Nicholas Mark

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Department of Sociology

Additional information

Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Mark studies how social conditions shape the formation, health, and life chances of families. His work asks why some groups—particularly along lines of race and class—experience worse birth and health outcomes than others, and how forces like poverty, violence, housing costs, and public policy contribute to these gaps. He is also interested in the changing shape of American family life, including why fertility rates are declining and what that means for individuals and society. A related strand of his research examines how encounters with institutions like schools and police shape children’s educational trajectories. Across these projects, Mark draws on large-scale demographic data and rigorous empirical methods to better understand the roots of inequality and to inform policies that support healthier families and communities.

CDE Research Area Affiliations:

Fertility, Health & the Life Course; Demography of Inequality

Selected Publications:

Wu, L. L., Mark, N.D., Hill, J. (2026) “The Effect of the Great Recession on U.S. Fertility: Causal Estimates From a Novel Cohort Discontinuity Design.” Demography.  June 2026; 63 (3): 813–841. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-12664250

Mark, N.D., Raker, E., and Torrats-Espinosa, G. (2025). “Severe Tornadoes and Infant Birth Weight in the US.” Demography. 12354082. https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-12354082

Mark, N.D., Geller, A., and Engberg, J. (2022). “Adding Insult to Injury: Arrests Reduce Attendance through Institutional Mechanisms.” Sociology of Education, 95(3), 189-215, doi: 10.1177/00380407221099649.

Mark, N.D., and Wu, L.L. (2022). “More Comprehensive Sex Education Reduced Teen Births: Quasi-Experimental Evidence.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(8), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113144119.

Mark, N.D. and Cowan, S.K. (2022). “Do Pregnancy Intentions Matter? A Research Note Revisiting Relationships Among Pregnancy, Birth, and Maternal Outcomes.” Demography, 59 (1): 37–49, doi: 10.1215/00703370-9710311.