash Transfer Programs Work? LDI experts draw on their research on cash transfer programs in multiple countries and explain the conditions that drive success.

“Why does cash save lives in Tanzania but barely move the needle in Texas?”

In @theatlantic.com, LDI Fellows @draaron.bsky.social and @hthirumurthy.bsky.social outline the conditions that make cash transfer programs work. https://bit.ly/3N63t1t

Spring Independent Research Grants for @upenn.edu undergrads in all schools pursuing an independent or semi-independent research project with Penn faculty. Apply by Monday, March 16: curf.upenn.edu/undergraduat...

There are more than 100 working papers by @pennpsc.bsky.social and @pennaging.bsky.social researchers in the Population Center Working Papers Series!

TAKE A LOOK:
https://www.pop.upenn.edu/working-papers-v2

RESCHEDULED!

Van de Walle prize winner Emily Curran presents

“Parenthood Penalties in Same-Sex Couples: How Parental Status Shapes Paid Work Specialization in American Couples”

Monday, February 23, 2026

12 – 1PM | PSC Commons | McNeil 403

LEARN MORE:
https://bit.ly/4aRreCk

RESCHEDULED!

Van de Walle prize winner Emily Curran presents

“Parenthood Penalties in Same-Sex Couples: How Parental Status Shapes Paid Work Specialization in American Couples”

Monday, February 23, 2026

12 – 1PM | PSC Commons | McNeil 403

LEARN MORE:
https://bit.ly/4aRreCk

The Olympic gamble: behavioral economics behind the games - Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) As we cheer on Team USA at Milano Cortina 2026, CHIBE Director Dr. Kevin Volpp spoke to us about the psychology and behavioral economics elements at play for Olympians. Lindsey Vonn competed with a ru...

Watching the Winter #Olympics? CHIBE Director Dr. Kevin Volpp spoke to us about the psychology and behavioral economics elements at play for Olympians. chibe.upenn.edu/blog/the-oly...

Brainwaves: How does a brain stay healthy? You might think a healthy brain starts and ends in your head – but there are miles and miles of neuron fibers that connect your brain with nearly every corner of your body. Why a healthy brain needs a...

How does a brain stay healthy?
"There are a lot of linkages between our brains and what we eat that are influenced by your gut microbiome that affect cognition and mood," Dr. Kevin Volpp says.
www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026...

Transforming community health and social connections in rural areas of the US | Penn Today Dolores Albarracín, the Amy Gutmann Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, has long studied how to curb disease and improve health.

Dolores Albarracín, the Amy Gutmann Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, has long studied how to curb disease and improve health.

TOMORROW! @pennpsc.bsky.social & @pennaging.bsky.social researcher @leticiamarteleto.bsky.social (2/25 @ 1PM)

Living the Hard Promise: International Scholarship at a Crossroads

Mark Devlin, C. Brian Rose, Rodolfo Altamirano

MORE INFO
www.alumni.upenn.edu/s/1587/gid2/...

@sas.upenn.edu

Seven things to know about ‘Common Sense’ | Penn Today Penn experts share insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, 250 years after its publication.

Profs. Sophia Rosenfeld, Emma Hart, and Duncan Watts, shared insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, "Common Sense", 250 years after its publication at a recent panel discussion. @upenn.edu

Seven things to know about ‘Common Sense’ | Penn Today Penn experts share insights into Thomas Paine’s influential written work, 250 years after its publication.

In 1776, an anonymous pamphlet published in Philadelphia had an outsize effect on American independence. 250 years after Thomas Paine first released Common Sense, Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts discuss its continued influence. @upenn.edu @sas.upenn.edu

Dorothy Roberts’ memoir on interracial families in America | Penn Today Roberts’ new memoir, “The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family” is an exploration of race, identity, and family in America.

Dorothy Roberts’ new memoir, ‘The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family,’ is "an exploration of race, identity, and family in America."

This event is cancelled because of the snow emergency; it will be rescheduled.

“Parenthood Penalties in Same-Sex Couples: How Parental Status Shapes Paid Work Specialization in American Couples”

Emily Curran, Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology & Demography

Van de Wall Prize Winner for Best Paper in Demography

Monday, February 23, 2026

12 – 1:00 pm: PSC Commons, McNeil 403

Congrats to VAN DE WALLE PRIZE WINNER Emily Curran!

See her present her paper at the next
PENN POPULATION STUDIES COLLOQUIUM
2/23 | 12PM | PSC Commons (McNeil 403)

READ MORE:
https://bit.ly/4aqR4OR

New paper in the Population Center Working Papers (PSC/PARC) series!

Parenthood Penalties in Same-Sex Couples: How Parental Status Shapes Paid Work Specialization in American Couples

by Emily Curran

READ IT HERE:
https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/62251

How to Communicate About Science | Q&A with Emily Oster YouTube video by Behavior Change For Good Initiative

Missed our keynote conversation with Emily Oster?

The Q&A, co-hosted by @katymilkman.bsky.social and @alison-buttenheim.bsky.social, explored best practices for communicating about science.

Watch the recording: youtu.be/owqZ6BCBAr4

Prof. Dorothy Roberts Releases Memoir on Interracial Families in America New memoir from Prof. Dorothy E. Roberts is an exploration of race, identity, and family in America.

Prof. Dorothy E. Roberts' new memoir, The Mixed Marriage Project, intertwines her family's story with her father's research on interracial couples in Chicago. An exploration of love, race, and identity in America. Watch Prof. Roberts discuss her new memoir. https://penncareylaw.news/4kikGkA

In a @hbr.org article, Co-Director @angeladuckworth.bsky.social, Team Scientist Lyle Ungar, and collaborators ask:

How does Gen Z use AI, and what are the implications for education and the workplace?

hbr.org/2026/01/how-...

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic: Transforming Community Health and Social Connections in Rural Areas of the U.S.

Professor Dolores Albarracín has long studied how to curb disease and improve health. Learn about her efforts, along with the team at the Social Action Lab, working with people in the parts of the United States most vulnerable to HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV):

Take a breath: Medicaid hasn’t changed yet | Expert Opinion But change is coming to the federal insurance plan, which (along with the state plan CHIP) covers two in five Pennsylvania children. Here’s what you can do to prepare.

What can parents do to get ready for upcoming Medicaid changes?

In a NEW Op-Ed for @inquirer.com,, pediatricians and LDI Fellows Betsy Salazar and Diana Montoya-Williams explain how to keep your kids covered: https://bit.ly/40cdsoQ