Demography | Penn Today

People on a commuter vehicle with face-coverings on

Wharton professor discusses the economics of racism

Bernard E. Anderson, the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School, discusses how racism hurts the economy and affects all Americans.

Two senior citizens look at a calculator while seated at a table covered in paperwork.

Why older Americans are taking on more debt

Older Americans are accumulating more debt as they near retirement, according to research from the Wharton School that reveals a troubling trend in personal finance among people in their 50s and early 60s.

Gloved hand administering a blood sugar finger test to a hand of an African American person.

Racial, gender, and socioeconomic factors linked to likelihood of getting diabetes treatment

Penn Medicine researchers show Black, Asian, female, and lower-income patients with diabetes receive less sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors compared with overall trends.

African American pregnant person laying back on a couch with pregnant belly exposed.

Living in a majority-Black neighborhood linked to severe maternal morbidity

Penn Medicine researchers studied the association between neighborhood-level risk factors and poor maternal health outcomes in Philadelphia between 2010 and 2017.

African American COVID patient wearing a respirator in a hospital bed.

Racial bias in mortality prediction scores

In mass casualty situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality prediction models alone could divert scarce critical care resources away from Black patients.

A hospital room with all lights off but the fluorescent light above bed, which has a green blanket. Behind the bed is a hospital tray that swivels and a blue chair. On the yellow wall behind are about 8 outlets.

In the U.S., COVID-19 wasn’t sole cause of excess deaths in 2020

Comparing death rates in the United States with those of the five biggest European countries, Penn and Max Planck demographers found that significant excess mortality cost more lives annually than the epidemic itself.

A person receives a vaccination at a Penn Medicine vaccine site by a masked professional while other masked people wait on folding chairs in the room.

An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods

A new paper centers racial equity and address the structural barriers that have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated against COVID-19 at equitable rates.

Wharton’s Olivia S. Mitchell on financial well-being

Leading economist and Wharton professor Olivia S. Mitchell discusses key findings from her new research on financial well-being among Black and Hispanic women.

Piggy bank with a graduation cap on top of a pocket calculator.

Why making public colleges tuition free won’t close the enrollment gap

Wharton doctoral student in finance Mehran Ebrahimian argues that the inadequacy of college preparedness among low-income students is a bigger obstacle than financing tuition costs.

Closeup look at a Black person’s hands holding onto crutches.

Return to work and the path to recovery after serious injury in Black men

In a new study from the School of Nursing, researchers investigated the ways that returning to work after an injury predict mental health outcomes in Black men living and recovering in Philadelphia.

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