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2<aside class=search-modal id=search><div class=container><section class=search-header><div class="row no-gutters justify-content-between mb-3"><div class=col-6><h1>Search</h1></div><div class="col-6 col-search-close"><a class=js-search href=# aria-label=Close><i class="fas fa-times-circle text-muted" aria-hidden=true></i></a></div></div><div id=search-box><input name=q id=search-query placeholder=Search... autocapitalize=off autocomplete=off autocorrect=off spellcheck=false type=search class=form-control aria-label=Search...></div></section><section class=section-search-results><div id=search-hits></div></section></div></aside><div class="page-header header--fixed"><header><nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light compensate-for-scrollbar" id=navbar-main><div class=container-xl><button type=button class=navbar-toggler data-toggle=collapse data-target=#navbar-content aria-controls=navbar-content aria-expanded=false aria-label="Toggle navigation">
3<span><i class="fas fa-bars"></i></span></button><div class="navbar-collapse main-menu-item collapse justify-content-start" id=navbar-content><ul class="navbar-nav d-md-inline-flex"><li class=nav-item><a class=nav-link href=/#about data-target=#about><span>Home</span></a></li><li class=nav-item><a class=nav-link href=/post/><span>Research</span></a></li><li class=nav-item><a class=nav-link href=/uploads/cv.pdf><span>CV</span></a></li><li class=nav-item><a class=nav-link href=/repo/><span>Replication</span></a></li></ul></div><ul class="nav-icons navbar-nav flex-row ml-auto d-flex pl-md-2"></ul></div></nav></header></div><div class=page-body><span class="js-widget-page d-none"></span><section id=about class="home-section wg-about-biography"><div class=home-section-bg></div><div class=container><div class=row><div class="col-12 col-lg-4"><div id=profile><img class="avatar avatar-circle" width=270 height=270 src=/authors/admin/avatar.jpg_hu467ea7e001a77878294b2a0c9ffd3140_3150248_270x270_fill_q75_lanczos_center.jpeg alt="Alec P. Rhodes"><div class=portrait-title><h2>Alec P. Rhodes</h2><h3>Assistant Professor</h3><h3><a href=https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/sociology/index.html target=_blank rel=noopener><span>Department of Sociology | Purdue University</span></a></h3></div><ul class=network-icon aria-hidden=true><li><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0TytEewAAAAJ&amp;hl=en" target=_blank rel=noopener aria-label=google-scholar><i class="ai ai-google-scholar big-icon"></i></a></li></ul></div></div><div class="col-12 col-lg-8"><h1>About Me</h1><div class=article-style><p style=text-align:justify>I&rsquo;m an assistant professor of sociology and Faculty Associate of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University. My research focuses on income support policies and credit use among vulnerable populations, the impacts of unions and labor policy on worker compensation and job growth, and the consequences of wealth, debt, and financial insecurity for health and well-being across the life course. I have published in journals such as the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Social Problems, and Nature Human Behaviour.</p></div><div class=row><div class=col-md-5><div class=section-subheading>Interests</div><ul class="ul-interests fa-ul mb-0"><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-book"></i>
4Inequality, Poverty & Mobility</li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-book"></i>
5Economic Sociology</li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-book"></i>
6Organizations, Occupations & Work</li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-book"></i>
7Labor & Labor Movements</li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-book"></i>
8Social Demography</li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-book"></i>
9Social Policy</li></ul></div><div class=col-md-7><div class=section-subheading>Education</div><ul class="ul-edu fa-ul mb-0"><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-graduation-cap"></i><div class=description><p class=course>PhD in Sociology, 2023</p><p class=institution>Ohio State University</p></div></li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-graduation-cap"></i><div class=description><p class=course>MA in Sociology, 2020</p><p class=institution>Ohio State University</p></div></li><li><i class="fa-li fa-solid fa-graduation-cap"></i><div class=description><p class=course>BA in Sociology | BA in Economics, 2018</p><p class=institution>Hobart and William Smith Colleges</p></div></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div></section><section id=section-hero class="home-section wg-hero"><div class=home-section-bg></div><div class=container><div class=row><div class="col-12 col-md-6 text-center text-md-left"><h1 class=hero-title>My Research</h1><div