Dr. Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Policy at UNC Chapel Hill. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Mexico and is an alumnus of the RWJF doctoral fellows program. Additionally, he is a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, a faculty affiliate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center for Social Equity at Duke University, and an affiliate of the Native American Budget and Policy Institute.
As an applied microeconomist and public policy scholar, Dr. Rubalcaba’s research centers on the urgent need for comprehensive U.S. immigration reform and the consequences of this outdated arrangement, specifically as a barrier to upward mobility for vulnerable families. His work also delves into the evolution of the criminal legal system as a mechanism of immigration enforcement, mainly how immigration enforcement practices contribute to disparities in contact with the criminal legal system. Empirical evidence from this work documents the impacts of these interactions on individuals, families, and communities, focusing on how enforcement practices, such as police stops and ICE arrests, shape social and economic outcomes.
Dr. Rubalcaba espouses an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the barriers to upward mobility for vulnerable families in the U.S., exploring how challenges in labor markets, healthcare access, educational opportunities, criminal justice, and immigration policies collectively perpetuate inequities. By analyzing these compounded effects, he aims to identify comprehensive policy solutions that address the root causes of socioeconomic disparities.
Dr. Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba is a Founder of the Institute for Public and Social Good and serves as the Chief Academic Officer. In this capacity, Dr. Rubalcaba utilizes the sum of his experience to identify root causes of inequality and develop pathways for progress.
For a full curriculum vitae or additional materials, please contact Dr. Rubalcaba at Institute for the Public and Social Good (IPSG) via hello@theipsg.org.