Published Research
I research poverty, inequality, and social policy in the United States and internationally. Click on each topic below for paper descriptions, full papers, supplementary material, and replication packages.
Homelessness
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Policy Brief
- Ryan Finnigan. Forthcoming. "The Growth and Shifting Spatial Distribution of Tent Encampments in Oakland, California." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences (pre-print pdf)
- Ryan Finnigan. Forthcoming. "Self-Reported Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic for People Experiencing Homelessness in Sacramento, California" Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness (pre-print pdf)
Policy Brief
- Ryan Finnigan. 2020. "Greater Resources Required to Protect People Experiencing Homelessness from COVID-19." UC Davis Center for Poverty Research--Policy Brief, Vol. 8 No. 9
Poverty and Hardship
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Policy Briefs
- David Brady, Ryan Finnigan, Ulrich Kohler, Joscha Legewie. 2020. “The Inheritance of Race Revisited: Childhood Wealth and Income, and Black-White Disadvantages in Adult Life Chances.” Sociological Science 7: 599–627 (open-access link)
- Ryan Finnigan and Kelsey D. Meagher. 2019. “Past Due: Combinations of Housing and Utility Hardship in the United States.” Sociological Perspectives 62(1): 96–119 (pdf)
- Bill McCarthy, Angela Carter, Mikael Janson, Cecilia Benoit, and Ryan Finnigan. 2018. “Poverty, Material Hardship, and Mental Health among Workers in Three Frontline Service Occupations.” Journal of Poverty 22(4): 334–354 (pdf)
- David Brady, Ryan Finnigan, and Sabine Huebgen. 2017. “Rethinking the Demographic Risks of Poverty: Prevalences and Penalties in Comparative Perspective.” American Journal of Sociology 123(3): 740–786 (pdf)
- Ryan Finnigan. 2014. “Racial and Ethnic Stratification in the Relationship between Homeownership and Self-Rated Health.” Social Science & Medicine 115: 72–81 (pdf)
- David Brady, Regina Baker, and Ryan Finnigan. 2013. “When Unionization Disappears: State-Level Unionization and Working Poverty in the U.S.” American Sociological Review 78(5):872–896 (pdf)
Policy Briefs
- Ryan Finnigan and Kelsey D. Meagher. 2018. "Missed Housing and Utility Payments are Common and Persistent in the United States." UC Davis Center for Poverty Research--Policy Brief, Vol. 7 No. 3
- David Brady, Ryan Finnigan, and Sabine Hübgen. February 8th 2018. “Single Mothers Are Not the Problem.” New York Times.
- Ryan Finnigan. 2018. “Risk Factors for Poverty Are Stronger in the US than Many Other Countries.” UC Davis Center for Poverty Research--Policy Brief, Vol. 6 No. 2
Work and Labor Market Inequality
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Policy Brief
- Ryan Finnigan. 2020. “Rainbow-Collar Jobs? Occupational Segregation by Sexual Orientation in the United States.” Socius 6: 1–17 (open-access link)
- Ryan Finnigan. 2018. “Varying Weekly Work Hours and Earnings Instability in the Great Recession.” Social Science Research 74: 96–107 (pdf)
- Ryan Finnigan and Savannah Hunter. 2018. “Occupational Composition and Racial/Ethnic Inequalities in Varying Weekly Work Hours,” pp.165–193 in Research in the Sociology of Work, vol. 32, edited by Ethel Mickey and Adia Harvey Wingfield. (pdf)
- Ryan Finnigan and Jo Mhairi Hale. 2018. “Working 9 to 5? Union Membership and Work Hours and Schedules.” Social Forces 4(1): 1541–1568 (pdf)
Policy Brief
- Ryan Finnigan and Jo Mhairi Hale. 2018. “Growth in Irregular Work Increased Poverty During and After Great Recession.” UC Davis Center for Poverty Research--Policy Brief, Vol. 5 No. 2
Social Policy and Public Attitudes
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Tarik Abou-Chadi and Ryan Finnigan. 2019. “Rights for Same-Sex Couples and Attitudes toward Gays and Lesbians in Europe.” Comparative Political Studies 52(6): 868–895 (pdf)
- David Brady and Ryan Finnigan. 2014. “Does Immigration Undermine Public Support for Social Policy?” American Sociological Review 79(1): 17–42 (pdf)