Alin Fumurescu is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston and a 2022-2023 Faculty Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Public Affairs. Professor Fumurescu’s research includes the history of ideas, political and self-representation, and American political thought. Fumurescu received the American Political Science Association Leo Strauss Award for the best doctoral dissertation in political philosophy in 2013.

A hallmark of every developed nation is the provision of a social safety net – public programs that deliver aid to the poor.  Because of their higher rates of poverty, children are often a major beneficiary of safety net programs. Compared to other countries, the U.S. spends less on anti-poverty programs and, consequently, has higher child poverty rates. In this lecture, Professor Hoynes discussed the emerging research that examines how the social safety net affects children’s life trajectories.