Opportunity Insights
banner
oppinsights.bsky.social
Opportunity Insights
@oppinsights.bsky.social

A non-partisan research + policy institute based at Harvard focused on improving economic opportunity. Led by Raj Chetty, John Friedman, & Nathaniel Hendren. Sign-up for our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/g1UWIX

Nadarajan "Raj" Chetty is an Indian-American economist who is the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University. Some of Chetty's recent papers have studied equality of opportunity in the United States and the long-term impact of teachers on students' performance. Offered tenure at the age of 28, Chetty became one of the youngest tenured faculty in the history of Harvard's economics department. He is a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal and a 2012 MacArthur Fellow. Currently, he is also an advisory editor of the Journal of Public Economics. In 2020, he was awarded the Infosys Prize in Economics. .. more

Economics 33%
Education 17%
Pinned
We’re Opportunity Insights, a nonpartisan research + policy institute located at @harvard.edu. Led by economists Raj Chetty, John Friedman & Nathan Hendren, our mission is to translate insights from scientific research into policy change via an interdisciplinary approach to #BigData

Event details can be found here:

🔗 shorturl.at/JUQwC

Raj Chetty will be presenting insights from combining experimental and observational data at the @princetonecon.bsky.social Notestein Seminar Series today.

This talk is open to the public.

📍Robertson Hall (100 Arthur Lewis Auditorium)
🕐 10/7, 12 pm - 1 pm EST

Reposted by Peter Bergman

📢 OI’s Summer ’25 Newsletter is out!

🔎 Inside: new research on disparities in credit access, how leaders are using OI data, a new local journalism initiative, and how wealth shapes access at elite colleges.
📰 Read: shorturl.at/dz7h2
📬 Sign up: shorturl.at/Iscb7
Opportunity Insights Summer 2025 Newsletter
shorturl.at

Reminder - Applications for @oppinsights.bsky.social's
predoctoral fellowship that begins summer 2026 are due October 1st. More info on this opportunity below.
We are hiring several full-time predoctoral #research fellows to start in summer 2026. If you are considering a PhD, interested in #bigdata, #economicopportunity, or #mobility scholarship, a #predoc fellowship at Opportunity Insights could be a great next step.
opportunityinsights.org/joinourteam/
Careers | Opportunity Insights
Join us in our mission to revive the American Dream
opportunityinsights.org

📰 Read the WSJ Letter: shorturl.at/CE07t

🧠 Read a more detailed academic response: shorturl.at/AWPbh

#OpportunityInsights #SocialMobility
Opinion | The Benefits of a Good ZIP Code Aren’t Bunk
Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren defend their research.
shorturl.at

📍 ZIP codes matter.

Raj Chetty, Eric Chyn, Stefanie DeLuca, John Friedman, Nathan Hendren, Larry Katz, and Bruce Sacerdote respond to claims that neighborhoods don’t shape children’s outcomes. The evidence says otherwise.

Applications for our summer 2026 predoctoral research fellowship are due October 1st. Join our webinar to find out more about this opportunity!
🗓️Thursday, September 18
🕑 2:00 PM ET
🔗 to register: harvard.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom ...
harvard.zoom.us

We are hiring several full-time predoctoral #research fellows to start in summer 2026. If you are considering a PhD, interested in #bigdata, #economicopportunity, or #mobility scholarship, a #predoc fellowship at Opportunity Insights could be a great next step.
opportunityinsights.org/joinourteam/
Careers | Opportunity Insights
Join us in our mission to revive the American Dream
opportunityinsights.org

📢Just launched: The Economic Opportunity Lab!

We're partnering with @lma-lmf.bsky.social & Comcast
to support local journalism on economic mobility using OI’s data tools like the Opportunity Atlas.

🗺️Cities include Chicago, Miami, Philly, DC & the Bay Area.

Interested in using insights from the Opportunity Atlas and other OI tools in your community, but don’t know where to start? In addition to these case examples, check out:

📑The Opportunity Atlas - Data Tool Summary: shorturl.at/9O3jh

🎒Resources: shorturl.at/G9vDy
shorturl.at

Featuring: Child Poverty Action Lab, Greater Houston Community Foundation, King County Housing Authority, Leading on Opportunity, Marillac Mission Fund, Palo Alto HS, Pima County, Richard King Mellon Foundation, SEAP, Wake Tech Community College, and more to come…

👀Want to learn more about the incredible leaders across the U.S. who are using OI data to improve opportunity in their communities?

