Welcome!
My name is Masoud Movahed and I am currently Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Social Norms & Behavioral Dynamics as well as Postdoctoral Affiliate at the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
I completed my doctoral studies in the Sociology Department (Minor: Public Affairs) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2023. In 2018-2019, I also spent a year at the University of British Columbia as a Visiting Doctoral Student, where I completed graduate coursework in computational methods. Prior to that, I also completed an M.A. in Economics & Sociology at New York University. My research uses computational and quantitative methods, but I retain a keen interest in comparative and historical methods.
My dissertation entitled “Varieties of Capitalism, Income Inequality, and Mobility,” draws on cross-national panel data for much of the post World War II era to explain why some countries are more egalitarian than others. Chapters of my dissertation (now published in Social Science Research and International Journal of Comparative Sociology) have won multiple awards from the American Sociological Association’s Mathematical Sociology, Sociology of Development and Political Economy of the World-System Sections.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Center for Social Norms & Behavioral Dynamics
Email: movahed@sas.upenn.edu
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Quantitative & Computational Methods, Spatial Methods, Machine Learning, Panel Data Analysis, Economic & Political Sociology, Intergenerational Income Mobility, Social Stratification, Comparative Studies of Wealth Inequality, Comparative Historical Methods, Cross-National and Global Sociology.
BOOK (IN PROGRESS)
“Varieties of Capitalism and Social Inequalities.” Book proposal under submission.
PEER REVIEWED PAPERS
2025 Karl Vachuska & Movahed, Masoud. “Estimating the Causal Effect of Gun Violence on Neighborhood Popularity,” Spatial Demography. In Print.
2025 Movahed, Masoud. “Structural vs. Associational Power and Income Inequality,” Journal of Industrial Relations. Online First.
2024 Movahed, Masoud and Tiffany Neman†. “Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States: A Racial-Spatial Account.” Social Science Research s123(2).
♦♦♦ Winner of Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award, American Sociological Association’s Mathematical Sociology Section.
2023 Masoud, Movahed. “Varieties of Capitalism and Income Inequality.” International Journal of Comparative Sociology 64(6):621-657.
♦♦♦ Winner of Terence K. Hopkins Article Award, American Sociological Association’s Political Economy of the World System Section
♦♦♦ Recipient of Honorable Mention Outstanding Article, American Sociological Association’s Sociology of Development Award for Best Article.
2023 Goldberg, Chad Alan‡ and Masoud Movahed. “The New Class and Right-Wing Populism: The Case of Wisconsin.” The Sociological Quarterly 65(1), 105–125.
2023 Movahed, Masoud., and Hirsh, Elizabeth‡. “Mobilizing Equal Employment Rights: The Social and Political Determinants of Discrimination Complaints,” The Sociological Quarterly, 64(2), 296–319.
2022 Movahed, Masoud., and Hirsh, Elizabeth‡. The regional determinants of collective action in the era of American Resistance. Interface: A Journal For and About Social Movements 14(1):81 – 100.
2020 Movahed, Masoud. “Industrializing an Oil-Based Economy: Evidence from Iran’s Automobile Industry,” Journal of International Development, 32:1148–1170.
WORK IN PROGRESS
Revise & Resubmit Movahed, Masoud., & Emilio Parrado. “Comparative Capitalist Models & Total Fertility Rate,” Demography.
Revise & Resubmit Movahed, Masoud. “Ethnic Heterogeneity and Income Inequality,” Socio-Economic Review.
Revise & Resubmit Movahed, Masoud., & Chad Goldberg. “The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in the United States,” Politics & Society.
Under Review Movahed, Masoud. “Varieties of Capitalism & Wealth Inequality,” American Journal of Sociology.
Under Review Movahed, Masoud. “Understanding Institutional Change Across the Global North: A Machine Learning Approach,” Social Policy & Administration.
Under Review Movahed, Masoud., & Jason Schnittker. “The Institutional Dimensions of Wellbeing: A Cross-National Analysis.”
Under Review Cristina Bicchieri, Kevin Vallier, Movahed, Masoud, Daniel Putman, Shaon Lahiri. “Social Trust and Poverty in America.”
Draft Available Movahed, Masoud., Cristina Bicchieri, Kevin Vallier, Daniel Putman, Shaon Lahiri. “Perceptions of Intergenerational Income Mobility: A Machine Learning Approach.”
