Biography
I am a Quantitative Sociologist and Social Demographer based at Trinity College Dublin, where I work as an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Sociology of Inequality and Life Course in the Department of Sociology. I am also an affiliated Research Fellow at Humboldt-Universität (HU) zu Berlin in the field of Microsociology and at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford.
My research focuses on the causes and consequences of social inequalities across individuals" life courses, with a particular emphasis on subjective and economic well-being, gender, work, health behaviors, and family dynamics. I use household panel survey data and longitudinal analysis methods to explore these issues. My work has been published in journals such as European Sociological Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, European Journal of Population, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, The Journals of Gerontology, European Societies and International Journal of Social Research Methodology.
I obtained my PhD in Sociology, Demography, and Statistics from the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) at the University of Queensland, Australia, on 9th November 2020, supervised by Prof. Janeen Baxter, Prof. Sergi Vidal, and Prof. Philipp Lersch. My thesis, May your wealth be easily divisible by two, examined the association between marital dissolution and personal wealth from a life course perspective.
Before joining Trinity College Dublin in September 2024, I was a Lecturer at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (2022-2024) within the team of Prof. Anette Fasang, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford (2021-2022) under Prof. Christiaan Monden, and a Predoctoral Research Fellow within the MyWealth project led by Prof. Philipp Lersch at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (2018-2021) and the University of Cologne (2017-2018).
Publications and Further Research Outputs
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Kapelle, N. & Weiland, A., Intra-couple gaps in retirees' financial resources: Their extent and predictors across Eastern and Western Germany, European Societies, 2025
Kapelle, N., & Rowold, C., Uncovering what matters: Family life course aspects and personal wealth in late working age, Demographic Research, 52, 2025, p689 - 740
Tilstra, A., & Kapelle, N., Breaking bonds, changing habits: Understanding health behaviours during and after marital dissolution, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 2025
Zoch, G. & Kapelle, N., From parenthood to planet care? The evolution of environmental and climate concerns during family formation, Population and Environment, 2025
Panel Data Analysis in, editor(s)U. Liebe , Handbook of Quantitative Methods in Sociology, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025, [Rüttenauer, T., & Kapelle, N.]
Kapelle, N., Frémeaux, N., Lersch, P. M., & Leturcq, M., A cohabitation wealth premium for women and men: Considering the regulatory framework and normative acceptance in France and Germany, Socio-Economic Review, 2025, pmwaf013
Money, work, and wealth in partnerships in, editor(s)D. Mortelmans, L. Bernardi & B. Perelli-Harris , Research Handbook on Partnering across the Life Course, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025, [Kapelle, N.]
Kapelle, N., & Monden, C., Transitory or chronic? Gendered loneliness trajectories over widowhood and separation in older age, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 65, (2), 2024, p292-308
Kapelle, N., & Van Winkle, Z., Changes in Household Wealth Over the Process of Widowhood Across European Countries, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 79, (10), 2024
Schechtl, M., & Kapelle, N., The male marital earnings premium contextualized: Longitudinal evidence from the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Journal of Marriage and Family, 86, (1), 2024, p176-198
Kapelle, N., Time cannot heal all wounds: Wealth trajectories of divorcees and the married, Journal of Marriage and Family, 84, (2), 2022, p592-611
Kapelle, N., & Vidal, S., Heterogeneity in Family Life Course Patterns and Intra-Cohort Wealth Disparities in Late Working Age, European Journal of Population, 38, (1), 2022, p59-92
Kapelle, N., Nutz, T., Tisch, D., Schechtl, M., Lersch, P. M., & Struffolino, E., My Wealth, (Y)Our Life Satisfaction? Sole and Joint Wealth Ownership and Life Satisfaction in Marriage, European Journal of Population, 38, 2022, p811-834
Kapelle, N., & Baxter, J., Marital Dissolution and Personal Wealth: Examining Gendered Trends across the Dissolution Process, Journal of Marriage and Family, 83, (1), 2021, p243-259
Spallek, M., Haynes, M., Baxter, J., & Kapelle, N., The value of administrative data for longitudinal social research: a case study investigating income support receipt and relationship separation in Australia, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23, (5), 2020, p467 - 481
Kapelle, N., & Lersch, P. M., The Accumulation of Wealth in Marriage: Over-Time Change and Within-Couple Inequalities, European Sociological Review, 36, (4), 2020, p580-593
Kapelle, N., May your wealth be easily divisible by two: Marital dissolution and personal wealth of German men and women over the life course, Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland, 2020
Lehrerkooperation aus organisationssoziologischer Sicht in, editor(s)E. Baum; T.-S. Idel; H. Ullrich , Kollegialität und Kooperation in der Schule: Theoretische Konzepte und empirische Befunde, Wiesbaden, VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2012, pp41 - 51, [Kuper, H. & Kapelle, N.]
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications
Kapelle, N., Frémeaux, N., Leturcq, M., & Lersch, P. M., The cohabitation wealth premium: Comparing France, and East and West Germany, 2024
Kapelle, N., & Rowold, C., Uncovering what matters: Family life course aspects and personal wealth in late working age, 2024
Tilstra, A., & Kapelle, N., Breaking bonds, changing habits: Understanding health behaviours during and after marital dissolution, 2024
Gruijters, R. J., Kapelle, N., Van Winkle, Z., & Fasang, A., Millennials' Wealth Is Finally Growing: But So Is Inequality, Inequality.org, 2024
Zoch, G., & Kapelle, N., From parenthood to planet care? The evolution of environmental and climate concerns during family formation, 2023
Research Expertise
Projects
- Title
- The Economics of Late Life Divorce in High-Income Countries: Causes and consequences of divorce after the age of 50
- Funding Agency
- Trinity College Dublin
- Date From
- 01.09.2025
- Date To
- 31.08.2029
- Title
- Understanding Asset Poverty: Laying the Foundations for a Cross-National Comparative Study
- Funding Agency
- Trinity College Dublin
- Title
- Intra-couple gaps in retirees' financial resources across OECD countries
- Funding Agency
- LIS Data Center (LIS) and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
- Date From
- 09.06.2025
- Date To
- 29.06.2025
Recognition
Representations
Grant reviewer: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
Member of the selection committee for Research Fellow positions at the chair of "Comparative Social Stratification Analysis" led by Prof Nora Waitkus at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Journal reviewer: Advances in Life Course Research; American Sociological Review; BMC Public Health; Canadian Studies in Population; Community, Work & Family; Demographic Research; Demography; European Journal of Population; European Sociological Review; Feminist Economics; Humanities & Social Sciences Communications; Journal of Marriage and Family (4x); Longitudinal and Life Course Studies; Review of Economics of the Household; Social Forces; Social Science Research
Awards and Honours
Work and Family Researchers Network (WFRN) Early Career Fellowship
Nuffield College Associate Membership
Nuffield College Non-Stipendiary Research Fellowship
Winner of the inaugural Life Course Centre Working Paper Series Award in the category of best student contribution to scholarship on children and families over the life course
Memberships
Research Committee 28 (RC28) on Social Stratification and Mobility
International Sociological Association (ISA)
German Academy of Sociology
Population Association of America (PAA)
Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE)
Section "Social Inequality and Social Structure Analysis" of the German Sociological Association
Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (SLLS)