Matt Nelson

Research Scientist
ISRDI
Associated Projects
MPC Primary Research Areas
Research Interests

Historical Demography; Work, Family, and Time; Kinship and Social Networks; Quantitative History

Biography

I joined the Minnesota Population Center in 2010 as a research assistant and as full-time research staff in 2014. I previously worked on the 1960 Data Restoration Project, and currently work on the Complete Count Census Data 1790-1940 projects and administer the restricted versions of the Complete Count Census Data 1790-1940 for approved users.

My research focuses on agricultural labor dynamics and kinship relations between families since the nineteenth century. Specifically, I use the restricted Complete Count Census Data 1790-1940 to measure kin propinquity, describing the long run decline of kin propinquity, explanations for the decline, and improving methods for measuring kin propinquity. I also use the complete count data to describe enumerator bias in occupational reporting for women and children on farms.