Laura Tach

Graduate Student in Sociology and Social Policy

Biographical Note

Laura is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology and social policy. Her research examines new demographic trends in family structures and population migration. In particular, she is interested in how such demographic trends complicate classic sociological theories, alter patterns of social and economic inequality, and create new targets for policy intervention. She has developed three distinct lines of inquiry that address the themes of demographic change and social policy through studies of: 1) mixed-income neighborhoods, 2) complex family structures, and 3) the consequences of inequality for individual wellbeing.

Dissertation Summary: Mixed-Income Neighborhoods in America
The landscape of urban poverty in America has changed dramatically in the past two decades, as governments and developers tore down public housing projects in high poverty neighborhoods nationwide and replaced them with mixed-income housing. Many of the most infamous housing projects no longer exist, and new residential contexts that include families with a wider array of economic means have emerged in their place. Yet there is practically no academic research on mixed-income neighborhoods to guide our expectations for these new neighborhoods. We know little about the demographic and social characteristics of mixed-income neighborhoods, the processes by which they are created and sustained, or how desirable they are as residential locations. My dissertation uses a variety of methods – quantitative and spatial analyses of secondary datasets, archival research on neighborhoods, and in-depth interviews with residents - to explain how political, social, and economic processes interact to either promote or undermine the stability of mixed-income neighborhoods. This research has broad implications for our theoretical understanding of economic segregation, neighborhood change, and the consequences of diversity for neighborhoods and individuals. It also has implications for public policies designed to create mixed-income housing.

Publications

Tach, Laura, Ronald Mincy, and Kathryn Edin. Forthcoming. "Parenting as a Package Deal: Relationships, Fertility, and Nonresident Father Involvement among Unmarried Parents." Demography.

Tach, Laura. 2009. "More than Bricks and Mortar: Neighborhood Frames, Social Processes, and the Mixed-Income Redevelopment of a Public Housing Project." City & Community, 8(3):273-303.
* ASA Community and Urban Sociology Section Outstanding Graduate Student Paper

Tach, Laura and Sarah Halpern-Meekin. 2009. "How Does Premarital Cohabitation Affect Trajectories of Marital Quality? Journal of Marriage and Family 71: 298-317.

Odgers, Candice, Terrie Moffitt, Laura Tach, and Robert Sampson. 2009. "The Protective Effects of Neighborhood Collective Efficacy on Children Growing Up in Deprivation: A Developmental Analysis." Developmental Psychology 45(4): 942-957.
* Featured in Science News, 7/16/09

Edin, Kathryn, Laura Tach, and Ronald Mincy. 2009. “Claiming Fatherhood: Race and the Dynamics of Paternal Involvement among Unmarried Fathers.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 621: 149-177.

Firebaugh, Glenn and Laura Tach. Forthcoming. “Income, Age, and Happiness in America.” In Peter V. Marsden (Ed.) Trends in the United States, 1972-2006: Evidence from the General Social Survey . Princeton University Press.
* Featured in LA Times, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer (8/15/05)

Halpern-Meekin, Sarah and Laura Tach. 2008. "Heterogeneity in Two-Parent Families and Adolescent Well-Being." Journal of Marriage and Family 72(2): 435-451.
* ASA Family Sociology Section Outstanding Graduate Student Paper

Tach, Laura and George Farkas. 2006. "Learning-related behaviors, cognitive skills, and ability grouping when schooling begins." Social Science Research 35(4): 1048-1079.

Jencks, Christopher and Laura Tach. 2006. “Would Equal Opportunity Mean More Mobility?” in Stephen Morgan and David Grusky (eds.) Mobility and Inequality: Frontiers of Research from Sociology and Economics. CA: Stanford University Press.

Selected Grants & Fellowships
National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant (2009-2010)
Eliot Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2009-2010)
Real Estate Academic Initiative Research Grant (2008-2009)
Taubman Center for State & Local Government Research Grant (2008-2009)
Weatherhead Justice, Welfare, and Economics Research Fellowship (2008-2009)
Multidisciplinary Program on Inequality & Social Policy IGERT Fellowship (2007-2008)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2004-2007)
HUD Early Doctoral Student Research Grant (2005-2006)
See CV for complete listing of fellowship and grant awards.

09/08/2009

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

Stratification & Poverty, Urban Sociology, Demography & Family Sociology, Quantitative & Mixed Methods, Social Policy

Previous Degrees

B.A. Sociology, Pennsylvania State University,
          with minors in Statistics and African American Studies
A.M. Sociology, Harvard University

Papers available in Portable Document Format (PDF)

Miscellaneous Additional Information

Conferences at Which I've Made Presentations

American Sociological Association (2003-2009)
Population Association of America (2004, 2007-2009)
Urban Affairs Association (2009)
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (2009)

Contact

617-496-5794 (FAX)

421 Taubman
Kennedy School of Government
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138