Future of Work

Sponsor: Russell Sage Foundation
Solicitation Title: Future of Work
Event Type: COVID-19
Funding Amount: $35,000 to $175,000 (see Other Information)
Sponsor Deadline: Wednesday, August 5, 2020
Solicitation Link: http://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/future-work

Overview

6/24/2020 Update: New Funding Priorities for August 5 Deadline for Letters of Inquiry <h2 class="u-black u-title u-title--large u-margin__5"><a href="https://www.russellsage.org/news/rsf-president-sheldon-danziger-foundat… President Sheldon Danziger on the Foundation's Current Funding Priorities in Response to the Crises of 2020</a></h2> The Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) has long supported social science research with the aim of improving social and living conditions in the United States. In response to the crises of 2020, the foundation is dedicating its next funding cycle exclusively to research that seeks to improve our understanding of these extraordinary times. The severe consequences of the Covid19-pandemic, including its economic disruptions, and the recent mass protests to combat systemic racial inequality in policing and other institutions have reaffirmed the importance of social science research examining economic, political, racial, ethnic, generational, and social inequalities relevant to public policy and social change. ____________ The Future of Work program examines the causes and consequences of the deteriorating quality of low-wage jobs in the United States. Projects sponsored by the program have examined a wide range of causal factors, from foreign outsourcing and immigration to the decline of unions and technological change, that may have depressed wages of low-education workers. Current research under this program includes a new investigation to re-assess how minimum wage increases affect employment and the broader labor market; a new study of the extent of offshoring of production by U.S. firms and its impact on the economy; and a project that examines the role of job search behaviors on the employment and wage outcomes of women and minorities in the post-recessionary U.S. labor market, among others. The Russell Sage Foundation's program on the Future of Work supports innovative research on the causes and consequences of changes in the quality of jobs for less- and moderately-skilled workers and their families. We seek investigator-initiated research proposals that will broaden our understanding of the role of changes in employer practices, the nature of the labor market and public policies on the employment, earnings, and the quality of jobs of workers. We are especially interested in proposals that address important questions about the interplay of market and non-market forces in shaping the wellbeing of workers, today and in the future. Examples of the kinds of topics and questions that are of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: Changing economies, changing families and policy responses (or lack thereof) <ul> <li>Workplaces and families are changing. Work arrangements are more flexible, but also less secure. Are we seeing the development of new ways of working and what do these changes portend for employers and employees?</li> <li>New work-family legislation has been enacted in several cities and states. What do we know about the impact of these new laws on employers, workers, and families?</li> <li>What is the current landscape with regard to work-family policy initiatives at different levels of government? What factors explain both recent changes and the lack of other changes? What are the implications?</li> </ul> The economics of productivity and the role of managerial practices in improving job quality <ul> <li>During the Great Recession, employment losses occurred throughout the economy, but were concentrated in mid-wage occupations. By contrast, during the recovery employment gains have been concentrated in lower-wage occupations. How can the quality of labor-intensive personal-service jobs be improved? What works and what doesn't in efforts to improve job quality (e.g., improving employer practices, appropriate regulation, work force organizing, apprenticeship programs)?</li> <li>What are some economic and cultural determinants of managerial choices? What factors determine which employers opt to take the "high road" and which take the "low road," and why?</li> <li>What role do macroeconomic policies and labor market institutions play in job quality?</li> </ul> Causes and consequences of job polarization <ul> <li>The changing labor market presents numerous challenges to workers' aspirations to reach the middle class. Adverse employment shocks may change the ways in which young adults form families of their own, the likelihood that they will engage in risky behaviors and norms and expectations about the transition to adulthood. How have changes in the availability of stable jobs affected the likelihood that the children of working class parents will become middle-class?</li> <li>In many households, adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting a grown child (age 18 or older). Have intra-family transfers changed as a result of changes in the structure of the labor market? How does support to multiple generations affect labor supply at various stages in the life course?</li> </ul> Effects of long-term unemployment and strategies to prevent long-term disadvantage <ul> <li>Several years after the official end of the Great Recession, the U.S. still faces high levels of long-term unemployment. These workers face significant disadvantages—from loss of earnings, to the deterioration of skills, high rates of poverty, increased likelihood of divorce, and deterioration of physical and mental health. And the longer they remain unemployed, the more likely that employers' bias against them will harden. How does the likelihood of finding a job change with increasing duration of unemployment? What does this mean for federal employment policies and for workforce development strategies? What kind of interventions may help prevent long-term disadvantage for both displaced workers and first-time labor market entrants in the wake of the Great Recession?</li> </ul>

Solicitation Limitations: <div>All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.</div> <div></div> <div>RSF particularly encourages early career scholars to apply for Presidential grants. All nationalities are eligible to apply and applicants do not have to reside in the U.S., but the focus of the proposed research project must be on the U.S. as per our mission.</div> Other Information:For its August 5, 2020, deadline, RSF will only accept letters of inquiry relevant to one of RSF's core programs, and which address at least one of the following issues: 1. Research on the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting recession in the U.S. Specifically, research that assesses the social, political, economic, and psychological causes and consequences of the pandemic, especially its effects on marginalized individuals and groups and on trust in government and other institutions. Our priorities do not include analyses of health outcomes or health behavior. 2. Research focused on systemic racial inequality and/or the recent mass protests in the U.S. Specifically, research that investigates the prevalence of racial disparities in policing and criminal justice and their social, political, economic, and psychological causes and consequences; the effects of the current social protest movement and mass mobilization against systemic discrimination; the nature of public attitudes and public policies regarding policing, criminal justice, and social welfare; and the effects of those attitudes in the current political environment. For its subsequent, November 11, 2020, letter of inquiry deadline, RSF will return to accepting letters of inquiry in three of its core programs, which have and will continue to focus on many of the causes and consequences of the crises of 2020. _____________ Trustee Grants are generally capped at $175,000, including 15% indirect costs. Presidential Grants are capped at $35,000 (no indirect costs). PIs may request up to $50,000 (no indirect costs) when the proposed research project has special needs for gathering data (e.g., qualitative research) or gaining access to restricted-use data. Projects are limited to no more than two years. RSF may consider longer projects in exceptional circumstances.

Last Updated: 06/24/2020

RODA ID: 1036