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Mark Robert Rank

Professor of Social Welfare, Washington University in St Louis
Mark Robert Rank is the Herbert S. Hadley Professor of Social Welfare at Washington University in St. Louis. He is recognized as a foremost expert on issues of poverty, inequality and social justice. His research on the life course risk of poverty has demonstrated for the first time that a majority of Americans will experience poverty at some point during their lives.

To date he has written 10 books on a range of subjects, including an exploration of the American Dream, a new understanding of poverty and inequality, and the role of luck and chance in shaping the course of our lives. In addition, he has published articles in numerous academic journals across a wide variety of fields.

Rank’s research has been reported widely throughout the news media, and cited in virtually every major newspaper in the country. He has also been featured in other media outlets including various programs on National Public Radio, NBC Nightly News, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and many others.

He has provided research expertise to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as many national organizations involved in issues of economic and social justice. His work has been cited by then-President Barack Obama, as well as Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Rank has developed a website, Confronting Poverty, that allows users to explore in greater depth the issues of poverty and economic inequality. The site, whose centerpiece is an innovative poverty risk calculator, is being used in universities and high schools across the country, along with various social justice and religious communities and organizations. To date, the website has over 1 million page views, and has had visitors from more than 200 countries.

Why luck plays such a big role in hockey

Apr 19, 2024 06:25 am UTC| Sports

The NHL playoffs are almost like a second season two months of bruising, relentless play, as the top teams compete for the chance to hoist Lord Stanleys Cup. The 16 hockey teams that have made it into the postseason...

Oppenheimer feared nuclear annihilation – and only a chance pause by a Soviet submariner kept it from happening in 1962

Mar 07, 2024 09:24 am UTC| Insights & Views

History has often been shaped by chance and luck. One of the blockbuster films of the past year, Oppenheimer, tells the dramatic story of the development of the atomic bomb and the physicist who headed those efforts, J....

Economy

European Regulators Clash With U.S. Treasury Over Private Credit Transparency

European financial regulators are facing resistance from the U.S. Treasury as they seek greater transparency into banks exposure to the fast-growing private credit market, underscoring a widening regulatory divide between...

Gold Prices Slip as U.S.-Iran Conflict, Fed Rate Hike Bets Pressure Precious Metals

Gold prices traded little changed on Friday but remained on track for a weekly decline as escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran boosted inflation concerns and strengthened expectations that the...

Japanese Yen Rises as Pension Fund Plan and BOJ Rate Hike Bets Weigh on Dollar

The Japanese yen outperformed other Asian currencies on Friday after the Japanese government signaled plans to encourage the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) to increase investments in domestic assets. The move...

Asian Stocks Rise as AI Chip Rally Offsets Middle East Tensions

Asian stock markets advanced on Friday, led by a strong rebound in semiconductor shares, as investors shifted their focus from escalating Middle East tensions to the long-term growth outlook for artificial intelligence...

Japan Eyes Bigger GPIF Investment in Domestic Assets as BOJ Independence Concerns Grow

Japans government is considering measures to encourage pension funds, including the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), to significantly increase their investments in domestic financial assets, Finance Minister...

Politics

ASEAN to Hold Landmark Myanmar Talks as Bloc Seeks Progress on Civil War

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold an informal meeting with Myanmars foreign minister on Sunday to discuss the countrys ongoing civil war and its future engagement with the regional bloc, marking...

NATO Leaders Receive Engraved Turkish Revolvers as Unusual Summit Gifts

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised NATO leaders with an unusual diplomatic gift after the alliances summit in Ankara, presenting each visiting leader with an engraved vintage Turkish revolver complete with...

Trump Administration Sues Maryland Over Alleged Sanctuary Immigration Policies

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Maryland, accusing it of enforcing so-called sanctuary policies that the Trump administration says hinder federal immigration enforcement...

Regional Powers Push to Revive U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks After Escalation

Regional powers are intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent the collapse of a U.S.-Iran nuclear understanding after a sharp rise in military tensions, according to an Axios report published Thursday citing sources...

Iran Buries Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Imam Reza Shrine as Successor Mojtaba Remains Out of Public View

Iran buried slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad early Friday, concluding a week of large-scale funeral ceremonies marked by mourning, nationalist rallies and anti-U.S....

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Elon Musk Says Anthropic Leads AI Race as Claude Models Challenge OpenAI

Elon Musk has publicly praised artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, saying the company is obviously the current leader in AI, in a rare acknowledgment of a key rival as competition among top AI developers...

OpenAI Executive Fidji Simo to Step Down Amid Health Challenges Ahead of IPO

OpenAIs head of products and business, Fidji Simo, announced on Thursday that she will step down from her leadership role and transition to a part-time advisory position after experiencing complications from a chronic...

Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong Expected to Meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on AI and Chip Partnership

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is expected to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in the United States by the end of July as the two technology giants explore deeper cooperation in semiconductor manufacturing and...

SK Hynix Prices Record U.S. ADR Offering at $149 After $200 Billion Investor Demand

South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix Inc. has priced its landmark U.S. American depositary receipt (ADR) offering at $149 per ADR, finalizing one of the largest and most closely watched semiconductor share sales in...

Bain Capital Exits Kioxia After AI-Fueled Valuation Surge

Bain Capital has fully exited its investment in Japanese flash memory manufacturer Kioxia, marking the end of a highly profitable private equity deal driven by the rapid expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI)...