In addition to being a GWU Professor, Foster directs the university’s Institute for International Economic Policy in the Elliott School of International Affairs. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University, holds a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo (Mexico), and is an Honorary Member of the SCR, Magdalen College Oxford. Foster’s research focuses on welfare economics, poverty, and inequality. His joint 1984 Econometrica paper is one of the most cited papers on poverty and it was the basis for targeting the Progresa/Oportunidades program in Mexico.
