Reading list

Journal of Up

The Social Mobity Lab published the first issue of the Journal of Up on April 13, 2026. This new publication shares valuable learning and perspectives on social mobility and the journey of moving up in life — however one chooses to define that.

Read the Journal of Up.

Research on social mobility at The City College of New York

Understanding what contributes to social mobility and translating that learning to benefit our students, our community and our country is a critical aspect of our work. Below is a selection of recent research conducted by our faculty. If there is research that you are doing on this issue that you would like  to include please contact us.

DAVE CHOKSHI

Chokshi DA. Income, Poverty, and Health Inequality. JAMA. 2018;319(13):1312–1313.

Chokshi, DA (2020). From Economic Recovery to Health Resilience. JAMA Health Forum, 1(11):e201438.

Chokshi, D. A. (2022, August 31). Life expectancy is falling. Here's how to change that. The New York Times.

PRABAL DE

De, P. K., & Tümay, M. (2026). Effects of mandatory schooling expansion on upward educational mobility among women in Türkiye. Applied Economics, 1-20.

NORMA FUENTES

Book:
Fuentes-Mayorga, N. (2023). From homemakers to breadwinners to community leaders: Migrating women, class, and color. Rutgers University Press. (See chapters 1, 2, 5 & 6 focusing on migration and social mobility.)  

Articles:
Fuentes-Mayorga, N., & Burgos, G. (2017). Generation X and the Future Health of Latinos. Generations, 41(3), 58-67.

Crul, M., J. Holdaway, H. De Valk, N. Fuentes, and M. Zaal (2013) Educating the Children of Immigrants in Old and New Amsterdam,” in Richard Alba and Jennifer Holdaway (editors), The Children of Immigrants at School: A Comparative Look at Integration in the United States and Western Europe. New York City: New York University Press.

YANA KUCHEVA

Kucheva, Y. (2018). Subsidized housing and the transition to adulthood. Demography, 55(2), 617–642.

Kucheva, Y. A. (2014). The receipt of subsidized housing across generations. Population Research and Policy Review, 33(6), 841–871.

BOB MCKINNON

Podcast: McKinnon, Bob (2020-Present). Attribution with Bob McKinnon. NPR. Podcast series audio.  

McKinnon, Bob. (2023-Present). Moving Up Mondays, Substack.

McKinnon, Bob  (2018-Present). Moving Up USA.

McKinnon, Bob (2023- Present)). Moving Up in Communities. Fast Company.

McKinnon, Bob (2023, July 25). Why Do People Succeed or Fail in Life? Your Answer Matters. Greater Good Magazine.

BOB MELARA

Stokvis, N., Melara, R. D., & De, P. K. (2024). College Completion in a No-Racial/Ethnic Majority Campus. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 25(4), 741-767.

López-Castro T, Brandt L, Anthonipillai NJ, Espinosa A, Melara R (2021) Experiences, impacts and mental health functioning during a COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown: Data from a diverse New York City sample of college students. PLOS ONE 16(4): e0249768.

Laura Brandt , Nishanthi J. Anthonipillai , Teresa López-Castro , Robert Melara & Adriana Espinosa (2022) Substance use trajectories among urban college students: associations with symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression before and during COVID-19. Journal of American College Health, 72(6), 1717-1726.

MATTHEW NAGLER

Nagler, M. G. (2023). Focusing as Commitment.  

MARITSA POROS

Poros, Maritsa V. (March 30, 2011). Migrant Social Networks: Vehicles for Migration, Integration, and Development. Migration Policy Institute.

Poros, Maritsa V. (2011). Modern Migrations: Gujarati Indian Networks in New York and London. Stanford University Press.

LOTTI SILBER

Silber, I. C. (2022). After stories: Transnational intimacies of postwar El Salvador. Stanford University Press.

Bellanger, W., Cosgrove, S., & Silber, I. C. (2023). Higher Education, State Repression, and neoliberal reform in Nicaragua: Reflections from a university under fire. Routledge.

RAFIA ZAFAR

Zafar, R. (2022). Intergenerational Mobility in Income and Consumption: Evidence from Indonesia. Stony Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper Series, 55.