Social Science Research on the Impacts of COVID-19
The research compiled here has been conducted by SBS faculty, graduate students, and recent alumni. This updating list of scholarship aims to provide awareness of quality social science research and to inform robust public discourse on the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
For additional information about the university's response to COVID-19, please visit its response hub here.
Research by department:
Communication
Economics
Journalism
Labor Studies
Political Science & Legal Studies
Public Policy
Resource Economics
Sociology
COVID-19 Research by Department
Communication
Elizabeth Sharrow
July 24, 2020
New Research from UMass Amherst’s Sharrow Finds Crises Such as COVID-19 Pandemic Threaten Support for Title IX
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/new-research-elizabeth-sharrow-finds-crises-such-covid-19-pandemic-threaten-support-title-ix
Devon Greyson
June 24, 2020
Devon Greyson Warns of Public Opinion Survey Contributions to COVID Misinformation in Recent Research Brief
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/faculty/devon-greyson-warns-public-opinion-survey-contributions-covid-misinformation-recent
Jonathan Ong
May 21, 2020
Jonathan Ong Finds Disinformation Production Has Become Diversified and ‘Democratized’
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/faculty/jonathan-ong-finds-disinformation-production-has-become-diversified-and-%E2%80%98democratized%E2%80%99
Burcu Baykurt
May 1, 2020
Are “Smart” Cities Living Up to the Hype?
https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/are-%E2%80%9Csmart%E2%80%9D-cities-living-hype
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Economics
Michael Ash, Economics and Public Policy, & Shouvik Chakraborty
June 2020
An Economic Analysis of Investment in Public Higher Education in Massachusetts: Recovering from the COVID-19 Crisis and Laying Foundations for the Future
https://massteacher.org/-/media/massteacher/files/Reports/MTA_Economic_Report_Web
Ihsaan Bassier, Josh Budlender, et al.
March 31, 2020
South Africa can – and should – top up child support grants to avoid a humanitarian crisis, The Conversation
https://theconversation.com/south-africa-can-and-should-top-up-child-support-grants-to-avoid-a-humanitarian-crisis-135222
Deepankar Basu & Priyanka Srivastava
May 28, 2020
India’s COVID trajectory should be measured against that of its neighbors
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-coronavirus-curve-health-ministry-india-neighbouring-countries-covid-19-pandemic-asia-6430312/
May 19, 2020
COVID-19 in South Asia: India Lags Behind Pak on Stimulus, Lanka on Overall Performance
https://thewire.in/political-economy/covid-19-in-south-asia-india-lags-behind-pak-on-stimulus-lanka-on-overall-performance
May 11, 2020
In South Asia, Lanka Leads and India Lags in Infrastructure, Medical Response to COVID-19
https://thewire.in/health/in-south-asia-lanka-leads-and-india-lags-in-infrastructure-medical-response-to-covid-19
May 9, 2020
COVID-19 Data in South Asia Shows India is Doing Worse than Its Neighbour
https://thewire.in/health/covid-19-data-in-south-asia-shows-india-is-doing-worse-than-its-neighbours
Deepankar Basu
May 3, 2020
Indian States Must Increase COVID-19 Testing. But by How Much?
