Bingulac

Marija Bingulac

Researcher, Center for Social Policy and PhD Candidate in Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston
Chapter Member: Boston SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About Marija

Bingulac’s areas of expertise include Roma issues, politics of poverty, patterns of exclusion, political science, public policy, research design, and monitoring and evaluation. Her current research focuses on measuring labor-market discrimination faced by Roma people in Serbia and understanding their experiences when they attempt to engage in labor markets. Bingulac holds a researcher position at the Center for Social Policy, where she works on participatory research projects related to poverty alleviation and housing stability. She is a permanent research consultant to two Roma-serving anti-poverty non-governmental organizations in Serbia – Church World Service Eastern Europe and Center ALFA. In these consultancy roles, she has worked on many evaluation projects in the areas of inclusive education, food security, and sustainable economic development. She also teaches several political science courses, including American politics, state and local politics, and research methods for international relations.

Contributions

The Hard Life of Roma People in Serbia

Publications

"Research for 'On Solid Ground: Building Opportunity, Preventing Homelessness Report'," (with Donna Haig Friedman, Tim Davis, Arthur MacEwan, Keith Bentele, Randy Albelda, Mary Coonan, Nancy Wagman, Luc Schuster, and Damien J.Turini), Center for Social Policy with Mass Budget and Policy Center, forthcoming.

Presents the many factors that contribute to family instability; identifies the gaps in programs meant to serve low income families; documents the role of federal and state rental subsidy programs; demonstrates the interconnected roles of rental assistance, childcare and employment assistance in increasing family incomes; incorporates the feedback of focus groups representing various stakeholders; and makes policy recommendations to help the Commonwealth reduce family homelessness by addressing its underlying contributors.

"Children and Homelessness in Massachusetts" (with Donna Haig Friedman, Katherine Calano, Christine Miller, and Alisa Zeliger). New England Journal of Public Policy 25, no. 1 (2013).
Presents the extent of child homelessness and its profound effects on Massachusetts children and families and examines the interconnectedness of what are usually thought of as separate public policy domains – poverty, hunger, homeless, low-wage work, and access to public work supports.