Thiede

Brian Thiede

Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology, Sociology, and Demography, Pennsylvania State University
Chapter Member: Central Pennsylvania SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Brian

About Brian

Thiede’s research examines the link between demographic change and poverty and inequality in the U.S., including studies of low-wage labor markets, concentrated poverty, and immigrant educational outcomes. He also studies the relationship between environmental change and demographic processes, mainly migration. This includes research on the impacts of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S., as well as in low- and middle-income contexts such as Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Contributions

In the News

Brian Thiede's research on poverty in rural areas discussed by "Six Charts That Illustrate the Divide between Rural and Urban America," The Conversation, March 16, 2017.
Brian Thiede's research on shifts in human migration due to climate change discussed by Kristie Auman-Bauer, "Climate Change Driving Population Shifts to Urban Areas," Penn State News, December 13, 2016.
"Working Poverty is a Widespread but Under-analyzed and Poorly-measured Problem in the U.S.," Brian Thiede (with Scott R. Sanders and Daniel T. Lichter), LSE American Politics & Policy Blog, September 24, 2015.

Publications

"America’s Working Poor: Conceptualization, Measurement, and New Estimates" (with Daniel Lichter and Scott Sanders). Work and Occupations (2015).
Examines the assumptions behind different approaches to measuring the working poor, and assesses how various assumptions affect estimated rates of poverty among workers.
"Rainfall Shocks and Within-Community Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia" World Development 64 (2014): 181-193.

Examines how rainfall anomalies, and related impacts on local agricultural economies, affect wealth inequality within rural communities in Ethiopia.

"Hurricane Katrina: Who Stayed and Why?" (with David Brown). Population Research and Policy Review 32, no. 6 (2013): 803-824.

Examines social and demographic differences in evacuation behavior during Hurricane Katrina, with a focus on race, class, and social networks. Identifies differences between the populations that chose to stay in their homes during the storm and those that wanted to evacuate but were unable to do so.