Skip to content
CIFAR header logo
fr
menu_mobile_logo_alt
  • News
  • Events
    • Public Events
    • Invitation-only Meetings
  • Programs
    • Research Programs
    • Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
    • Next Generation Initiatives
    • Global Call for Ideas
  • People
    • Fellows & Advisors
    • CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars
    • Canada CIFAR AI Chairs
    • AI Strategy Leadership
    • Solution Network Members
    • Leadership
  • Support Us
  • About
    • Our Story
    • CIFAR 40
    • Awards
    • Partnerships
    • Publications & Reports
    • Careers
    • Staff Directory
    • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
  • fr

Follow Us

  • Home
  • research-programs
  • Successful Societies

Successful Societies

smaller line

Why are some societies more successful than others?

Successful societies are those that create conditions that lead to better health, well-being and resilience for individuals and communities. The program aims to identify the cultural and social frameworks that put societies on a path toward greater and more equitable prosperity. It looks beyond simple economic analysis, and examines how an individual’s sense of identity and belonging within a culture can affect overall economic, physical and psychological well-being.

The Successful Societies program brings together academics from sociology, political science, political philosophy, history, economics, and organizational, cultural and social psychology to share insights and create new understandings about how societal structures facilitate or inhibit the flourishing of a society. The program bridges the gap between researchers interested in studying institutions and those who study culture. It shows how understanding the interaction of institutional and cultural frameworks gives meaningful insights into how societies create opportunities for individual fulfilment and happiness.

The program provides a broad framework for research and analysis, while also providing insights that directly inform debate about hard questions with public policy implications around the globe. Work by fellows in the program has informed policy around early childhood education, immigration, health policy and more.

In contrast to research groups that focus largely on income inequality as an economic or political phenomenon, the Successful Societies program considers how a wide range of social inequalities—including inequalities of gender, race, religion, class and income—are related to one another. Drawing on its interdisciplinary strengths, the program analyses the cultural and social processes that generate, reinforce or mitigate such inequalities. Since its launch in 2002, the program has produced two influential volumes: Social Resilience in the Neoliberal Era (2013) and Successful Societies: How Institutions and Culture Affect Health (2009).


SELECTED PAPERS

Li, L., C. Power, S. Kelly, C. Hertzman and C. Kirschbaum, “Life-time socio-economic position and cortisol secretion patterns in mid-life,” Psychoneuroendocrinology 32, 7 (2007) : 824 -833.

Bouchard, G. L’Interculturalisme. Un point de vue québécois. Montréal, Boréal, 2012.

A. Swidler and S. Cotts Watkins, “‘Teach a Man to Fish’: The Sustainability Doctrine and Its Social Consequences,” World Development 37, 7 (July 2009)  1182-1196. ABSTRACT

W. Sewell, “Economic Crises and the Shape of Modern History,” Public Culture 24, 2 (2012) : 302-27. ABSTRACT

Hall, P. and Lamont, M.. Social Resilience In The Neoliberal Era. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. ABSTRACT

 

Founded In

2002

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Sociology, including demography, social stratification, social theory and cultural sociology; political science, including comparative politics, political economy and comparative public policy; organizational, cultural and social psychology; political philosophy; history; economics

Fellows & Advisors

Program Directors

Michèle Lamont

Michèle Lamont

Program Co-Director

Successful Societies
Harvard University
United States
Paul Pierson

Paul Pierson

Program Co-Director

Successful Societies
University of California Berkeley
United States

Fellows

David B. Grusky

David B. Grusky

Fellow

Successful Societies
Stanford University
United States
Peter A. Hall

Peter A. Hall

Fellow

Successful Societies
Harvard University
United States
Leanne S. Son Hing

Leanne S. Son Hing

Fellow

Successful Societies
University of Guelph
Canada
Jane Jenson

Jane Jenson

Fellow

Successful Societies
Université de Montréal
Canada
Francesca Polletta

Francesca Polletta

Fellow

Successful Societies
University of California Irvine
United States
Paige Raibmon

Paige Raibmon

Fellow

Successful Societies
University of British Columbia
Canada
William H. Sewell

William H. Sewell

Fellow

Successful Societies
University of Chicago
United States
Prerna Singh

Prerna Singh

Fellow

Boundaries Membership & Belonging
Successful Societies
Brown University
United States
Anne E. Wilson

Anne E. Wilson

Fellow

Successful Societies
Wilfrid Laurier University
Canada

Advisors

Gérard Bouchard

Gérard Bouchard

Advisor

Successful Societies
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
Canada
Wendy Espeland

Wendy Espeland

Advisor

Successful Societies
Northwestern University
United States
Patrick Le Galès

Patrick Le Galès

Advisor

Successful Societies
Sciences Po
France
Peter Gourevitch

Peter Gourevitch

Advisory Committee Chair

Successful Societies
University of California San Diego
United States
Hazel Markus

Hazel Markus

Advisor

Boundaries Membership & Belonging
Successful Societies
Stanford University
United States
Vijayendra Rao

Vijayendra Rao

Advisory Committee Chair
Advisor

Boundaries Membership & Belonging
Successful Societies
World Bank
United States

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars

Kristi Kenyon

Kristi Kenyon

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Successful Societies
University of Winnipeg
Canada
Kristin Laurin

Kristin Laurin

CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2017-2019

Successful Societies
University of British Columbia
Canada

Related News

WEB

News

Culture shift: Q&A with sociologist Michèle Lamont

June 17, 2020
public policy illustration

Event Brief

Rethinking Inequality: The Role of Identity, Narratives, Recognition, and Judgements

December 12, 2019
public policy illustration red

Event Brief

Inequality as a Multidimensional Process

December 12, 2019
PUBLIC-POLICY-RBG

Event Brief

Perceptions of Deservingness & Persistent Social Inequalities

July 26, 2019
  • Follow Us

Support Us

CIFAR is a registered charitable organization supported by the governments of Canada, Alberta and Quebec, as well as foundations, individuals, corporations and Canadian and international partner organizations.

Donate Now
CIFAR header logo

MaRS Centre, West Tower
661 University Ave., Suite 505
Toronto, ON M5G 1M1 Canada

Contact Us
Media
Careers
Accessibility Policies
Supporters
Financial Reports
Subscribe

  • © Copyright 2023 CIFAR. All Rights Reserved.
  • Charitable Registration Number: 11921 9251 RR0001
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap

Subscribe

Stay up to date on news & ideas from CIFAR.

This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.
Accept Learn more