Irwin Garfinkel, PhD
Inducted in 2010
Current Position
Irwin Garfinkel is the Mitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban Problems at the Columbia University School of Social Work, co-founding director of the Columbia Population Research Center, and the co-principal investigator of the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study.
He was the director of the Institute for Research on Poverty (1975-1980) and the School of Social Work (1982-1984) at the University of Wisconsin. Between 1980 and 1990, he was the principal investigator of the Wisconsin Child Support Study.
A social worker and an economist by training, he has authored or co-authored over 180 scientific articles and twelve books on poverty, income transfer policy, program evaluation, single parent families, child support policy, and the welfare state. His research on child support and welfare influenced legislation in Wisconsin and other American states, the US Congress, Great Britain, Australia, and Sweden.
His most recent book is Wealth and Welfare States: Is America a Laggard or Leader?
