Nicholas D.E. Mark
@nickdemark.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.5K following 220 posts
Assistant Professor, Sociology, UW-Madison. Studying and hoping I can eventually do something to reduce inequality in education + health.
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Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
thomasdavidson.bsky.social
There is one week left to apply to join us at Rutgers! We're hiring an Assistant Professor in Computational Sociology as part of a cluster of new hires in data science and AI.

Applications are due next Wednesday, 10/15.
Assistant Professor in Computational Sociology
The Department of Sociology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, seeks applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level specializing in Computational Sociology.  The search i...
jobs.rutgers.edu
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
paulkelleher.net
Interview with @epopppp.bsky.social that clarifies what it might mean to reject what she calls "the economic style of reasoning". In the 2nd answer below, she describes deontology as it's usually thought of in ethics these days: as the view that consequences aren't the *only* thing that matter.
DA: You argue that particular forms of expertise carry implicit theories of policies within them. What
is the implicit theory of policy in economic expertise?
EPB: The economic style has some values, epistemological positions and a theory of politics attached to it. Your question prompts me to spell these out a little more explicitly than I do in the book. First, the economic style of reasoning prioritizes consequentialist over deontological values. Economics is all about tradeoffs, not absolutes. So, any time we say something is a right we should protect regardless of cost, or that we want to limit the concentration of economic power, not because of any direct effects, but simply because we think that is a good thing-well, that conflicts with the economic style of reasoning. You can see this kind of conflict happen, for example, when people with disabilities are given the right to access public transportation. Well, it turns out that the cost of making the New York subways wheelchair-accessible is billions of dollars. If a policy is rights-based, you have to do it regardless; economic logic would dictate otherwise. Is the economic style of reasoning not just about taking the reality of limited resources into account?
Could any policy goal not be attained in a more or less efficient manner?
This is a really good question, because I would never say that we shouldn't consider tradeoffs or try to increase efficiency. I don't think the problem is considering efficiency per se. But there are a couple of issues here.
One is recognizing efficiency as one value among many, and not just giving it top billing by default.
Maybe we do think that some universal benefits are so important that we should just pay for them because that's the kind of society we want to live in, even if that's less efficient. I mean, we pay for everyone to have K-12 [from kindergarten to 12" grade] education in the U.S., even though many families could afford to pay for their children's education themselves. That doesn't mean you don't recognize the cost at some level. It just means that you don't see formal cost-effectiveness as a sort of trump card that trounces everything else.
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
nber.org
NBER @nber.org · 11d
Studying a survey of Danish mothers' pre-birth beliefs about how their career will unfold finds they accurately anticipate their eventual return to work but underestimate the duration of the career interruption, from Andrew Caplin, Søren Leth-Petersen, and Chris... https://www.nber.org/papers/w34289
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
philipncohen.com
Of you've never seen it, La Operación, classic 1982 documentary, is on youtube:
youtu.be/cGeustqUI78
La Operacion (English)
YouTube video by Pretzel!
youtu.be
nickdemark.bsky.social
This is the “how many times can you cite yourself “ challenge
nickdemark.bsky.social
Money I don’t have but hey
nickdemark.bsky.social
Damn I wish I was still going to be around in 2139 I would bet them soooo much money on how wrong they are
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
tsrauf.bsky.social
Life satisfaction mostly declines with age. Previous findings (esp. the famous U-shaped age-SWB trajectory) were artifacts of misspecified models. doi.org/10.1093/esr/...
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
sanderwagner.bsky.social
Study on maternal (ethnic and socioeconomic) characteristics and child mortality in the UK. The study uses linkage of the 2011 census with birth and death registrations.

Educational differences, heightened risk of unemployed & Pakistani mothers stand out.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
nber.org
NBER @nber.org · 12d
Electric vehicle adoption reduces air pollution and improves infant health, lowering rates of very low birth weight, prematurity, and child asthma, from Cavit Baran, Janet Currie, Bahadir Dursun, and Erdal Tekin https://www.nber.org/papers/w34278
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
heimbergecon.bsky.social
This new study shows: in Germany, it has become much harder for children to earn more than their parents, now about as hard as in the US: "parental income has become much more important for educational outcomes of children"
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
andreabeckerphd.bsky.social
Recruiting for a new study on men’s sexual health experiences! Please share :)
nickdemark.bsky.social
Pretty soon we will be back to calling them “confinements”
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark
lauralindberg.bsky.social
Shouldn’t compare the 2022-2023 NSFG to prior waves: indeed, NCHS no longer provides the weights needed to test for change over time correctly
nickdemark.bsky.social
Am I the only one who is a little skeptical of the 20-24 numbers given NSFGs response rate drop off?
conradhackett.bsky.social
US women aged 20-24 plan to have fewer children than in the past
2002: 2.4 children
2012: 2.3 children
2023: 1.5 children
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/06/18/us-adults-in-their-20s-and-30s-plan-to-have-fewer-children-than-in-the-past/
Chart shows declining expectations across age groups over time in the number of children than US men and women plan to have.
Reposted by Nicholas D.E. Mark