Alvarez, Anthony S.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Sociology
Biography:
My general research interests lie in economic sociology; particularly in using the lens of economic sociology to understand patterns of inequality. I have recently focused on how households use payday loans – short term, high costs loans – and how these loans fit into their broader pattern of financial behaviors and beliefs. Central to this are the ways in which households manage their financial networks – friends and family they rely upon for material forms of support. I am currently conducting interviews with payday borrowers in Southern California on their financial practices, as well tracing the development of payday lending regulations at the state level. I also have an interest in the development of economic and social policy, in particular the history of the income tax and the development of monetary policy across US history. More specifically, I am concerned with the discursive development of the idea of taxation in American politics. In regard to monetary policy, I am interested in the changing popular conceptions of inflation, and how different social groups have tried to use inflation, or the threat of inflation, in the contestation over resources. Currently, I am teaching Social Statistics and Research Methods, and will be offering courses in Social Inequality and Economic Sociology in the near future.
Areas of Knowledge:
- Consumer Finance
- Payday Borrowing
- Inequality
- Money and Social Life
Subject(s):
- Finance
- Poverty
- Taxation
- Statistics
Region(s):
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