Institute for Research on Poverty

Institute for Research on Poverty
Name	Institute for Research on Poverty
Established	1966
Type	Research institute
Affiliation	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Location	Madison, Wisconsin
Director	John Karl Scholz

Institute for Research on Poverty is a research center based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison focusing on poverty, social welfare, and public policy. Founded in 1966, it conducts interdisciplinary studies, evaluation, and dissemination of findings to policymakers, practitioners, and scholars. The institute collaborates with federal agencies, state governments, foundations, and other universities to translate evidence into action.

History

The institute was created during the era of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration's War on Poverty and the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, with early influence from scholars associated with James Madison-era social science debates and postwar social policy innovations. Initial funding and design drew on networks involving the Ford Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the National Science Foundation, while legislative interest came from members of the United States Congress such as proponents of the Social Security Act expansions. During the 1970s and 1980s the institute engaged with evaluations tied to programs authorized under the Family Support Act of 1988 and contributed evidence relevant to debates before the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance. In subsequent decades it partnered with agencies including the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the United States Department of Labor, and state entities in Wisconsin and elsewhere to analyze initiatives linked to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families reforms and the debates that followed the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

Mission and Research Focus

The institute's mission emphasizes rigorous empirical study of poverty, inequality, and program effectiveness. Research topics span income support, Medicaid-related outcomes, labor market transitions studied in contexts such as the Great Recession (2007–2009), child well-being measured against standards influenced by the Head Start Program, and housing instability examined alongside policies like the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Methodological approaches draw on randomized controlled trials used in evaluations similar to those in the Moving to Opportunity initiative, quasi-experimental designs employed in work by researchers associated with the National Bureau of Economic Research, and longitudinal survey analysis comparable to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The institute produces work pertinent to debates over tax policy shaped by the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and cash transfer evaluations reminiscent of studies funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Organization and Governance

Administratively hosted by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, governance involves an advisory board with members drawn from academia and government, mirroring structures seen at centers like the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute. Institutional oversight aligns with university policies overseen by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, while external funding relationships have connected the institute to philanthropic actors such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Collaboration networks include partnerships with research universities like Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities for policy-relevant projects. Internal staff span principal investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and support personnel recruited from programs at institutions including Yale University, University of Michigan, and Stanford University.

Major Programs and Projects

Major initiatives have included longitudinal studies of welfare reform outcomes, demonstrations of employment services akin to those evaluated by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, and income dynamics research comparable to the work of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The institute has managed data linkage projects leveraging administrative records from agencies like the Social Security Administration and state workforce agencies, and contributed to national surveys paralleling the design of the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey. It has hosted conferences with collaborators from the Russell Sage Foundation, coordinated policy fellowships modeled on programs at the Pew Charitable Trusts, and produced policy briefs informing litigation and legislative testimony before bodies such as the United States Supreme Court and state supreme courts. Evaluation portfolios have included research on child care subsidies, food assistance comparable to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and housing voucher impacts similar to Section 8 studies.

Impact and Policy Influence

Research from the institute has informed state-level reform in Wisconsin and national debates in Washington, D.C., influencing analyses by the Congressional Budget Office and citations in reports from the Government Accountability Office. Findings have been referenced in policy discussions involving the Office of Management and Budget, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and congressional hearings before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Academic impact is evident through publications in journals such as American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, and Demography and through contributions to edited volumes from presses like Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press. The institute's evidence has been used in advocacy by organizations including Children’s Defense Fund and in program design by state agencies in California, New York (state), and Texas.

Notable Researchers and Leadership

Faculty affiliates and directors have included economists, sociologists, and public policy scholars with profiles comparable to those at Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and London School of Economics. Notable associates have collaborated with scholars from Robert M. Solow-influenced macroeconomic traditions and microeconomists connected to the National Bureau of Economic Research network. Leadership over time has included directors and fellows who later held positions at institutions such as Stanford University, Yale University, Dartmouth College, and federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget. Prominent visiting scholars have come from international centers like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Category:Research institutes in Wisconsin Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison