Mariana Amorim
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Cornell University, 2019
Areas
Family, Social Policies, Demography
Research Interests
I am a social demographer and sociologist who relies on a wide range of large scale data sets and a diverse methodological toolkit to study families, poverty and inequality, and social policies. My work sheds light on the role of (1)private, (2) public, and (3) “shadow” safety nets in promoting the well-being of parents and children during an era of increasing family complexity and economic inequality. In the first line of research, I investigate the implications of complex living arrangements for intergenerational financial support. My second line of research investigates the effects of cash-transfers on the wellbeing of families across the socioeconomic spectrum. In my third line of research, I underscore the role of “shadow safety nets” – i.e., unsecured debt such as payday loans, pawnshop loans, auto-title loans, loans from family and friends – in the portfolio of economically insecure families.
Selected Publications
Amorim, M., & Deming, S* (2022) “Black-White Disparities in Nuclear Family Transitions and Postsecondary Transfers to Children”. Journal of Marriage and Family, 84(4), 1024-1045. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12845
Amorim, M., & Schneider, D. (2022). Schedule Unpredictability and High-Cost Debt Among Service Workers.” Sociological Science, 9(5), 102-135.
Amorim, M. (2021). The Effects of Basic Income on Child-Related Investments: the Case of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend. Social Forces, soab 119, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soab119
Amorim, M. (2021). ‘My Favorite One is the One Who is There Right Now’: Socioeconomic Differences in Support Exchanges Within Stepfamilies. Social Problems, spab068, https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spab068
Pilkauskas, N., Amorim, M., & Dunifon, R. (2020) Historical Trends in Children Living in Multigenerational Households: 1870-2018. Demography, 57(6), 2269-2296.
Amorim, M., & Tach, L. (2019). Multiple-Partner Fertility and Cohort Change in the Prevalence of Half-Siblings. Demography, 56(6), 2033-2061.