class=hero-lead>My research asks how social institutions and policies shape inequality, poverty and social mobility. One strand focuses on worker power and labor market inequality. Another strand examines the causes and consequences of household credit, wealth, and debt. Click on the links below to learn more about some of my recent projects&mldr;</div></div><div class="col-12 mx-auto col-md-6 hero-media"><img src=/media/image2_hu78b6b38a482faf3ef933b266fb61fadc_2426927_400x0_resize_q75_lanczos.jpg srcset="/media/image2_hu78b6b38a482faf3ef933b266fb61fadc_2426927_1200x0_resize_q75_lanczos.jpg 1200w,/media/image2_hu78b6b38a482faf3ef933b266fb61fadc_2426927_800x0_resize_q75_lanczos.jpg 800w,/media/image2_hu78b6b38a482faf3ef933b266fb61fadc_2426927_400x0_resize_q75_lanczos.jpg 400w" width=4032 height=3024 alt></div></div></div></section><section id=research class="home-section wg-collection"><div class=home-section-bg></div><div class=container><div class="row justify-content-center"><div class="col-12 col-lg-8"><div class="media stream-item view-compact"><div class=media-body><div class="section-subheading article-title mb-0 mt-0"><a href=/post/research10/>U.S. State Payday Lending Regulations</a></div><a href=/post/research10/ class=summary-link><div class=article-style>Payday lending provides access to short-term small-dollar loans but at significant cost to borrowers and reinforces inequalities in U.S. financial markets. States have authority to regulate these loans above and beyond federal regulation, although questions remain about their effectiveness. We introduce a state payday lending regulation database that we link to proprietary data on the availability and use of high-cost credit.</div></a><div class="stream-meta article-metadata"><div class=article-metadata></div></div></div><div class=ml-3></div></div><div class="media stream-item view-compact"><div class=media-body><div class="section-subheading article-title mb-0 mt-0"><a href=/post/research7/>The Wealth Returns to a Unionized Career</a></div><a href=/post/research7/ class=summary-link><div class=article-style>Drawing on power resources theory and life course theories of cumulative advantage, this project examines the wealth returns to a unionized career. Using longitudinal data on the working lives of US Baby Boomers and comprehensive measures of wealth at midlife, I find that the average wealth returns to unionized careers are substantial, exceeding $130,000 for marketable wealth.</div></a><div class="stream-meta article-metadata"><div class=article-metadata></div></div></div><div class=ml-3></div></div><div class="media stream-item view-compact"><div class=media-body><div class="section-subheading article-title mb-0 mt-0"><a href=/post/research8/>The Right to Work and Economic Dynamism</a></div><a href=/post/research8/ class=summary-link><div class=article-style>Do state Right to Work (RTW) laws unleash economic dynamism? Although the specific goals of RTW laws to loosen union security agreements appear to narrowly target unionized firms, proponents and opponents alike argue that RTW laws have broad labor market consequences.</div></a><div class="stream-meta article-metadata"><div class=article-metadata></div></div></div><div class=ml-3></div></div><div class="media stream-item view-compact"><div class=media-body><div class="section-subheading article-title mb-0 mt-0"><a href=/post/research1/>Student Debt and Geographic Disadvantage</a></div><a href=/post/research1/ class=summary-link><div class=article-style>During the early 2000s rates of college enrollment and completion rose for young adults from rural backgrounds at the same time that rising college costs and stagnating family incomes increased rates of student loan borrowing. Recently published in Rural Sociology, this paper examines geographic disparities in student debt accumulation among a recent national cohort of US college-goers from rural, suburban, and urban backgrounds.</div></a><div class="stream-meta article-metadata"><div class=article-metadata></div></div></div><div class=ml-3></div></div><div class="media stream-item view-compact"><div class=media-body><div class="section-subheading article-title mb-0 mt-0"><a href=/post/research6/>State Safety Net Policies and Debt</a></div><a href=/post/research6/ class=summary-link><div class=article-style>Credit and social safety net benefits are among the most important resources that households rely on when facing income shortfalls and other forms of economic scarcity. Theorists have described a credit-welfare state tradeoff where credit markets become particularly important where safety net benefits are less supportive.</div></a><div class="stream-meta article-metadata"><div class=article-metadata></div></div></div><div class=ml-3></div></div><div class=see-all><a href=/post/>See all posts
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