Skip to main content
Cornell University mobile logo

World-class researchers, from a variety of disciplines, work here at the ILR School. Through the Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW), we support research that solves practical problems, improves the lives of workers and informs policy-making.

We serve as an incubator for applied research. We provide funding and coordination for innovative projects and initiatives. Our network of affiliated faculty, researchers, and practitioners help guide and facilitate novel approaches to advancing how we work.

Our membership includes programs and initiatives that study work and endeavor to improve the world for workers and their families, employers, and communities.

Employment and Work In New York State

Empire State Poll

Every year researchers at the Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations conduct the Empire State Poll to survey New York state residents about how work impacts their lives. 

New York skyline
Empire State Poll

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer the "future of work." It has arrived and having very real implications for work, labor and employment throughout the U.S. and globally. Yet, much is still unknown about how it is being deployed and where it can provide unique opportunities for businesses and workers.

CAROW is collaborating with ILR faculty, member institutes, and grantees to highlight research utilizing and evaluating the impact of artificial intelligence on work.

abstract textures
Learn more

The CAROW Care Economy & Work Hub

Growing demand for childcare and home care in the US is reaching crisis levels. Although crucial to the economy, care workers are often invisible, undervalued, and marginalized. The majority of care workers in the US are women of color, many of whom are immigrants, who face poor and precarious working conditions and low wages.

Home Health care image 2
Learn More

CAROW Events

CAROW Stories

News, events and articles

Dean Alex Colvin to Help NYS Shape, Protect the AI Workforce

Cornell Chronicle
Alex Colvin, Ph.D. ’99, will serve on a blue-ribbon commission charged with developing recommendations on how New York state can protect workers’ economic security while harnessing the economic benefits of AI.
Alexander James Colvin
Dean Alex Colvin to Help NYS Shape, Protect the AI Workforce

Medicaid HR1 Work Rules Create Concerns for People with Disabilities

The new Medicaid HR1 work rules have created concerns for thousands of people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to work, live in the community and manage complex health needs.
Open laptop with someone typing and infographics appearing in the air, including scales of justice, exlcamation points, and documents with checkmarks.
Medicaid HR1 Work Rules Create Concerns for People with Disabilities

ILR Trio Secures Grant to Help Workers With Job Transitions

Cornell Chronicle
Michèle Belot, JR Keller and Philipp Kircher are part of a team that will help workers transition to new positions in the AI economy by using AI to transform job duties into practice activities for job candidates before interviews.
A graphic depicting a human hand and a robot hand shaking in front of a globe
ILR Trio Secures Grant to Help Workers With Job Transitions
cornell-seal Icon

Yang-Tan WorkABILITY Incubator

K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan

The K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan CAROW WorkABILITY Incubator funds and supports innovative research that drives positive change for people who work.

abstract collage to illustrate applied research on work
Yang-Tan WorkABILITY Incubator

In the News

Media Mentions

Councilors don’t yet agree on who would enforce just-cause protections if adopted

The Ithaca Voice
An analysis of job terminations in 2020-2025 that were reported as unfair dismissals to the Tompkins County Workers Center – written by Ian Greer, director of ILR’s Ithaca Co-Lab and research professor – is referenced in this article.
Councilors don’t yet agree on who would enforce just-cause protections if adopted

Unions play key role in keeping direct care workers in the workforce, suggests study

MSN
This article about a study of direct care workers’ turnover rates mentions both Ariel Avgar, ILR professor and director of ILR’s Center for Applied Research on Work (CAROW), and Madeline Sterling, director of CAROW’s Initiative on Home Care Work, as co-authors of the study’s paper.
Unions play key role in keeping direct care workers in the workforce, suggests study

The Looming Crisis in Home Health Care

The New Republic
“The workforce has just historically been under-recognized and under-appreciated,” said Madeline Sterling, a primary care doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine and director of the Initiative on Home Care Work, housed in ILR’s Center for Applied Research on Work, commenting on home health care workers.
The Looming Crisis in Home Health Care

Contact CAROW

ilr-nickname Icon

Contact CAROW

Get in touch

Center for Applied Research on Work

Cornell University, ILR School
Ithaca, NY 14853

Tel: (607) 255-4380
Email: carow@cornell.edu

Ives Hall with ILR banner