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Public Policy, Social Welfare

Martin Gilens

Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Social Welfare

Martin Gilens is a Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Social Welfare at UCLA. His research examines representation, public opinion, and mass media, especially in relation to inequality and public policy. Professor Gilens is the author of Affluence & Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America, and Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy, and coauthor (with Benjamin I. Page) of Democracy in America?: What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do about It. He has published widely on political inequality, mass media, race, gender, and welfare politics. He earned a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Professor Gilens is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and taught at Yale and Princeton universities before joining the Luskin School at UCLA in 2018.

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Educational Background

Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
M.A. in Sociology, University of California, Berkeley
B.A. in Sociology and Philosophy, University of California, Santa Cruz

Areas of Expertise

Economic and Political Inequality, Public Opinion, Racial and Ethnic Politics, Representation, Survey Analysis

Latest News

Luskin Professor Martin Gilens Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

April 28, 2026

Professor Martin Gilens is recognized for his influential research on inequality and democracy.

Some Homeowners Are Going Without Insurance But Choosing to Stay Put

January 21, 2026

The inaugural UCLA Luskin California Poll also reveals residents’ experiences of financial well-being, along with wide-ranging views on lowering the voting age, turning on the A/C and bracing for wildfire.

Latest News

Gilens Recommends Voting Reform Strategies

April 6, 2020

In addition to simply increasing turnout at the ballot box, reforms should aim to widen representation of America's diverse population, he argues.

Super Tuesday, Luskin-Style

March 4, 2020

Public Policy students and professors share pizza and political insights at a watch party during an unpredictable campaign season.

Gilens on Wealth and Political Influence

February 27, 2020

His research is cited in an assessment of Michael Bloomberg’s fortune on the Democratic presidential race.

Gilens on the Disproportionate Influence of the Wealthy

February 4, 2020

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision makes it easier for wealthy individuals and corporations to translate their economic power into political power.

Public Financing of Elections Empowers Voters, Gilens Says

October 3, 2019

New York has an opportunity to challenge the status quo and promote a government for the people, he argues.

Contact Information

gilens@ucla.edu

Office Location

6317, Public Affairs

Media Contact

For media inquiries, contact Kate Shirley at kshirley@luskin.ucla.edu (email preferred) or 310-206-5252.

Inequality and Political Power

Gilens, Martin and Benjamin I. Page. 2017. Democracy in America?: What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do About It. University of Chicago Press.

Gilens, Martin. 2012. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America. Princeton University Press and Russell Sage.

Gilens, Martin, Shawn Patterson, and Pavielle Haines. 2021. “Campaign Finance Regulations and Public Policy.” American Political Science Review 115(3).

Gilens, Martin. 2016. “Two-thirds full? Citizen Competence and Democratic Governance.” In New Directions in Public Opinion Second Edition, ed., Adam Berinsky, pp.54-78. New York: Routledge.

Gilens, Martin. 2016. “Simulating Representation: The Devil’s in the Detail.” Research & Politics (June).

Gilens, Martin. 2015. “Descriptive Representation, Money, and Political Inequality in the United States.” Swiss Political Science Review 21(2).

Gilens, Martin. 2015. “The Insufficiency of ‘Democracy by Coincidence: A Response to Peter K. Enns.” Perspectives on Politics 13(4):1065-1071.

Gilens, Martin and Benjamin I. Page. 2014. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.” Perspectives on Politics 12(3):564-581.

Gilens, Martin. 2011. “Policy Consequences of Representational Inequality.” In Who Gets Represented, ed. Peter K. Enns and Christopher Wlezien. Russell Sage.

Gilens, Martin. 2009. “Preference Gaps and Inequality in Representation.” PS: Political Science and Politics 42(2):335-341.

Gilens, Martin. 2005. “Inequality and Democratic Responsiveness.” Public Opinion Quarterly 69(5):778-896.

Race, Class, and the Politics of Public Policy

Gilens, Martin, Tali Mendelberg, and Nicholas Short. 2026. “The Politics of Disaster Prevention.” The Journal of Politics, 88(2).

Brock-Petroshius, Kristen and Martin Gilens. 2025. “Race- and Class-Based Messaging and Anti-Carceral Policy Support.” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics.

Brock-Petroshius, Kristen and Martin Gilens. 2025. “Can Deep Canvassing Promote Anti-Carceral Attitudes? A Field Experiment.” Journal of Social Issues 81(2).

Gilens, Martin, Tali Mendelberg, and Nicholas Short. 2025. “Racial Attitudes and Views of Disaster.” Political Research Quarterly 78(2).

