From payday loans to pawn shops: predatory lending, the unbanked, and poor health

The alternative financial services (AFS) industry, such as short-term predatory lenders and check cashers, generates revenue of $75 billion annually. Growth in the industry accelerated in the 1980s due to deregulation and increased need for credit among the poor and working class suffering from stagnant wages and social service cuts. In particular, AFS businesses exploit the financial marginalization of African Americans and. . .

This workshop is a 2 hour introduction to the free, open-source statistical programming language R. It assumes no prior experience with R. You can register for the workshop at the link below.

CSDE is pleased to provide travel scholarships for a number of its Certificate Trainees and training grant Fellows in order for them to present their research to the national community. One of the key meetings for our students is the Population Association of America meeting, held this year in Chicago on April 27 – 29, 2017. Here are some stories from several of our students who attended. If you would like to help CSDE support travel to upcoming conferences, you may make a donation to the travel fund here.

CSDE Affiliates Professor René Flores (Sociology) and Professor India Ornelas (Health Services) were both recognized with Latinx Faculty Awards by the UW’s Latino Center for Health for their distinguished scholarly accomplishments, advocacy, and leadership this year on behalf of Latina/o communities and needs. Award recipients either were promoted to associate professor or professor, published an article in a high-impact journal, published a book, secured a major grant, or are retiring during or near the end of the academic year.

Michelle O’Brien, CSDE Funded Fellow and doctoral student in Sociology at UW, recently published a paper in Migration Studies examining ties between ethnic migration and sociopolitical pressure in Russia. O’Brien argues that push factors from anti-minority nationalist parties have encouraged greater out-migration among ethnic minorities. Her studies suggest that ethnic minorities are not inherently inclined to migrate more than majority groups–they are simply pressured into doing so by political sentiment.

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