UW-Madison: To host series of talks on core poverty issues

CONTACT: Timothy Smeeding, (608) 890-1317, smeeding@lafollette.wisc.edu

MADISON – The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Summer Research Workshop by offering five talks that are free and open to the public on issues central to poverty in the United States and efforts to reduce it.

The workshop is a time-honored tradition in the poverty studies community designed to build research interest in topics related to the poor and their labor market connections. Participants – both junior and senior researchers representing a range of disciplines – focus on frontier statistical methods for the empirical study of poverty. The workshop also plays an important role in the Institute for Research on Poverty’s mission to mentor the next generation of poverty researchers.

The talks will take place on June 7, 8 and 9 on the UW-Madison campus in 1310 Plenary Room, Grainger Hall. Faculty, staff, students, journalists and members of the public are all invited to attend these special presentations.

For more information, visit http://www.irp.wisc.edu/

Monday, June 7

11:30 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

“Progress Toward Improving the U.S. Poverty Measure: Developing the New Supplemental Poverty Measure”

David S. Johnson, U.S. Census Bureau

12:05 – 1:15 p.m.

“The Wisconsin Poverty Measure: A First Look”

– Timothy Smeeding; director of the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison

– Julia Isaacs, Brookings Institution and Institute for Research on Poverty Visiting Scholar

– Joanna Marks, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison

– Response: Gary Burtless, Brookings Institution

4:45 – 5:45 p.m.

“How Well Do We Understand Achievement Gaps?”

– Eric Hanushek, Stanford University

– Response: Robert Hauser, UW-Madison

Tuesday, June 8

4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

“Taxes and Transfers and the Low-Income Population: Policy and Research Trends”

– Robert Moffitt, Johns Hopkins University

– Richard Burkhauser, Cornell University

– J. Karl Scholz, UW-Madison

– Response: V. Joseph Hotz, Duke University

Wednesday, June 9

4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

“Poverty and Child Outcomes”

– Susan Mayer, University of Chicago

– Response: David Blau, Ohio State University