Newsletter

The Stone Center’s sixth cohort of postdoctoral scholars, Zhexun Mo and Severin Rapp, will start new positions this fall after they complete their two-year terms at the Graduate Center. Mo will join the economics department of Laval University in Quebec City, Canada, as an assistant professor, and Rapp will join the London School of Economics (LSE) as a research officer in the International Inequalities Institute (III).

GC Wealth Project’s Data Descriptor Published in “Nature”

“Wealth Composition, Distribution, and Transmission: The Graduate Center Wealth Project Data Warehouse” was published by Nature: Scientific Data. The data warehouse draws on more than 350 sources across multiple countries and time periods. Postdoc Severin Rapp gave a behind-the-scenes look at the effort to create the data warehouse in an article for Springer Nature.

The Gender Wealth Gap, Forced Displacement, and Land Restitution: Naomi Crowther

Stone Center Postdoctoral Scholar Naomi Crowther’s research focuses on topics such as the applicability of economic theory in post-conflict settings. In this interview, she talks about her ongoing projects, why she decided to earn a doctoral degree after working for international institutions, and her Stone Center Working Paper: “Shaping Women’s Fortunes: Inheritance and Gender Disparities.”

How Policy Design Affects Inequality: A Conversation with Junior Scholar Shou-Ming Chang

Before coming to the Graduate Center, Stone Center Junior Scholar and Ph.D. candidate Shou-Ming Chang worked as a legislative assistant in the parliament of Taiwan, where he observed firsthand how political institutions and procedural rules influence public economic policy. He recently spoke about his dissertation, which examines how the structure of healthcare systems affects inequality, and his other research interests.

Socio-Economic Inequality in the Workplace: Junior Scholar Paisley Shultz

Stone Center Junior Scholar Paisley Shultz is a third-year Ph.D. student in industrial-organizational psychology, where she researches topics related to socio-economic inequality, including the impact of technological change on employees, equitable hiring practices, and pay disclosure among coworkers. She recently discussed her research, her experience teaching undergraduate students, and her work as a practitioner.

Visiting Researcher Jakob Dirksen on Measuring Multidimensional Inequalities and Perceptions of Inequality

Jakob Dirksen, a visiting researcher at the Stone Center, recently presented his work on measuring multidimensional inequalities in the U.S. His presentation was the last installment of the Spring 2026 Multidisciplinary Seminar Series. In this interview, he gives an overview of his current projects and research goals. Dirksen is based at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford.

The Great Global Transformation: The United States, China, and the Remaking of the World Economic Order

Stone Center Scholars Contribute to Meeting of International Panel on Inequality Founding Committee

Stone Center Director Janet Gornick and GC Wealth Project Director Salvatore Morelli took part in a recent meeting of the International Panel on Inequality Founding Committee, an international group of experts and officials. The April gathering in Johannesburg was the second meeting of the committee, which aims to monitor inequality trends, assess their drivers and consequences, and evaluate policy responses.

Stone Center Working Paper Series: Recent Additions

• Shaping Women’s Fortunes: Inheritance and Gender Disparities
  N. Crowther and L. Roos. Stone Center Working Paper Series no. 124. 2026.
• Capitalization of the World: Global Distribution of Income from Property, 2000–2020
  B. Milanovic and M. Ranaldi. Stone Center Working Paper Series no. 125. 2026.
• Economic Inequality and Social Mobility in Preindustrial Societies: What We Know, What We Don’t (But Should) Know
  G. Alfani. Stone Center Working Paper Series no. 126. 2026.