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V. Joseph Hotz

Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics
Economics
213 Social Sciences, Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708-0097
213 Social Sciences, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Professor Hotz specializes in the subjects of applied econometrics, labor economics, economic demography, and economics of the family. His studies have investigated the impacts of social programs, such as welfare-to-work training; the relationship between childbearing patterns and labor force participation of U.S. women; the effects of teenage pregnancy; the child care market; the Earned Income Tax Credit; and other such subjects. He began conducting his studies in 1977, and has since published his work extensively in books and leading academic journals. Many of his projects have been funded by grants awarded by the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation. He is currently completing a project with Duncan Thomas on, “Preference and Economic Decision-Making” under a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. His recent works also include, “Tax Policy and Low-Wage Labor Markets: New Work on Employment, Effectiveness and Administration” with John Karl Scholz and Charles Mullin; and “Designing New Models to Explain Family Change and Variation” with S. Philip Morgan. Along with his duties as an independent researcher, Professor Hotz has also held positions as a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, the National Poverty Center, the Institute for the Study of Labor, and the Institute for Research on Poverty. He is presently a member of the Committee on National Statistics for the National Academy of Sciences’ Research Council.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics · 2024 - Present Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emeritus of Economics · 2024 - Present Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor Emeritus in the Sanford School of Public Policy · 2024 - Present Sanford School of Public Policy
Faculty Research Scholar of DuPRI's Population Research Center · 2010 - Present Duke Population Research Center, Duke Population Research Institute

In the News


Published May 13, 2014
More parental attention may give first-born kids advantages
Published May 5, 2014
Joseph Hotz comments: Just how much are parents bailing out their student-debt-addled kids?
Published October 31, 2013
Why First-Born Kids Do Better in School

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Recent Publications


Adult children's responsiveness to parental needs during the pandemic

Journal Article Journal of Marriage and Family · April 1, 2025 Objectives: Guided by the life-course principles of linked lives embedded in historical time and place, we investigated whether nonresident adult children provided financial and time assistance to parents in response to their needs during the COVID-19 pand ... Full text Cite

Racial-Ethnic Gaps in Pandemic-Related Economic Hardship: Age Differences Among Older Adults.

Journal Article The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · August 2024 ObjectivesRacial-ethnic disparities in experiences of economic hardship during the pandemic are well documented in the population overall and among older adults. Existing research shows that this economic hardship was much less common at older tha ... Full text Cite

Age Differences in Experiences of Pandemic-Related Health and Economic Challenges Among Adults Aged 55 and Older.

Journal Article The Gerontologist · June 2024 Background and objectivesThe oldest adults faced the highest risk of death and hospitalization from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but less is known about whether they also were the most likely to experience pandemic-related economic, health ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Tracing the Health Consequences of Family Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Syracuse University · 2022 - 2024

Add Health Parent Study: Phase I

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2013 - 2019

Panel Study of Income Dynamics

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Michigan · 2012 - 2018

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Wisconsin, Madison · 1980 Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin, Madison · 1977 M.S.
University of Notre Dame · 1972 B.A.

External Links


Personal Website