Jennie E. Brand
Professor
She is also Director of the California Center for Population Research and Co-Director of the Center for Social Statistics (CSS). Prof. Brand studies social stratification and inequality, and its implications for various outcomes that indicate life chances. Her research agenda encompasses three main areas: (1) access to and the impact of higher education; (2) the consequences of disruptive events, such as job displacement; and (3) causal inference and quantitative and computational methods for observational data.
Prof. Brand is Chair of the Methodology Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), Chair-Elect of the Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility Section of ASA, and an elected Board Member of the International Sociological Association (ISA) Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility (RC28). She previously served on the councils of the ASA Methodology, Sociology of Education, and Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility sections. She was elected to the Sociological Research Association (SRA), an honor society for excellence in research, in 2019, and received the ASA Methodology Leo Goodman Mid-Career Award in 2016, and honorable mention for the ASA Inequality, Poverty, and Mobility William Julius Wilson Mid-Career Award in 2014. Prof. Brand is a member of the Technical Review Committee for the National Longitudinal Surveys Program at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. She was previously a member of the Board of Overseers of the General Social Survey (GSS). She is Associate Editor of AAAS’s Science Advances, the open access extension of Science magazine, and serves on the editorial boards of Social Forces, Sociological Methodology, Sociological Methods and Research, Sociological Science, and Sociology Compass. She also previously served on the boards of American Sociological Review, Demography, and SAGE Research Methods.
Degrees
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison
M.S., University of Wisconsin - Madison
B.A., University of California - San Diego
Awards
Grants
State of California, 2019-21 “The California Housing and Population Sample Enumeration (CHPSE) Survey and Analysis,” in collaboration with the RAND Corporation, Role: Principal Investigator at UCLA;
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) P2C, 2016-21 “California Center for Population Research (CCPR) at UCLA,” Role: Principal Investigator;
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2017-22 “California Center for Population Research Training Program.” Role: Principal Investigator;
National Institutes of Health R01, 2013-18, “Heterogeneous Treatment Effects in Demographic Research” (PI of UCLA Subaward, Yu Xie (PI))
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2011-16 “California Center for Population Research Training Program.” Role: Principal Investigator;
National Science Foundation, R03, 2008-11 “Immigration and the Dynamics of Labor Market Adjustment in the United States” (Co-PI, Ted Mouw (PI))
National Institutes of Health R21, 2007-11, “Heterogeneous Treatment Effects in Social and Behavioral Sciences” (Consultant, Yu Xie (PI))
Spencer Foundation, 2007-08, “The Effects of Elementary and Secondary School Characteristics on Educational and Occupational Attainment across the Life Course” (Co-PI, John Robert Warren (PI))
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2005-06, “Nonstandard Work and Population Health” (Co-PI, Sarah Burgard (PI))
Selected Publications
Brand, Jennie E., Jiahui Xu, Bernard Koch, and Pablo Geraldo. [forthcoming]. “Uncovering Sociological Effect Heterogeneity using Tree-Based Machine Learning.” Sociological Methodology.
Brand, Jennie E., Ravaris Moore, Xi Song, and Yu Xie. 2019. “Why Does Parental Divorce Lower Children’s Educational Attainment? A Causal Mediation Analysis.” Sociological Science 6:264-292.
Brand, Jennie E., Ravaris Moore, Xi Song, and Yu Xie. 2019. “Parental Divorce is Not Uniformly Disruptive to Children’s Educational Attainment.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(15):7266-7271.
Featured (selected): TIME Magazine; MarketWatch;
Brand, Jennie E. 2015. “The Far-Reaching Impact of Job Loss and Unemployment.” Annual Review of Sociology 41:1.1-1.17.
