The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work produces cutting-edge research to advance our understanding of poverty and the role of social policy in reducing poverty and promoting opportunity, economic security, and individual and family well-being in New York City and the United States.
Our aim is to produce rigorous, relevant, and impactful research. We leverage the latest data and methodological tools to provide a comprehensive picture of poverty at the national and state level, and in our hometown of New York City. We use this information to analyze the impacts of tax and safety net policies and identify who is likely to gain or lose from specific policy changes. Our timely and accessible results help policymakers, grassroots networks, advocates, media, and the public understand the real impacts of policy decisions on the economic opportunity and security of individuals, families, and communities.
Research
Benefit-Cost Analysis
Our benefit-cost research examines the long-term benefits to society generated from public investments in children and how these compare to program costs.
Child Care
Our child care research examines the impact of public investments in child care and efforts to make high-quality child care more affordable for families with children.
COVID-19 Policy and Research
Our COVID-19 research examines the impact of the pandemic and its policy responses using a range of tools, from close to real-time monthly poverty estimates during the crisis to the impacts of pandemic-era policy changes.
Employment
Our employment research examines the anti-poverty effects of policies like the minimum wage, subsidized employment programs, and unemployment benefits, as well as the effect of conditioning access to basic needs—such as health care and food assistance—on employment.
Food
Our food assistance research examines food insecurity, the anti-poverty effects of nutrition assistance policies, and the potential effects of proposed food policy changes.
Poverty Measurement
Our poverty measurement research examines advances in poverty measurement and poverty trends using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), including how present-day poverty rates can be understood in a historical context and how monthly poverty rates tell a different story than annual ones.
Housing
Our housing research examines how housing affects employment, health, and other family outcomes and how rental and utilities assistance policies impact poverty nationwide, with a particular look also at New York City and the pressures families experience in a high cost of living area.
International
Our international policy research explores best practices in policy design and poverty reduction strategies across different countries and draws out lessons relevant to the United States.
Paid Family & Medical Leave
Our paid family and medical leave research explores how these policies, and related ones such as paid sick days, are structured and the ways in which they may benefit employers, workers, families, and the economy.
Poverty in New York City
The Poverty Tracker, a joint project of Robin Hood and Columbia University launched in 2012, is a pioneering study that captures a more complete picture of life in New York City, tracking the dynamics of poverty, material hardship, and health over time by following a representative sample of up to 4,000 New Yorkers multiple times a year.
Tax Policy
Our tax research examines the policy design and potential anti-poverty effects of existing and emerging tax policy, including tax credits such as the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and more.