Clayton Adamson headshot

Clayton Adamson


PhD Candidate in Sociology


Center for Demography and Ecology



University of Wisconsin—Madison


cadamson [at] wisc [dot] edu


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Curriculum Vitae

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About


My name is Clayton Adamson and I am a PhD Candidate in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Previously, I obtained a M.S. in Regional Science from Cornell University. My research interests include place, social stratification, demography, economic development, and family sociology.

My research agenda follows two themes:

  1. How place and geography shape stratification within the US. This first stream includes work on how emplaced economic structures limit resident prosperity, how geographic origins shape returns to migration, and how broad temporal shifts in the American family vary spatially.
  2. How noneconomic family characteristics shape intergenerational persistence. This second stream investigates how parental attributes such as occupational job quality and alcohol abuse intersect with and transcend traditional determinants of child status attainment.

I regularly use various advanced methodological approaches, including: spatial econometrics, machine learning, Bayesian approaches, network science, and non-linear spline and growth models. The majority of my work relies upon U.S. public survey and administrative data and longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), along with equivalent data in the UK. My research has been published in journals such as Social Science Research, Social Networks, and Spatial Demography.

Prior to academia, I worked as a director of economic modeling and research manager in economic development organizations and think-tank settings. Beyond research, I spend my time running, hiking, and cycling, reading classic literature, listening to blues-rock and alt-country music, and rooting for the Brewers, Packers, and Badgers.


Research


● Published & Forthcoming Papers


2026


The Intergenerational Mobility Advantage of Educators’ Children: Capital Embedded in Occupations

Clayton Adamson and Karl Vachuska. Social Science Research


Neighborhood Shocks and Network Dynamics: An Instrumental Variable Approach to Measuring Triadic Closure in Daily Mobility Networks

Karl Vachuska and Clayton Adamson. Social Networks



2025


Economic Complexity and Divergent Population Growth by Race and Rurality

Clayton Adamson, Katherine J. Curtis, and Sara Peters. Spatial Demography.


○ Under Review


Uneven Jobs, Uneven Places: Industrial Structure and the Geography of Job Quality

Clayton Adamson. Revise and resubmit at Population Research and Policy Review.


Growth Without Gain: The Adverse Effects of State and Local Development Incentives on Resident Prosperity

Clayton Adamson. Revise and resubmit at Urban Affairs Review.


Unequal Returns to Growth and Decline Across U.S. Regions and Social Classes

Clayton Adamson. Revise and resubmit at Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy, and Society.


Housing Costs and US Fertility: A New Era

Nicholas D.E. Mark, Clayton Adamson, and Max Besbris. Under review.


Neighborhoods, Homicide, and Racial Inequality in Life Expectancy: The Impact of Residence and Routine Mobility

Karl Vachuska, Clayton Adamson, Brian Levy, and Max Besbris. Under review.