Christopher Jencks

Christopher Sandy Jencks is the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy. He has taught at Harvard, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Earlier, he was a Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC (1963 to 1967) and an editor of theNew Republic (1961 to 1963). He is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the American Prospect. His recent research deals with changes in family structure over the past generation, the costs and benefits of economic inequality, the extent to which economic advantages are inherited, and the effects of welfare reform. His books include The Academic Revolution (with David Riesman); Inequality: Who Gets Ahead?; The Urban Underclass (with Paul Peterson); Rethinking Social Policy; The Homeless; and The Black White Test Score Gap (with Meredith Phillips).

Selected Publications

Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles

• Levels, Mark, Jaap Dronkers, and Christopher Jencks. "Contextual Explanations for Numeracy and Literacy Skill Disparities Between Native and Foreign-Born Adults in Western Countries." PLoS One 12.3 (March 16, 2017): 1-25.
• Deming, David J., Sarah Cohodes, Jennifer Jennings, and Christopher Jencks. "School Accountability, Postsecondary Attainment, and Earnings." The Review of Economics and Statistics 98.5 (December 2016): 848-862.
• Owens, Ann, Sean F. Reardon, and Christopher Jencks. "Income Segregation between Schools and School District." American Educational Research Journal 53.4 (December 2016): 848-862.
• Deming, David J., Sarah Cohodes, Jennifer Jennings and Christopher Jencks. "School Accountability, Postsecondary Attainment and Earnings." Review of Economics and Statistics 98.5 (December 2016): 848-862.
• Truesdale, Beth C., and Christopher Jencks. "Income Inequality and Health: Strong Theories, Weaker Evidence." Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research 5.5 (2016): 30-37.
• Deming, David J., Sarah Cohodes, Jennifer Jennings, and Christopher Jencks. "When Does Accountability Work? Texas System Had Mixed Effects on College Graduation rates and future earnings." Education Next 16.1 (January 2016): 70-77.