Nuffield Fellow wins David N Kershaw Award for public policy contributions
Professorial Fellow Zachary Parolin has been awarded the 25th David N. Kershaw Award by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), in recognition of his public policy contributions, helping to reduce poverty and expand economic opportunity.
Zachary’s research focuses on the measurement, causes, and consequences of poverty, inequality, and social mobility across the United States and other high-income countries. His public policy work has analysed US policies such as the 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion, declining provision of cash assistance via the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, the replacement rate of Unemployment Insurance and the rise of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, among others. Beyond this analysis, he has introduced a monthly poverty measure for the US, and has developed estimates of the intergenerational persistence of poverty for the US and other high-income countries.
Zachary joins Nuffield College this term (Michaelmas 2025) as Professor of Social Policy, Inequality and Opportunity in association with the Department of Social Policy and Intervention. He is also the Director of and leads the Economics, Inequality and Opportunity programme at the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET).
On the announcement of the award, Warden Julia Black commented:
"Congratulations to Zach on winning this prestigious award. Zach’s research is squarely within Nuffield’s founding mission to address the challenges societies face, and I am delighted he is joining the college."
The David N. Kershaw Award recognises professionals who make significant contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management before the age of 40.
Kenneth Nelson, Head of the Department of Social Policy, Inequality and Opportunity, where Zachary holds his Professorship, also commented:
"We are honoured to recognise Professor Zach Parolin as the 2025 recipient of the Kershaw Award. His exemplary achievements, professional excellence, and sustained contributions reflect the highest standards of the policy sciences. Professor Parolin has for many years produced new cutting-edge research on the measurement, causes, and consequences of poverty, inequality, and social mobility across the United States and the European Union. This research now has resulted in one of the most prestigious research awards in public policy."
This news item was originally published on the DSPI website. More information about APPAM can be found on the association’s website.