https://science.thewire.in/health/states-coronavirus-testing/
April 5, 2020
Tracking COVID-19 in India: The BCG Hypothesis, The Wire
https://thewire.in/health/tracking-covid-19-in-india-the-bcg-hypothesis
March 31, 2020
COVID-19 in India: Has Window of Opportunity Opened by Dip in Daily Growth Rates Closed?, The Wire
https://thewire.in/health/tracking-covid-19-in-india-use-dip-in-growth-rate-to-ramp-up-public-health-interventions
Nicolas Bohme Olivera
March 22, 2020
Una alternativa al plan económico del Gobierno para hacer frente al COVID-19 (An alternative to the government’s economic plan to confront COVID-19), CIPER (Chile)
https://ciperchile.cl/2020/03/22/una-alternativa-al-plan-economico-del-gobierno-para-hacer-frente-al-covid-19/
Samuel Bowles
April 10, 2020
The coming battle for the COVID-19 narrative, Vox CEPR Policy Portal (with Wendy Carlin)
https://voxeu.org/article/coming-battle-covid-19-narrative
Casey Bucholz
April 11, 2020
The Coronavirus and Carceral Capitalism, Developing Economics
https://developingeconomics.org/2020/04/11/the-coronavirus-and-carceral-capitalism/
Doug Cliggott & Mariam Majd
April 3, 2020
Coronavirus and Financial Markets: A Conversation with Doug Cliggott, Stockton University Economic Society
[VIDEO] https://youtu.be/0dIAlrejM38
Arin Dube
March 23, 2020
Step One in Fighting the COVID-19 Economic Crisis, Boston Review
http://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/arindrajit-dube-step-one-fighting-covid-19-economic-crisis
March - 2020
Filling the Holes in Family and Business Budgets: Unemployment Benefits and Work Sharing in the Time of Pandemics, Economics for Inclusive Prosperity
https://econfip.org/policy-brief/filling-the-holes-in-family-and-business-budgets-unemployment-benefits-and-work-sharing-in-the-time-of-pandemics/
Jerry Epstein
March 25, 2020
The Coronavirus Consensus: "Spend, Spend, Spend", Dollars & Sense
https://www.peri.umass.edu/component/k2/item/1265-the-coronavirus-consensus-spend-spend-spend
Nancy Folbre
April 9, 2020
Italian Feminists: In Defense of Caregivers
https://blogs.umass.edu/folbre/2020/04/09/italian-feminists-in-defense-of-caregivers/
March 30, 2020
Care Work Network: Distillations_1
ttps://blogs.umass.edu/folbre/2020/03/30/care-work-network-distillations_1/
March 29, 2020
Coronavirus and the Fragility of the U.S. Economy
https://blogs.umass.edu/folbre/2020/03/29/coronavirus-and-the-fragility-of-the-u-s-economy/
Gerald Friedman
April 27, 2020
Don't waste the public's money bailing out private health insurers
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/494839-dont-waste-the-publics-money-bailing-out-private-health-insurers
Jayati Ghosh
April 8, 2020
The Coming Global Recession: Building an internationalist response, Transnational Institute Webinar
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__K9JluRdSaq1KQ3v31SGyA
March 16, 2020
The COVID-19 Debt Deluge, Project Syndicate
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/coronavirus-debt-crisis-by-jayati-ghosh-2020-03
John Komlos
April - 2020
The Trump Recession reveals the deep fissures in the U.S. economy
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j8qloladscwabbn/The%20Trump%20Recession.pdf?dl=0
Lenore Palladino
Economics and Public Policy
June 2, 2020
Hourly employees should be represented on Walmart's board of directors
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/perspectives/walmart-hourly-board/index.html
April 21, 2020
Another Risk for Small Business: Lightly Regulated Fintech Loans, Barron’s
https://www.barrons.com/articles/small-businesses-risk-predatory-loans-to-survive-51587492858
April 15, 2020
Loans Won’t Cut It for Flailing Small Businesses, Barron’s
https://www.barrons.com/articles/loans-wont-cut-it-for-flailing-small-businesses-51586982045
March 30, 2020
End Shareholder Primacy Once and For All
http://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/lenore-palladino-end-shareholder-primacy-once-and-all
March 23, 2020
4 Ways to Eradicate the Corporate Disease That is Worsening the Covid-19 Pandemic
https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/4-ways-to-eradicate-the-corporate-disease-that-is-worsening-the-covid-19-pandemic
March 19, 2020
Business Resiliency Requires Banning Stock Buybacks, Roosevelt Institute
https://rooseveltinstitute.org/business-resiliency-requires-banning-stock-buybacks/
Robert Pollin
April 10, 2020
Joint interview with Noam Chomsky, Truthout.org
https://truthout.org/articles/chomsky-and-pollin-to-heal-from-covid-19-we-must-imagine-a-different-world/
April 9, 2020
Wanted: Shovel-Ready Projects for a Green New Deal, The Nation
https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/shovel-green-new-deal/
April 9, 2020
The Deficit Is Exploding! And That’s a Good Thing, The Nation
https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/deficit-stimulus-fiscal-borrowing/
March 18, 2020
We Are Facing Economic Collapse on Top of a Pandemic. What We Do Now Matters, Truthout.org (with C.J. Polychroniou)
https://truthout.org/articles/we-are-facing-economic-collapse-on-top-of-a-pandemic-what-we-do-now-matters/
Kishorekumar Suryaprakash
May 22, 2020