Featured (selected): Newsweek (cover story 9/20 print edition); Wall Street Journal (cover story 5/10/16 print edition); New York Times; NPR Marketplace; Wharton Business Radio; New York Magazine; Success Magazine; Thrive Global; Knowable Magazine (providing free online access); NPR Los Angeles;
Brand, Jennie E. and Juli Simon Thomas. 2014. “Job Displacement Among Single Mothers: Effects on Children’s Outcomes in Young Adulthood.” American Journal of Sociology 119(4):955-1001.
Finalist for the International Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research, 2015;
Featured (selected): New York Times; Los Angeles Times; Education Week; Inside Higher Education; The Academic Minute; Los Angeles NPR, Take Two KPCC; PsychCentral; HealthDay;
Brand, Jennie E., Fabian Pfeffer, and Sara Goldrick-Rab. 2014. “The Community College Effect Revisited: The Importance of Attending to Heterogeneity and Complex Counterfactuals.” Sociological Science 1:448-465.
Featured: Inside Higher Education; The Society Pages;
Xie, Yu, Jennie E. Brand, and Ben Jann. 2012. "Estimating Heterogeneous Treatment Effects with Observational Data." Sociological Methodology 42: 314-347.
Top 10 Most Downloaded Article in Sociological Methodology, 2018
Brand, Jennie E. and Dwight Davis. 2011. "The Impact of College Education on Fertility: Evidence for Heterogeneous Effects." Demography 48(3):863-887.
Featured (selected): Wall Street Journal; CBS News; i24news.tv;
Brand, Jennie E. 2010. "Civic Returns to Higher Education: A Note on Heterogeneous Effects." Social Forces 89(2):417-433.
Bollen, Kenneth and Jennie E. Brand. 2010. “A General Panel Model with Random and Fixed Effects: A Structural Equations Approach.” Social Forces 89(1):1-34.
Brand, Jennie E. and Yu Xie. 2010. “Who Benefits Most from College? Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to Higher Education.” American Sociological Review 75(2):273-302.
Featured (selected): FiveThirtyEight; National Public Radio, Marketplace; National Public Radio, Pat Morrison Show; New York Times; Wall Street Journal; Chronicle of Higher Education; Insider Higher Ed; Ed Week; San Francisco Chronicle; La Opinion; Population Reference Bureau; Undergraduates Corner, ASR; The Academic Minute;
Brand, Jennie E. and Sarah A. Burgard. 2008. “Job Displacement and Social Participation over the Life Course: Findings for a Cohort of Joiners.”Social Forces 87(1): 211-242.
Featured (selected): Newsweek (cover story); New York Times Magazine; New York Times; Los Angeles Times; BusinessWeek; USA Today; Washington Post; Forbes; U.S. News & World Report; Eyewitness News; Yahoo! News (front page story);
Brand, Jennie E. and Yu Xie. 2007. “Identification and Estimation of Causal Effects with Time-Varying Treatments and Time-Varying Outcomes.”Sociological Methodology 37: 393-434.
Burgard, Sarah A., Jennie E. Brand, and James S. House. 2007. “Toward a Better Estimation of the Effect of Job Loss on Health.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 48:369-384.
Featured (selected): New York Magazine; New York Times; Newsweek; Washington Post; ABC News; Time; MSNBC; U.S. News and World Report; Reuters; Yahoo! News (front page story);
Brand, Jennie E. 2006. “The Effects of Job Displacement on Job Quality: Findings from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 24: 275-298.
Featured (selected): Newsweek (cover story of 4/17/11 print edition); New York Times Magazine; New York Times; Los Angeles Times; Reuters; BusinessWeek; USA Today; Washington Post; Boston Globe; Forbes; U.S. News & World Report; SELF Magazine; Eyewitness News; Yahoo! News (front page story); La Opinion; AARP Magazine;
Brand, Jennie E. and Charles N. Halaby. 2006. “Regression and Matching Estimates of the Effects of Elite College Attendance on Education and Career Achievement.” Social Science Research 35: 749-770.
