Projects

This project analyzes the relationship between early health conditions, adult socioeconomic attainment, and adult health. The first goal of this study is to document the impact of early health conditions on adult socioeconomic and adult health outcomes. More

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has contracted with the Urban Institute and its partners, among them NORC at the University of Chicago, to conduct an assessment of housing needs in tribal areas in the United States.  More

Funded by First 5 LA, the Best Start Family Survey (BSFS) will provide representative data about key indicators of well-being for children zero to five and their parents across 14 communities in Los Angeles County participating in Best Start.  Best Start is an ambitious place-based initiative with the goal of improving outcomes for children zero to five by ensuring children are born healthy, maintain a healthy weight, are free from abuse and neglect and enter school ready to learn.  More

Food Assistance During and After the Great Recession in Metropolitan Detroit will use unique panel survey data from a representative sample of working-age adults in the Detroit Metropolitan Area to explore three research questions related to the receipt of SNAP among low-income households: How have low-income families in the Detroit Metropolitan Area bundled SNAP with other types of public assistance, help from charitable nonprofits, and informal social support in the wake of the Great Recession? When controlling for economic shocks and respondent characteristics, to what extent is access to local food assistance resources related to receipt of SNAP assistance? How are receipt of SNAP assistance and economic shocks related to household food shopping behaviors, food security, and financial hardship? More

The New Economic Opportunities (NEO) Initiative is a four year USAID-funded project in the Republic of Georgia that aims to develop economic opportunities at the community level;  improve livelihoods of vulnerable households and persons; promote sustainability of Internationally Displaced Persons (IDP) housing; and respond to natural disasters or other large shocks to livelihoods.  More

​Researchers at the University of Houston and NORC are designing a small panel survey to illuminate the factors contributing to foreclosure (including a test of financial literacy) and what happens to families after they leave their foreclosed home. An additional research question is the impact of foreclosure on children.  More

NORC is conducting impact evaluations for the Millennium Challenge Corporation under the Millenium Challenge Account program in Lesotho: Health Centers Activity; Anti-Retroviral Therapy Clinics Activity ;  Rural Water Activity; and Urban Water Activity. More

NORC has partnered with the Urban Institute to carry out impact evaluations of development programs funded through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The evaluation will assess the program contributions to economic growth, job creation, and increased household incomes, and will help guide the design of future programs. More

The African Cashew Initative , funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to strengthen global competitiveness of cashew production and processing in five pilot countries in Africa: Mozambique, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin. More

Under the sponsorship of the International Housing Coalition (IHC), in 2009 NORC staff authored a paper for wide public dissemination that argues for a very substantial change in U.S. foreign assistance policy. More