Sneha Kumar

Biography

Sneha Kumar is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University. A social demographer by training, her research examines the social drivers of family change and the implications of changing family structures for health and wellbeing across various middle-income countries. She has studied family diversity and health disparities in migrant-sending communities; intergenerational support in rapidly aging contexts; son preference and sex selection; and evolving reproductive preferences, behaviors, and outcomes during public health crises.

Sneha's work has been published in outlets such as American Sociological Review, Demography, Population & Development Review, and Social Science & Medicine, and has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Her collaborative research was awarded the Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship in Population Award by the American Sociological Association in 2026.

Before joining Northwestern, Sneha was a postdoctoral fellow at the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Sneha earned her PhD in Development Sociology from Cornell University, and her bachelors in Economics and Economic History from London School of Economics.

Education

• Ph.D. Development Sociology, Cornell University, 2021
• M.A. Development Sociology, Cornell University, 2016
• M.Sc. Economic History, London School of Economics, 2011
• B.Sc. Economics and Economic History, London School of Economics, 2010

Awards and Honors

• Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship in Population, American Sociological Association - Population Section, 2026
• Co-Investigator, NICHD R01 Award "Reproductive and Child Health Trajectories in the Context of Public Health Crises", 2023-28
• John S. Knight Teaching Excellence Award, Cornell University, 2019

Selected Publications

• Marteleto, Letícia J., Sneha Kumar, Luiz Gustavo Fernandes Sereno, and Alexandre Gori Maia. "Who Can Have a Baby? Social Norms and the Right to Reproduce." American Sociological Review 90, no. 6 (2025): 1060-1091.
• Marteleto, Letícia J., and Sneha Kumar (equal contributors). "Dynamic Family Size Preferences During the COVID-19 Mortality Crisis: A Research Note." Demography 62, no. 4 (2025): 1155-1169.
• Kumar, Sneha. "The Feminization of Migration and Mental Health of Older Parents Left Behind: Evidence from Indonesia." International Migration Review 59, no. 3 (2025): 1464-1499.
• Kumar, Sneha. "Offspring's Labor Migration and its Implications for Elderly Parents' Emotional Wellbeing in Indonesia." Social Science & Medicine 276 (2021): 113832.
• Kumar, Sneha, and Nistha Sinha. "Preventing More “Missing Girls”: A Review of Policies to Tackle Son Preference." The World Bank Research Observer 35, no. 1 (2020): 87-121.