Featured (selected): New York Times; Wall Street Journal; Washington Post;
Research
I study social stratification and inequality and its implications for various outcomes that indicate life chances. My research agenda encompasses three main areas: (1) access to and the impact of higher education; (2) the socioeconomic and social-psychological consequences of disruptive events, such as job displacement; and (3) causal inference and the application and innovation of quantitative methods for panel data. See CCPR Working Papers for recent working manuscripts and Google Scholar and Pub Med for published works.
Graduate Students
Bowei Hu. 2020. Investing, Subsidizing, and Borrowing: Class Disparity in Financing College.
Current Courses by Term
Seminar: Labor Economics
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Seminar: Labor Economics
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
Working Group in Sociology
Previous Courses by Term
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Quantitative Data Analysis
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Working Group in Sociology
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Working Group in Sociology
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Theory and Research in Sociology
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Working Group in Sociology
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Seminar: Labor Economics
Theory and Research in Sociology
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Working Group in Sociology
Working Group in Sociology
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Theory and Research in Sociology
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Working Group in Sociology
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Theory and Research in Sociology
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Sociology of Education
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Working Group in Sociology
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Quantitative Data Analysis
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Quantitative Data Analysis
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Sociology of Education
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Quantitative Data Analysis
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
Quantitative Data Analysis
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Sociology of Education
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Working Group in Sociology
Quantitative Data Analysis
Quantitative Data Analysis
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Sociology of Education
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Survey Data Analysis
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Sociology of Education
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
Previous Courses by Course
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
2019 Spring Quarter
2019 Winter Quarter
2018 Fall Quarter
2018 Spring Quarter
2018 Winter Quarter
2017 Fall Quarter
2017 Winter Quarter
2016 Fall Quarter
2016 Spring Quarter
2016 Winter Quarter
2015 Fall Quarter
2015 Spring Quarter
2015 Winter Quarter
2014 Fall Quarter
2014 Spring Quarter
2014 Winter Quarter
2013 Fall Quarter
2013 Spring Quarter
California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
2019 Spring Quarter
2019 Winter Quarter
2018 Fall Quarter
2018 Spring Quarter
2018 Winter Quarter
2017 Fall Quarter
2017 Winter Quarter
2016 Fall Quarter
2016 Spring Quarter
2016 Winter Quarter
2015 Fall Quarter
2015 Spring Quarter
2015 Winter Quarter
2014 Fall Quarter
2014 Spring Quarter
2014 Winter Quarter
2013 Fall Quarter
2013 Spring Quarter
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
2019 Winter Quarter
2016 Winter Quarter
2014 Winter Quarter
Quantitative Data Analysis
2018 Fall Quarter
2014 Fall Quarter
2013 Winter Quarter
2010 Fall Quarter
Working Group in Sociology
2018 Fall Quarter
2018 Spring Quarter
2018 Winter Quarter
2017 Fall Quarter
2017 Spring Quarter
2017 Winter Quarter
2015 Spring Quarter
2011 Fall Quarter
Applications of Economic Theory: California Population Research Topical Seminar Series
2018 Spring Quarter
2016 Spring Quarter
2015 Spring Quarter
2014 Spring Quarter
2013 Spring Quarter
Theory and Research in Sociology
2018 Winter Quarter
2017 Winter Quarter
Theory and Research in Sociology
2017 Fall Quarter
2016 Fall Quarter
Seminar: Labor Economics
2017 Fall Quarter
Social Stratification, Mobility, and Inequality
2016 Spring Quarter
2014 Spring Quarter
Sociology of Education
2016 Winter Quarter
2014 Winter Quarter
2012 Winter Quarter
2010 Winter Quarter
2008 Winter Quarter
Quantitative Data Analysis
2015 Winter Quarter
2013 Spring Quarter
2011 Winter Quarter
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
2012 Spring Quarter
2010 Spring Quarter
2008 Spring Quarter
Quantitative Research on Social Stratification and Social Mobility
2012 Winter Quarter
2010 Winter Quarter
2008 Winter Quarter
Survey Data Analysis