In Chennai, 71% Resident Informal Workers Lost Jobs in Past 2 Months
https://www.newsclick.in/Chennai-Informal-Workers-Jobloss-COVID-19-Lockdown-MIT-Survey
Isabella Weber
April 21, 2020
International Trade in a post Covid-19 World
https://www.rebuildingmacroeconomics.ac.uk/event-details/international-trade-in-a-post-covid-19-world
Richard Wolff
April 18, 2020
Learning From Coronavirus: We Can't Rely on Capitalism to Serve Our Most Basic Social Needs
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/18/learning-coronavirus-we-cant-rely-capitalism-serve-our-most-basic-social-needs
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Journalism
Steve Fox
April 21, 2020
#UMassNewsLiteracy: Understanding Reliable News & Sources During Times of Crisis [Q&A]
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/faculty/umassnewsliteracy-understanding-reliable-news-sources-during-times-crisis-qa
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Labor Studies
Clare Hammonds & Jasmine Kerrissey
Labor Studies and Sociology
May 1, 2020
Survey of Essential Workers by UMass Labor Center During COVID-19 Pandemic Shows Widespread Health and Safety Concerns
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/survey-essential-workers-umass-labor-center-during-covid-19-pandemic-shows-widespread-health
Clare Hammonds, Jasmine Kerrissey & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey
June 5, 2020
Stressed, Unsafe, and Insecure: Essential Workers Need A New, New Deal
https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/stressed-unsafe-and-insecure-essential-workers-need-new-new-deal
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Political Science & Legal Studies
Charli Carpenter
May 8, 2020
"East Africa has weathered pandemics — and has a few things to teach the U.S.," says Charli Carpenter in 'The Washington Post'
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/faculty/east-africa-has-weathered-pandemics-%E2%80%94-and-has-few-things-teach-us-says-charli-carpenter
Ray La Raja
March 27, 2020
Political Impact of COVID-19 with Prof. Ray La Raja
[VIDEO] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPnoH5CpHLI
Jamie Rowen
April 22, 2020
8 Ways Veterans are Particularly at Risk From the Coronavirus
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/jamie-rowen-outlines-8-ways-veterans-are-risk-coronavirus-conversation
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Public Policy
Brenda Bushouse, et al.
Public Policy and Political Science
May 26, 2020
Advice and Consent in the Era of Global Pandemic: An Introduction to the PSJ Virtual Special Issue in Response to COVID-19 Crisis
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1541-0072.covid-19-crisis-2020
Caterina DiBiase
May 15, 2020
New Alum Coauthors Health Policy Report
https://www.umass.edu/spp/news/new-alum-coauthors-health-policy-report
Katie McDermott
May 20, 2020
Public Policy and College of Education
COVID-19 K-12 Edu Impact: Policy, Equity, and Implications for a Generation of Students
[VIDEO] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FPaSIZoCsU&feature=youtu.be
Ethan Zuckerman
Public Policy, Communications, and College of Information & Computer Sciences
May 18, 2020
The Case for Digital Public Infrastructure
https://www.umass.edu/spp/news/case-digital-public-infrastructure
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Resource Economics
David Keiser
May 26, 2020
While You Were Quarantined, National Parks' Air Was Getting Cleaner
https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/coronavirus-social-distancing-improving-national-park-air-quality
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Sociology
Joya Misra
July 3, 2020
Nearly 3 in 4 US moms were in the workforce before the COVID-19 pandemic – is that changing?
https://theconversation.com/nearly-3-in-4-us-moms-were-in-the-workforce-before-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-that-changing-141510
Clare Hammonds, Jasmine Kerrissey & Donald Tomaskovic-Devey
June 5, 2020
Stressed, Unsafe, and Insecure: Essential Workers Need A New, New Deal
https://www.umass.edu/employmentequity/stressed-unsafe-and-insecure-essential-workers-need-new-new-deal
Clare Hammonds & Jasmine Kerrissey
Sociology and Labor Studies
June 3, 2020
Low-wage essential workers get less protection against coronavirus – and less information about how it spreads
https://theconversation.com/low-wage-essential-workers-get-less-protection-against-coronavirus-and-less-information-about-how-it-spreads-138076
Ofer Sharone
April 22, 2020
The Second Phase of Unemployment Will Be Harsher
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/faculty/ofer-sharone-co-authors-article-atlantic-second-phase-unemployment
Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, et al.
April 14, 2020
Research by Tomaskovic-Devey Finds Rising Between-Workplace Inequalities in the US and Other High-Income Countries
https://www.umass.edu/sbs/news/faculty/research-tomaskovic-devey-finds-rising-between-workplace-inequalities-us-and-other-high
See more here: https://www.zotero.org/groups/2490010/umass_amherst_econ_on_covid-19/items/HFDNJB7T/library