The Macarthur Foundation named Inequality: Measurement, Interpretation, and Policy (MIP) network member Matthew Desmond to their 2015 class of Fellows.

The Foundation writes that the Fellows in the 2015 class “…are shedding light and making progress on critical issues, pushing the boundaries of their fields, and improving our world in imaginative, unexpected ways.”

The Foundation cited Desmond’s work “revealing the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor and its role in perpetuating racial and economic inequality.”

Desmond is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Studies at Harvard University. He is the principal investigator of the Milwaukee Area Renters Study, an original survey of tenants in Milwaukee’s low-income private housing. His ethnographic field work explores the causes and impact of eviction in urban poor neighborhoods.

“In his investigations of the low-income rental market and eviction in privately owned housing in Milwaukee, Desmond argues persuasively that eviction is a cause, rather than merely a symptom, of poverty,” the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation wrote in their announcement.

Desmond is also exploring the relationships that struggling families form in order to survive, particularly the brief, intense relationships poor families form with strangers to meet immediate needs. His research on the urban poor focuses on housing markets and policy perpetuate racial and economic inequality.

To read more about Matthew Desmond, please see his profile on our website.