Gilens, Martin. 2023. “Race, Gender, and Partisan Politics in the United States.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(3).

Racial Attitudes, Anti-Poverty Policy, and the Mass Media

Gilens, Martin. 1999. Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Anti-Poverty Policy. University of Chicago Press.

Gilens, Martin and Niamh Costello. 2020. “The News Media and the Racialization of American Poverty.” In Racialized Media: The Design, Delivery, and Decoding of Race and Ethnicity, Matthew W. Hughey and Emma Gonzalez-Lesser, eds. New York University Press.

Gilens, Martin. 2004. “Poor People In The News: Images From The Journalistic Subconscious,” In Class and News, ed. Don Heider, pp. 44-60. Rowman and Littlefield.

Gilens, Martin. 2004. “The American News Media and Public Misperceptions of Race and Poverty,” in Race, Poverty, and Domestic Policy, ed. C. Michael Henry, pp. 336-363. Yale University Press.

Gilens, Martin. 2003. “How the Poor Became Black: The Racialization of American Poverty in the Mass Media.” In Race and the Politics of Welfare Reform, ed. Sanford F. Schram, Joe Soss, and Richard C. Fording, pp.101-130. University of Michigan Press.

Gilens, Martin, Paul M. Sniderman, and James H. Kuklinski. 1998. “Affirmative Action and the Politics of Realignment.” British Journal of Political Science 28(1):159-183.

Gilens, Martin. 1998. “Racial Attitudes and Race-Neutral Social Policy: White Opposition to Welfare and the Politics of Racial Inequality.” In Perception and Prejudice: Race and Politics in the United States, Jon Hurwitz and Mark Peffley, eds. Yale University Press.

Glaser, James M. and Martin Gilens. 1997. “Inter-Regional Migration and Political Resocialization: A Study of Racial Attitudes Under Pressure.” Public Opinion Quarterly 61(1):72-86.

Kuklinski, James H., Michael D. Cobb, and Martin Gilens. 1997. “Racial Attitudes and the ‘New South.’” Journal of Politics 59(2):323-349.

Gilens, Martin. 1996. “‘Race-Coding’ and White Opposition to Welfare.” American Political Science Review 90:593-604.

Gilens, Martin. 1996. “Race and Poverty in America: Public Misperceptions and the American News Media.” Public Opinion Quarterly 60(4):513-535.

Gilens, Martin. 1995. “Racial Attitudes and Opposition to Welfare.” Journal of Politics 57:994-1014.

The Mass Media and American Politics

Gilens, Martin, Lynn Vavreck, and Martin Cohen. 2007. “Mass Media and Public Perceptions of Presidential Candidates, 1952-2000”, The Journal of Politics.

Gilens, Martin, and Craig Hertzman. 2000. “Corporate Ownership and News Bias: Newspaper Coverage of the 1996 Telecommunications Bill.” Journal of Politics 62(2):369-386.

Gilens, Martin. 2000. “The Black Poor and the ‘Liberal Press.’” Civil Rights Journal 5(1):18-26.

The Psychology of Political Attitude Formation

Gilens, Martin and Adam Thal. 2018. “Doing Well and Doing Good? How Concern for Others Shapes Policy Preferences and Partisanship among Affluent Americans.” Public Opinion Quarterly 82(2).

Gilens, Martin, and Naomi Murakawa. 2002. “Elite Cues and Political Decision-Making.” In Research in Micropolitics, vol. 6, ed. Michael X. Delli Carpini, Leonie Huddy, and Robert Y. Shapiro, pp. 15-50. Elsevier.

Gilens, Martin. 2002. “An Anatomy of Survey Based Experiments.” In Navigating Public Opinion: Polls, Policy, and the Future of Democracy, ed. Jeff Manza, Fay Lomax Cook, and Benjamin J. Page, pp. 232-250. Oxford University Press.

Gilens, Martin. 2001. “Political Ignorance and Collective Policy Preferences. ”American Political Science Review 95(2):379-396.

Glaser, James M. and Martin Gilens. 1997. “Inter-Regional Migration and Political Resocialization: A Study of Racial Attitudes Under Pressure.” Public Opinion Quarterly 61(1):72-86.

Gilens, Martin. 1988. “Gender and Support for Reagan: A Comprehensive Model of Presidential Approval.” American Journal of Political Science 32:19-49.

Gilens, Martin. 1984. “The Gender Gap: Psychology, Social Structure and Support for Reagan.” Berkeley Journal of Sociology 24:35-56.