Explore examples of data-driven policies and programs across housing, philanthropy, education, and more at: opportunityinsights.org/community-im...
Community Impacts | Opportunity Insights
These examples highlight how individuals and organizations across the country are putting this data into action in their own communities—across areas like housing, education, philanthropy, and more.
opportunityinsights.org

The NBER Methods lectures are happening this week! Find details on how you can tune into Prof. Chetty and Prof. Kosuke Imai's presentations here⬇️
These lectures will cover both the frontier of statistical methods on mediation and surrogate indices and provide practical guidance for applied researchers.

Find more info and livestream link here:
🔗 www.nber.org/conferences/...

Reposted by Peter Bergman

Missed it live?

Yesterday, OI Co-Director Nathan Hendren presented new research on credit access in the U.S. at the NBER Summer Institute. You can now watch the full presentation and explore the findings.

📺Watch: shorturl.at/CIwZr

📚Explore: shorturl.at/gigae
YouTube
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
shorturl.at

Nathan Hendren will be presenting this new research at the NBER Summer Institute today, July 17, at 10:45 am EST.

Tune in on YouTube:
📺 www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t2F...

🔍Review key findings: shorturl.at/UzHX6

📍See what credit access looks like in your community: www.opportunityatlas.org

📰Read media coverage: www.wsj.com/economy/cred...
shorturl.at

➡️Main Finding: Differences in credit access emerge early in adulthood and persist, driven not just by income or wealth, but by childhood environments.

Today, @oppinsights.bsky.social released new research illuminating differences in credit access across the U.S. by race, class, and where you grow up.
🔗 shorturl.at/PxYvH
Credit Access in the United States | Opportunity Insights
Opportunity Insights supports policymakers, practitioners, and communities to use our research and data to develop evidence-based solutions for improved economic mobility.
shorturl.at
1/ New working paper with Trevor Bakker, @stefanie-deluca.bsky.social, Eric English, Jamie Fogel, and Nathan Hendren: We use newly linked Census, IRS, and credit bureau data to explore differences in credit access by race, class, and hometown.

djh1202.github.io/website/cre...

🧵...

📢 Just a few weeks left! Submit your paper by Aug 1st to be part of our 4th Annual Conference on Economic Opportunity (Oct 9–10), featuring opening remarks from Raj Chetty and a keynote by Dave Autor. A great platform for both junior and senior scholars to share their work. ⬇️

These lectures will cover both the frontier of statistical methods on mediation and surrogate indices and provide practical guidance for applied researchers.

Find more info and livestream link here:
🔗 www.nber.org/conferences/...

Interested in using intermediate outcomes to better understand causal mechanisms and predict long-term impacts of interventions? Join Prof. Chetty and Prof. Kosuke Imai at the NBER Methods lectures:

📅 Thursday, 7/24, 3 pm
📍 Cambridge, MA for NBER SI attendees, or virtually ⬇️

🌸 OI’s Spring ’25 newsletter is here!

🔎 Explore our new research in standardized testing and new measurement methods, see how local leaders and communities are integrating OI data into mobility strategies, and more!

🔗 us8.forward-to-friend.com/forward/prev...
Opportunity Insights Spring 2025 Newsletter
us8.forward-to-friend.com

Be part of a mission-driven team working at the intersection of data, policy, and opportunity.

🔗Apply now: opportunityinsights.org/joinourteam/
Careers | Opportunity Insights
Join us in our mission to revive the American Dream
opportunityinsights.org

💼Assistant Director for Research Administration and Finance

Oversee complex grants and financial operations, supporting the sustainability of a high-impact research center.

💼Special Projects Manager

Lead the launch of a new initiative using big data to evaluate and scale social programs. Ideal for candidates with experience in project management and social impact investing.

🚨We're hiring at Opportunity Insights!

Join the OI team at Harvard and help advance research that drives economic mobility. Read more about these two exciting openings below ⬇️