Robert Bozick

Senior Demographer

Off Site Office

Education

Ph.D. in sociology, Johns Hopkins University; M.A. in sociology, University of Maryland-College Park; B.A. in sociology, Ohio University

Overview

Robert Bozick is an adjunct senior demographer at the RAND Corporation. His research focuses on the effects of economic strain on demographic and educational outcomes, with a particular focus on linkages between school, work, and health across the life course. Bozick has 20 years of experience developing and testing survey instruments, analyzing survey data, and using longitudinal data to address public policy issues in education, labor, and population. He has particular expertise in the design and analysis of surveys administered to hard-to-study populations. Bozick’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the California Department of Finance, the California Department of Social Services, the New York City Mayor’s Office, the Spencer Foundation, the Peterson Foundation, the ECMC Foundation, and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. His research has been featured in over 100 news outlets, including National Public Radio, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News and World Report.

Currently, Bozick is the Associate Director of the Kinder Houston Area Survey and a Senior Fellow at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University where he studies the determinants and consequences of demographic change in the City of Houston. Prior to his position at Rice, Bozick was the Associate Director of RAND Labor and Population and a faculty member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

Research Focus

Previous Positions

Associate Director of RAND Labor and Population

Selected Publications

Robert Bozick, "The Utility of Self-Rated Health in Population Surveys: The Role of Bodyweight," Population Health Metrics (forthcoming)

Robert Bozick, Wendy Troxel, and Lynn Karoly, "Housing Insecurity and Sleep Among Welfare Recipients in California," Sleep (forthcoming)

Robert Bozick, Drew Anderson, and Lindsay Daugherty, "Patterns and Predictors of Postsecondary Re-Enrollment in the Acquisition of Stackable Credentials," Social Science Research (forthcoming)

Robert Bozick, Narayan Sastry, and Airan Liu, "Health in Early Adolescence and Paid Employment," Youth & Society (forthcoming)

Kate Strully, Robert Bozick, Ying Huang, and Lane Burgette, "Employer Verification Mandates and Infant Health," Population Research and Policy Review, 39, 2020

Robert Bozick, Christopher Doss, Gabriella Gonzalez, and Kyle-Siler Evans, "Occupational Credentials for Jobs in the Sub-Baccalaureate Economy: The Case of the Emerging Energy Sector in Ohio," AERA Open, 6, 2020

Robert Bozick, Jennifer Steele, Susan Turner, and Lois Davis, "Does Providing Inmates with Education Improve Post-Release Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis of Correctional Education Programs in the United States," Journal of Experimental Criminology, 14, 2018

Robert Bozick, Alessandro Malchiodi, and Trey Miller, "Pre-Migration School Quality, Time Spent in the United States, and the Math Achievement of Immigrant High School Students," Demography, 53, 2016

Commentary

Getting Technical: Preparing High School Students for the Workforce America Needs
Fields such as computers, engineering, and health care are expected to grow. Employers and policymakers have a vested interest in ensuring that America's high schoolers are ready to meet future employment needs. Access to high-quality career and technical education programs is key.
Aug 25, 2016 The Hill
Back to Work: Middle-Skill Jobs in the STEM Economy
The STEM economy will grow by 17 percent through 2018, with expected job vacancies totaling 2.4 million. Middle-skill STEM jobs—such as computer support specialists, web developers, and engineering technicians—are in the highest demand.
Aug 24, 2016 The RAND Blog
Labor Day Blog Series: American Worker
To celebrate Labor Day, the American Worker series of commentaries offers research, reflections, and policy insights on a variety of topics that affect American workers.
Aug 22, 2016 The RAND Blog
Should Undocumented Immigrant Youth Pay In-State Tuition to Attend College?
Undocumented children are entitled to free primary and secondary public education everywhere in the United States, regardless of their legal status. But when they finish high school, their options for college vary depending on the state in which they live.
Jul 28, 2015 The RAND Blog
With Child Migrants Set to Become Students, Educators Must Prepare
Between 70,000 and 90,000 unaccompanied children are expected to cross the U.S.-Mexico border by year's end. Lost in an intensifying debate over U.S. immigration policy is the possibility that this wave will spill from shelters to schools. To best respond to this reality, policymakers and educators should consider what research says about educating migrant children.
Jul 14, 2014 The RAND Blog
Are Youth Putting Off Marriage Because of Their Student Loan Debt?
Women with higher loan balances may be less likely to get married than their peers with lower or no loan balances. But as time goes on, young adults adjust to their post-college financial situation and eventually get promotions, earn raises, obtain other assets, and get married.
Jun 26, 2014 The RAND Blog
The Limits of Career and Technical Education in Improving Math Achievement among High School Students
Students who had taken occupationally focused career and technical education (CTE) courses in addition to their regular academic courses had similar learning gains to those who had only taken academic courses: an academic curriculum that includes CTE courses neither bolstered nor curtailed the acquisition of math skills.
Jun 19, 2013 Policy Analysis for California Education