Draft Available Cristina Bicchieri, Kevin Vallier, Movahed, Masoud, Daniel Putman, Shaon Lahiri. “Social Norms and Educational Attainment: A Survey Experiment.”
Draft Available Movahed, Masoud., Jeff Goodwin., and Elizabeth Hirsh. “Collective Action in the Era of Right- Wing Populism: A Political-Economic Analysis.”
PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY WRITINGS/BOOK CHAPTERS
2022 “The Optimism of the Intellect: Erik Olin Wright’s Real Utopias Project,” The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible.
2020 “Erik Olin Wright (1947-2019),” The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2nd Edition.
2019 “A Great Heart Stopped: Erik Olin Wright (1947-2019),” The Progressive. Reprinted in Common Dreams.
2019 “Does capitalism have to be bad for the environment?” World Economic Forum.
2019 “The Sanctions Game: Why Trump’s Maximum Pressure Strategy is Doomed to Failure,” Boston Review.
2018 “Rebooting Iran’s Economy: What Tehran Needs to Do to Fix its Finances,” Foreign Affairs.
2018 “A Wake-up Call to Rouhani” Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
2018 “Swimming Against the Tide: State Interventions and Technical Change in the Era of Knowledge-Based Economy,” Harvard Economics Review.
2017 “The Uneven Growth of Capitalism in India,” Harvard Economics Review.
2016 “The Persistence of Manufacturing in Deindustrialized America,” Harvard Economics Review.
2016 “Is Democracy Intrinsic to Economic Development?” Harvard Economics Review.
2016 “Nuclear Deal Could Unleash Iran’s Economy,” Aljazeera America.
2015 “What is Good for Banks is not Good for the Economy,” Harvard Economics Review.
2014 “The East Asian Miracle: Where did Adam Smith go wrong?” Harvard International Review.
2014 “Everyone’s Talking About Iran’s Nuclear Program. What About Its Auto Industry?” Yale Journal of International Affairs.
2014 “Beyond sectarian politics: Saudi-Iranian Relations in Prospect,” Yale Journal of International Affairs.
2013 “Why should resource-based economies diversify?” Aljazeera English.
2011 “Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and its consequences,” Journal of Asian Development Matters 5(): 311-315.
AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, GRANTS
2023 Sociology & Political Economy Summer Institute, University of California-Berkeley, ($4,000).
2020 Gerald Marwell Award, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, ($2,000).
2019 Graduate Student Fellowship, University of British Columbia, Canada, (Fall & Spring 2019).
2018 Chancellor Fellowship for doctoral studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, (2017-2018) ($30,000).
2017 Chancellor Fellowship for doctoral studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, (2016-2017) ($30,000).
2008 Full Merit Scholarship from Qatar University, (2008-2012).
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Journal Reviewer: American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Industrial Relations, International Journal of Social Welfare, Sociology of Development, The Sociological Quarterly.
TEACHING
Fall 2024 Data Analysis Research Seminar I †Lecturer
University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy, Politics, Economics (PPE)
Spring 2024 Data Analysis Research Seminar I †Lecturer
University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy, Politics, Economics (PPE)
Fall 2023 Data Analysis Research Seminar I †Lecturer
University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy, Politics, Economics (PPE)
Spring 2021 Statistics for Sociologists I (Soc360) †Lecturer
Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fall 2020 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences (Stat 371) †Teaching Assistant Department of Statistics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Spring 2019 Statistics for Sociologists II (Soc 361) †Teaching Assistant Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fall 2019 Statistics for Sociologists I (Soc 361) †Teaching Assistant Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Summer 2019 Law and Society †Teaching Assistant
Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia
Spring 2018 Methods of Social Research †Teaching Assistant Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia
Spring 2016 Contemporary American Society †Teaching Assistant
Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fall 2016 Contemporary American Society †Teaching Assistant
Department of Afro-American Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2024 “The Determinants of the Perceptions of Intergenerational Upward and Downward Mobility in America: A Machine-Learning Approach,” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Montreal.
2024 “The Institutional Determinants of Wealth Inequality,” Perspectives on Wealth and Inequality, Regular Section, Montreal.
2024 “The Determinants of the Perceptions of Intergenerational Upward and Downward Mobility in America: A Machine-Learning Approach,” Research Committee 28 (RC28) on Social Stratification and Mobility, Brown University.
2024 “Right-Wing Populism in the US, Contemporary Right-Wing Politics in Comparative Perspective,” Regular Section, Montreal.
