Dr. V. Joseph Hotz is the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Policy at Duke University and Research Professor in the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Hotz received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Hotz is a founding Principal Investigator (with Dr. Harris) of the Add Health Parent Study and continues in this role.

Why are you interested in this study/project?

I have long been interested in families, including how parents help their children and grandchildren grow and develop, how younger generations help care for their elders, and the ways in which one’s family plays an important role in one’s life. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the role that families play when children become adults and most no longer reside with their parents. The Add Health Parent Study is designed to address these gaps in our knowledge and how families continue to affect the health, economic and social well-being of their members. 

Over my career, I’ve been involved in studies of the links between the generations of the American family. More recently, I have examined how the COVID pandemic affected the well-being of America’s extended families, focusing on the extent to which each generation (parents and adult children) helped one another cope with the economic and health-related challenges of living through the pandemic. The data collected in the Add Health Parent Study will help better understand vital dimensions of families’ well-being.

How do you think this study can make things better for our communities?

Our understanding of the health and well-being of communities, whether at the national or more local levels, often are linked to one’s family. Knowing more about these linkages across generations of America’s families can help policymakers and health care providers improve their policies and service delivery. Data can help inform ways to improve health care and social programs that will foster better and healthier lives for all members of our communities, both young and old, and those facing various forms of disadvantage. 

What is your favorite part of working on this study?

At this stage of my career, I greatly enjoy helping to foster the next generation of researchers studying. My hope is that research will inform public policy, advance our understanding of the roles that families play to advance the health and well-being of all Americans of all generations, and all racial and ethnic groups in the years to come.

Where do you call home?

While I currently live in Chicago, I have spent parts of my career in almost every region of the U.S. But, at heart, I am the product of a small town in the Midwest and the upbringing of an extended family that has shaped me in ways that I continue to draw upon as a father and as a grandparent.