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Rachel Margolis

Rachel Margolis, Professor

Undergraduate Chair, Sociology
Ph.D. Demography and Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

Rachel Margolis ia a demographer and sociologist who studies how family dynamics shape population change over time. Her research on aging addresses how and why grandparenthood is changing over time, how family networks are evolving, and how the thinning of kinship networks affects older adults. She is also interested in gender, parenthood and social policy.

Areas of Specialization

Demography
Social inequality

Family change
Aging

Selected Publications

Margolis, Rachel, Youjin Choi, Anders Holm, and Nirav Mehta. 2020. "The Effect of Expanded Parental Benefits on Union Dissolution." Journal of Marriage and Family 83(1): 191-208.
Margolis, Rachel, Youjin Choi, Feng Hou, and Michael Haan. 2019. "Capturing trends in Canadian divorce in an era without vital statistics." Demographic Research 41(52): 1453-1478.
Margolis, Rachel and Ashton M. Verdery . 2019. "A Cohort Perspective on the Demography of Grandparenthood: Past, Present, and Future Changes in Race and Sex Disparities in the United States." Demography 56(4): 1495-1518.
Margolis, Rachel, Feng Hou, Michael Haan, and Anders Holm. 2019. "Use of Parental Benefits by Family Income in Canada: Two Policy Changes." Journal of Marriage and Family 81: 450-467.
Verdery, Ashton M. and Rachel Margolis. 2017. "Projections of white and black older adults without living kin in the United States, 2015-2060." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(42): 11109-11114.
Winner of the Roy C. Buck Award (2019)

News

grandparents with tots on their laps

Grant sharpens student focus on aging Boomers

tot laying head on grandma's shoulder

Grandparents assuming more child-care duties – and risk – during pandemic

baby hand holding parent's thumb

Researchers unite to explore family leave nationwide