Publications

Research Brief
Building Ohio's Workforce through Stackable Credentials
Stackable credentials allow individuals with short-term credentials to build on them with additional credentials throughout their careers. This brief summarizes a report in which researchers examined earnings gains from stacking credentials in Ohio.
Jun 8, 2021
Journal Article
Patterns and Predictors of Postsecondary Re-Enrollment in the Acquisition of Stackable Credentials
This paper uses 15 years of education and employment data from Ohio to examine the predicators of student re-enrollment in postsecondary education after the completion of certificates in Ohio Technical Centers, community colleges, and universities.
Jun 4, 2021
Draft
Beyond Traditional Academic Degrees: The Labor Market Returns to Occupational Credentials in the United States
Estimates the effect of occupational credentials on labor market outcomes.
Apr 13, 2021
Report
Examining Career and Technical Education in National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Programs
The authors examined career and technical education opportunities for participants in the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program, a residential, quasi-military program for youth ages 16-18 who are experiencing difficulty in traditional high school.
Apr 12, 2021
Report
Stacking Educational Credentials in Ohio: Pathways Through Postsecondary Education in Health Care, Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, and Information Technology
RAND researchers examine students who earned postsecondary certificates in Ohio and went on to earn additional educational credentials. The researchers describe which types of credentials were earned and how students progressed through institutions.
May 11, 2020
Report
Evaluation of the SB 1041 Reforms to California's CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work Program: Updated Findings Regarding Policy Implementation and Outcomes
This report offers further findings from the evaluation of the Senate Bill (SB) 1041 reforms to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program, with a focus on ongoing implementation of SB 1041 and updates on participant outcomes.
Jan 24, 2020
Draft
A Descriptive Profile of CalWORKs Recipients and Their Families: Initial Findings from the First Wave of the California Socioeconomic Survey
Provides a descriptive profile of the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids' recipients and their families based upon Wave I of the California Socioeconomic Survey, collected in 2015.
Dec 16, 2019
Report
Preparing New York City High School Students for the Workforce: Evaluation of the Scholars at Work Program
This report evaluates the Scholars at Work program, which connects students in Career and Technical Education courses at New York City high schools with local employers to improve the career chances of the students and meet the needs of employers.
Mar 28, 2019
Research Brief
How Educators and Employers Can Align Efforts to Fill Middle-Skills STEM Jobs
This Research Brief explores the alignment of oil and gas industry--related college courses with employer needs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, as well as ways in which employers and educators can collaborate to improve these courses.
Feb 7, 2019
Report
Supporting Middle-Skills STEM Workforce Development: Analysis of Workplace Skills in Demand and Education Institutions' Curricular Offerings in the Oil and Gas Sector
In this report, researchers examine the alignment of college STEM education with the needs of employers in the tri-state region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, as well as STEM areas in which college students need more support.
Feb 7, 2019
Draft
Who Gets Counted as Part of America's STEM Workforce? The Implications of Different Classification Approaches for Understanding the Gender Gap in STEM
Asks a national sample of workers to self-classify their jobs as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) or not to better understand the STEM workforce and gender gap.
Dec 17, 2018
Journal Article
Does Providing Inmates with Education Improve Postrelease Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis of Correctional Education Programs in the United States
Meta-analysis demonstrates the potential value in providing inmates with educational opportunities while they serve their sentences.
Jul 3, 2018
Journal Article
Education for Incarcerated Juveniles: A Meta-Analysis
Though the evidence base about what works in juvenile correctional education remains incomplete, the existing research does suggest promising directions for future programmatic investments.
2016
Research Brief
The Uphill Climb: Women and Some Minorities Encounter Disparities in STEM Occupations, Even with Post-Secondary Education
This brief explores the role that postsecondary education plays in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce, finding that women and some minorities are less likely to earn these degrees and to enter STEM employment.
Dec 8, 2017
Report
Postsecondary Education and STEM Employment in the United States: An Analysis of National Trends with a Focus on the Natural Gas and Oil Industry
This report aims to contribute new knowledge to understanding the role that postsecondary education plays in meeting the increasing demands of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce.
Dec 6, 2017
Report
Developing a Skilled Workforce for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry: An Analysis of Employers and Colleges in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
This report summarizes findings from surveys administered to oil and gas employers and education providers to inform policy decisions on how best to expand and sustain the pool of workers with knowledge and skills needed by these employers.
Oct 17, 2017
Journal Article
