About
Pamela Smock is Professor of Sociology and Research Professor at the Population Studies Center. Her research interests lie at the intersection of demography and inequality. Her research has examined changing family patterns in the U.S., the economic consequences of divorce and marriage for women and men, cohabitation, nonresident fatherhood, single-mother families, the motherhood wage penalty, and social class and racial-ethnic variation in family patterns.
Currently, Professor Smock is examining the intersection of relationship biographies, including older adults who have never married, and late-life economic wellbeing - and the role of the structure of Social Security benefits in maintaining economic disparities.
Another recent project uses an intersectional lens to examine the economic fallout of family disruption for Latinx, white, and Black women and men (see full paper here, forthcoming in Journal of Family and Economic Issues).
Professor Smock's work has appeared in leading journals including American Sociological Review, Annual Review of Sociology, Demography, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Social Forces.
She has served as Editor-in-Chief of Demography, the flagship journal of the Population Association of America, and Deputy Editor of Journal of Marriage and Family. She was President of the Association of Population Centers and has held several other elected positions in the Population Association of America and the American Sociological Association.