Join CSSS for a seminar with Asli Cansunar on Wednesday, February 21st from 12:30-1:30pm in 409 Savery Hall and on Zoom (register here). Asli Cansunar is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington. Before joining the University of Washington, she was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Nuffield College and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Oxford. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (2018) and an MA in Economics (2014) from Duke University. Read more about the talk in the full story.

Abstract: Fiscal discrimination, used as a tool to achieve political objectives against vulnerable groups is a common yet understudied political tactic. Why do governments use taxation to strategically weaken select groups? And given tax systems’ intricacies, how can discriminatory policies be identified by political economists? We argue that when direct confiscation is politically risky, elites may opt for biased fiscal measures. Furthermore, fiscal policy weaponization can be identified through the mass departure of targeted groups from commercial and property sectors following the introduction of such tax strategies. We support these arguments using an original dataset from 1936-1953 telephone directories and 1942-1944 newspapers from Turkey. We find that the Turkish political elite used a capital levy to curb the property rights of targeted minority groups, facilitate inter-ethnic wealth transfers, and penalize non-Muslim minorities for non-compliance through a “progressive” tax. Our findings highlight the importance of studying fiscal discrimination as a tool of ethnic violence. Additionally, this paper shows how to use economic and social resources to study ethnic violence in developing countries where population and diversity data is not available.

UW BIRCH (Behavioral Research Center for HIV) will be hosting their Methods Core Seminar on Thursday, Feb. 22nd from 9:00-10:00 on Zoom. During this session, their outside speaker John W. Jackson, ScD, will be focusing on the following topics:

1. Outlining how to incorporate equity value judgements in analytic approaches to measure and identify leverage points for reducing disparities (Dr. John W. Jackson calls this “causal decomposition analysis”).
2. How covariate adjustments in defining disparities and in equalizing potential determinants of disparities (decompositions) ultimately convey value judgements about what is fair and equitable in the distribution of health and its determinants.
3. Various principles to guide the choice of covariates for meaningfully defining disparities and decompositions while adjusting for other covariates to account for confounding.

They encourage anyone interested to also sign up to be a BIRCH member here. Space in the workshop is limited and BIRCH Members will be prioritized for admittance.

The Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity initiative is soliciting applications to support unusually innovative intervention research addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) which, if successful, would have a major impact on preventing, reducing, or eliminating health disparities and advancing health equity. Projects should clearly demonstrate, based on the strength of the logic, a compelling potential to produce a major impact on advancing NIH’s commitment to addressing SDOH to accelerate progress in improving health for all. Preliminary data are not required for this initiative. This NOFO requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), which will be assessed as part of the scientific and technical peer review evaluation. Applications that fail to include a PEDP will be considered incomplete and will be withdrawn. Learn more in the full story and in the official RFA here.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the NOFO instructions carefully and view the available PEDP guidance material.

Funding Opportunity Number (FON) Number:
RFA-NR-24-004

Key Dates:
Open Date (Earliest Submission Date): February 22, 2024
Letter of Intent Due Date(s): February 22, 2024
Expiration Date: March 23, 2024

Join CSDE and the Population Health Initiative for a seminar with Dr. Yun Zhou on Friday, Feb. 16th from 12:30-1:30 PM in 360 PAR and on Zoom (register here). Zhou is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Zhou’s research examines social inequality and state-market-family relations through the lens of gender, marriage, and reproduction. Intersecting the studies of population and politics, Zhou’s current project investigates the demographic, political, and gendered consequences of China’s evolving reproductive governance.

There are several opportunities to meet with Zhou on Feb. 16th, including 1×1 meetings (sign up here) and a graduate student lunch, facilitated by CSDE Trainee June Yang. Learn more about the lunch in its official event poster (here) and RSVP to June (jyang32@uw.edu) to attend.

Abstract: What does it mean to be independent and “lead a life of one’s own,” when the state holds considerable power over individuals? Drawing on the deep theoretical tradition that connects large-scale demographic changes and the “pursuit of individualism,” I approach this question by examining individuals’ fertility ideations and behavior in contemporary China. Marshaling a mixed-methods design that combines 115 in-depth interviews and six waves of national surveys, I ask: How do urban Chinese women and men formulate fertility aspirations and make decisions about parenthood, as they construct visions of selfhood? Findings demonstrate that among men, transition into parenthood is frequently viewed as integral to the making of an independent self, marking the beginning of becoming legible as an individual person with a family of his own. Women, on the other hand, largely view parenthood as the harbinger of the breaking of an independent self and the end of individual autonomy. I further elucidate how such sharp contrast is rooted in the gender and family systems of contemporary China that entangle the sometimes-contradictory scripts of authoritarian pronatalism, on the one hand, and market-centric neoliberal development, on the other.