Do High School Stem Courses Prepare Non-College Bound Youth for Jobs in the Stem Economy?
In this paper we used data from a nationally representative sample of 10th graders in 2002 to test the hypothesis that non-college bound youth who take advanced academic STEM courses and applied STEM courses in high school will be more likely to hold jobs in the STEM economy and earn higher wages in the years immediately after exiting high school. We find no evidence in support of this hypothesis.
Aug 8, 2017
Journal Article
Beyond Academic Math: The Role of Applied STEM Course Taking in High School
Educational policymakers and researchers are concerned about the declining quantity and quality of U.S. students in line to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
2014
Report
Evaluation of the SB 1041 Reforms to California's CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work Program: Findings Regarding the Initial Policy Implementation and Outcomes
This report provides initial findings from the evaluation of the Senate Bill 1041 reforms to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program, with a focus on the implementation of the policy changes and participant outcomes.
Nov 2, 2016
Journal Article
Non-citizen Mexican Youth in U.S. Higher Education: A Closer Look at the Relationship Between State Tuition Policies and College Enrollment
This paper examines state policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
2015
Journal Article
Premigration School Quality, Time Spent in the United States, and the Math Achievement of Immigrant High School Students
Using a nationally representative sample of 1,189 immigrant youth in American high schools, we examine whether the quality of education in their country of origin is related to post-migration math achievement in the 9th grade.
Sep 22, 2016
Journal Article
Using a Merit-Based Scholarship Program to Increase Rates of College Enrollment in an Urban School District: The Case of the Pittsburgh Promise
This study assesses whether the introduction of the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program directly influenced changes in rates of college enrollment among students graduating from Pittsburgh public high schools in years immediately following the launch of the program.
Dec 28, 2015
Journal Article
Do Student Loans Delay Marriage? Debt Repayment and Family Formation in Young Adulthood
With increasing levels of student loan debt, the path to economic stability may be less smooth than it was for earlier generations of college graduates.
2014
Report
Evaluation of the SB 1041 Reforms to California's CalWORKs Program: Background and Study Design
This report provides background on the Senate Bill (SB) 1041 reforms to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, as well as an overview of a multiyear, multicomponent evaluation of the SB 1041 policy changes.
Mar 30, 2015
Report
Recommendations for Improving the Recruiting and Hiring of Los Angeles Firefighters
Reviews the Los Angeles Fire Department's hiring practices as of June 2014 and outlines a recommended new firefighter hiring process.
Jan 22, 2015
Research Brief
New Haven Promise: An Early Look at College Preparation, Access, and Enrollment of New Haven Public School Students (2010–2013)
This brief highlights findings of a study of early progress of New Haven Promise, a place-based scholarship program focusing on college preparation, access, and enrollment.
Nov 21, 2014
Research Brief
Transforming an Urban Public School District: Tracking the Progress of the New Haven Public Schools' Educational Reforms and the New Haven Promise Scholarship Program
This brief summarizes a study of baseline conditions and early progress of two educational efforts in Connecticut: New Haven School Change, a sweeping K-12 educational reform, and New Haven Promise, a scholarship program.
Nov 21, 2014
Report
Transforming an Urban School System: Progress of New Haven School Change and New Haven Promise Education Reforms (2010–2013)
This report documents a study of baseline conditions and early progress of two educational efforts in Connecticut: New Haven School Change, a sweeping districtwide K-12 educational reform, and New Haven Promise, a scholarship program.
Nov 20, 2014
Report
Transforming an Urban School System: Progress of New Haven School Change and New Haven Promise Education Reforms (2010–2013) — Technical Appendixes
This volume contains supporting appendixes for a study of baseline conditions and early progress of two educational efforts in Connecticut: New Haven School Change, a districtwide K-12 educational reform, and New Haven Promise, a scholarship program.
Nov 20, 2014
Infographic
Serving Time or Wasting Time? Correctional Education Programs Improve Job Prospects, Reduce Recidivism, and Save Taxpayer Dollars
Based on a comprehensive literature review, the authors examined the association between correctional education and reductions in recidivism, improvements in employment upon release from prison, and the cost-effectiveness of correctional education.
May 22, 2014
Report
How Effective Is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go from Here? The Results of a Comprehensive Evaluation
Assesses the effectiveness of correctional education for both incarcerated adults and juveniles, presents the results of a survey of U.S. state correctional education directors, and offers recommendations for improving correctional education.
Mar 18, 2014
Research Brief
Correctional Education in the United States: How Effective Is It, and How Can We Move the Field Forward?
Assesses the effectiveness of correctional education for both incarcerated adults and juveniles, presents the results of a survey of U.S. state correctional education directors, and offers recommendations for improving correctional education.
Mar 4, 2014
Journal Article