2023 “Roots of Poverty in America”, The Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE) Society’s Seventh Annual Meeting, New Orleans.
2023 “Ethnic Fractionalization & Income Inequality,” Research Committee 28 (RC28) on Social Stratification and Mobility, University of Michigan Ann-Arbor.
2023 “Ethnic Fractionalization & Income Inequality,” Santa Fe Institute, August 3, 2023. 2023 “Varieties of Capitalism and Income Inequality,” Sociology and Political Economy Summer Institute, University of California-Berkeley.
2023 “Varieties of Capitalism and Income Inequality,” Cross-National and Comparative Studies of Inequality Section, Population Association of America.
2022 “Ethnic Heterogeneity and Income Inequality,” Section Session Presentation on Cross- National Sociology Panel, American Sociological Association, Los Angeles, California.
2022 “Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States: A Racial-Spatial Account,” Session Presentation Poverty, Inequality and Mobility, American Sociological As- sociation, Los Angeles, California.
2022 “Intergenerational Income Mobility in the United States: A Racial-Spatial Account,” Family, Neighborhood, and Intergenerational Mobility Session, Population Association of America, Atlanta, Georgia.
2021 “Varieties of Capitalism and Income Inequality,” Session Comparative analysis of political institutions, Social Science History Association, Chicago, Illinois.
2021 “Mobilizing Equal Employment Rights: The Social and Political Determinants of Discrimination Complaints (2009-2018),” Session on Affirmative Action and Anti-Discrimination Policy, American Sociological Association.
2021 “Mobilizing Equal Employment Rights: The Social and Political Determinants of Discrimination Complaints (2009-2018),” Law and Injustice: Can Law Repair the Harms of Systemic Racism? Society for the Study of Social Problems Session.
2021 “Varieties of Capitalism and Income Inequality,” Poverty and Inequality in the Global Context Session. Society for the Study of Social Problems.
2020 “The Determinants of Collective Action in the Era of American Resistance,“ Collective Behavior and Social Movements Session, American Sociological Association.
2020 “The regional determinants of collective action in the era of American Resistance,“ Capitalism and Contention Conference, 2020, New York University’s Sociology Department, Paper accepted, Postponed due to COVID19.
2020 “The regional determinants of collective action in the era of American Resistance,” San Diego State University, Mobilization Conference, Paper accepted, Postponed due to COVID19.
2018 “Shielded From Neoliberal Strictures: Oil, State and the Rise of Iran’s Auto Industry, “Comparative Historical Social Sciences Conference, Northwestern University, Chicago.
2017 “Estimating the Effects of Disadvantaged Neighborhoods on Educational Outcomes in Norway Using Marginal Structural Model for Time-varying variable,” Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brauer’s Lab Group. 2017.
2016 “The Obduracy of the Old Economy: The Trajectory of Manufacturing in the U.S. Economy,” American Sociological Association, Economic Sociology Pre-Conference, The University of Washington, Seattle, August 19, 2016.
2015 “Besieged at Home: Iran’s Auto Industry,” Graduate Student Research Conference, New York University, New York City.
2012 “Dialogue Among Civilizations” The Middle Eastern Studies Conference, George- town University’s Qatar Campus, Doha, Qatar.
OTHER EMPLOYMENTS
2018-2021 Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs,
Research Consultant
2020-2022 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Wisconsin Strategy (COWS),
Project Assistant
LANGUAGES
English (Read, Write, Speak)
Persian (Read, Write, Speak)
Arabic (Read, Write, Speak)
SOFTWARE SKILLS
R, STATA, Matlab, Geoda
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- American Sociological Association
- Social Science History Association
- Population Association of America
REFERENCES
Professor Ivan Ermakoff
Sewell-Bascom Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Email: ermakoff@ssc.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-8206
Professor Jane Collins
Frances Perkins Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Email: jcollins@ssc.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 890-0348
Professor Christine Schwartz
Vilas Distinguished Research Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Email: cschwart@ssc.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-579
Professor Joel Rogers
Noam Chomsky Professor
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Email: jrogers@ssc.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-4266
Professor Timothy Smeeding
Lee Rainwater Distinguished Professor
La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Email: smeeding@lafollette.wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 890-1317
Professor Chad Goldberg
Martindale-Bascom Professor of Sociology
Department of Sociology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Email: cagoldberg@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 262-2108