About Kathryn Edin
Born 1962. Kathryn Edin is an American sociologist and university teacher.
Kathryn J. Edin, is an American sociologist and a professor of sociology and public affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She specializes in the study of people living on welfare. Two of her books are Making ends meet: how single mothers survive welfare and low-wage work, and Promises I can keep: why poor women put motherhood before marriage.
In 2023, she was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Life and career Edin graduated with a B.A. in sociology from North Park University in 1984. She then pursued graduate studies at Northwestern University, where she received a M.A. in sociology in 1988 and a Ph.D. in sociology in 1989 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "There's a lot of month left at the end of the money: how welfare recipients in Chicago make ends meet."
In February 2014, Edin was named a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University for her accomplishments as an interdisciplinary researcher and excellence in teaching the next generation of scholars. In that same year, Edin was elected as a member to both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.
Publications
Books Edin, Kathryn J., et al. Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America. Mariner Books, 2023. DeLuca, Stefanie, Susan Clampet-Lundquist and Kathryn Edin (2016). Coming of Age in the Other America. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. . $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015) Edin, Kathryn and Timothy J. Nelson. Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013. .
Edin, Kathryn, and Maria Kefalas. Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. Edin, Kathryn, and Laura Lein. Making Ends Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low-Wage Work. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1997 Review, by Sally Young Conrad; Journal of Public Health Policy, 1997, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 480-484 Review, by Susan Jacoby The New York Times book review. (May 4, 1997): 10 Review, by Ruth Sidel; The Women's Review of Books, Sep., 1997, vol. 14, no. 12, p. 27-28 Review, by Jane Waldfogel; Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Apr., 1998, vol. 51, no. 3, p. 529-530 Review, by Erin L Kelly; Gender and Society, Aug., 1998, vol. 12, no. 4, p. 485-487 Review, by Ralph Da Costa Nunez Political Science Quarterly, Summer, 1998, vol. 113, no. 2, p. 350-351 Review, by Irma McClaurin: American Anthropologist. 100, no. 1, (1998): 231 Review, by Aldon Morris; Contemporary Sociology, Nov., 1998, vol. 27, no. 6, p. 564-566 Review, by Frances Fox Piven American Journal of Sociology, Mar., 1998, vol. 103, no. 5, p. 1461-1463 Review, by Elizabeth Cooksey Population Studies, Mar., 2000, vol. 54, no. 1, p. 117-118
Peer-reviewed journal articles (selected) Edin, Kathryn. 2000. "What Do Low-Income Single Mothers Say About Marriage?" Social Problems. 47, no. 1: 112β133. Gibson-Davis, Christina M., Kathryn Edin, and Sara McLanahan. 2005. "High Hopes but Even Higher Expectations: The Retreat From Marriage Among Low-Income Couples". Journal of Marriage and Family. 67, no. 5: 1301β1312. Laura Tach; Kathryn Edin "The Relationship Contexts of Young Disadvantaged Men" Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 635, no. 1 (2011): 76β94
Reports Edin, Kathryn, Laura Lein, and Timothy Nelson. Low-Income, Non-Residential Fathers Off-Balance in a Competitive Economy, in Initial Analysis. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1998. OCLC 50199268 Edin, Kathryn, Kathleen Mullan Harris, and Gary D. Sandefur. Welfare to Work: Opportunities and Pitfalls : Congressional Seminar, March 10, 1997. Washington, DC: Spivack Program in Applied Social Research and Social Policy, American Sociological Association, 1998.
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Important facts
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Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Kathryn Edin?
American sociologist
When was Kathryn Edin born?
Kathryn Edin was born on 26 May 1962.
What is Kathryn Edin's occupation?
Kathryn Edin is a sociologist and university teacher.
What nationality is Kathryn Edin?
Kathryn Edin is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Kathryn Edin. https://biography.guide/kathryn-edin/
MLA: "Kathryn Edin." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/kathryn-edin/.
Chicago: "Kathryn Edin." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/kathryn-edin/.
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