In-state College Tuition Policies for Undocumented Immigrants: Implications for High School Enrollment Among Non-Citizen Mexican Youth
This paper examines the secondary effects of policies that extend or deny in-state tuition to children of undocumented immigrants.
Feb 1, 2014
Report
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults
After conducting a comprehensive literature search, the authors undertook a meta-analysis to examine the association between correctional education and reductions in recidivism, improvement in employment after release from prison, and other outcomes.
Aug 22, 2013
Research Brief
How Effective is Correctional Education? The Results of a Meta-Analysis
To examine the effectiveness of correctional education and its association with reductions in recidivism and improvement in employment after release from prison, the authors present the results a comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis.
Aug 22, 2013
Journal Article
Balancing Career and Technical Education with Academic Coursework: The Consequences for Mathematics Achievement in High School
Using a nationally representative sample of high school students, the authors examine the relationship between career and technical education (CTE) coursework and mathematics achievement in high school.
May 2, 2013
Journal Article
Sexual Orientation, Partnership Formation, and Substance Use in the Transition to Adulthood
Evidence suggests that lesbian and gay young adults use substances more frequently than their heterosexual peers.
Feb 1, 2012
Report
Fulfilling The Pittsburgh Promise®: Early Progress of Pittsburgh's Postsecondary Scholarship Program
An assessment of progress of The Pittsburgh Promise -- a postsecondary education scholarship intended to stem population and district enrollment decline, foster high school completion and college readiness, and prepare a capable workforce for the city.
Sep 12, 2011
Research Brief
Fulfilling the Promise of an Urban School District: Early Progress of The Pittsburgh Promise® College Scholarship Program
To deal with the challenges of struggling public schools, declining populations, and diminishing quality in the local workforce, Pittsburgh instituted a new college scholarship program to encourage eligible students to continue their education.
Sep 12, 2011
Journal Article
Not Making the Transition to College: School, Work, and Opportunities in the Lives of Contemporary American Youth
In applying latent class analysis techniques, we identified multiple types of students who do not pursue college. One group of non-enrollees (27.6%) reports forgoing college because the economic barriers are too high – either because of college affordability or family financial responsibility.
Jul 1, 2011
Journal Article
Framing the Future: Revisiting the Place of Educational Expectations in Status Attainment
However, investigating the process of expectation formation back to the elementary grades yields insights not evident when analyses are limited to the high school years.
Jul 1, 2010
Draft
Not Making the Transition to College: School, Work, and Opportunities in the Lives of Contemporary American Youth
Analyzes the motives for not attending college among a nationally representative sample of high school sophomores in 2002 who had not enrolled in college by the spring of 2006.
Jun 15, 2010
Journal Article
Noncognitive Skills in the Classroom: New Perspectives on Educational Research
Noncognitive attributes are those academically and occupationally relevant skills and traits that are not "cognitive"--that is, not specifically intellectual or analytical in nature.
2010
Journal Article
Job Opportunities, Economic Resources, and the Postsecondary Destinations of American Youth
Using two measures of job opportunities—local unemployment rates and the percentage of local workers employed in jobs that require a bachelor's degree—I find support for the warehouse hypothesis. In areas where unemployment is low, with ample jobs that do not require a bachelor's degree, youth have higher odds of entering the labor force.
Aug 1, 2009
Journal Article
Warming Up, Cooling Out, or Holding Steady? Persistence and Change in Educational Expectations After High School
This article examines the expectation to complete a bachelor's degree among a predominantly low-income, mainly African American, panel of Baltimore youths at the end of high school, at age 22, and at age 28.
Oct 1, 2008
Journal Article
Making It Through the First Year of College: The Role of Students' Economic Resources, Employment, and Living Arrangements
Using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study of 1996, this article explores the effect of economic resources on the paid work experiences and living arrangements of first-year college students.
Jul 1, 2007
Journal Article
Helping Because You Have to or Helping Because You Want To? Sustaining Participation in Service Work from Adolescence Through Young Adulthood
This article examines whether the motive behind community service performed during high school—either voluntary or required—influences engagement in volunteer work during the young adult years.
Dec 1, 2006
Journal Article
Precocious Behaviors in Early Adolescence: Employment and the Transition to First Sexual Intercourse
This article explores the relationship between employment and first sexual intercourse in the early teen years.
Feb 1, 2006
Journal Article
Better Late Than Never? Delayed Enrollment in the High School to College Transition
In this paper, we examine the antecedents and consequences of timing in the transition from high school to college.
Sep 1, 2005
Journal Article
Does Participation in a School-To-Career Program Limit Educational and Career Opportunities?
School-to-career (STC) programs have frequently been criticized for steering participants into a one-track career path and narrowing their scope of educational possibilities.
Apr 1, 2002