“Higher Ground puts the word ‘hope’ back into the debate about poverty, offering compelling evidence that government can make a difference in the lives of the poor.”

—Kathryn Edin

Visiting Professor of Public Policy,
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Higher Ground wins 2007 the Richard A. Lester Prize for the Outstanding Book in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations.

This prize is awarded annually by the Industrial Relations Section at Princeton University.

Higher Ground  tells the story of a group of committed activists and business leaders in Milwaukee who propelled their passion and pragmatism into a fresh approach to addressing one of the country’s most enduring problems, poverty.

The experiment was called New Hope. Through the eyes of three women, Inez, Lakeisha, and Elena (names have been changed), readers see first-hand how well-designed policies can make a difference in the lives of working poor adults and their children.

Results are very promising” … read more.

Blueprint for Antipoverty Policy
As America takes stock of the successes and shortcomings of the Clinton-era poverty and welfare policies, the authors convincingly demonstrate why New Hope could be a model for state and national efforts to assist the working poor. Evidence-based and insightfully written, Higher Ground illuminates how policymakers can make work pay and improve the lives of children in families struggling to escape poverty.
read more on policy recommendations here

Read the compelling stories of how three women find a way to reach higher ground, and create new hope for their children. Order the book

Table of Contents

Read Chapter 1
Read the companion volume, Making It Work

 

•  ORDERING INFORMATION
•  ABOUT THE AUTHORS
•  ABOUT NEW HOPE
•  INTERVIEWS/MEDIA
•  ABOUT THE EVALUATION
•  RESOURCES

Russell Sage Foundation, 2007

Greg J. Duncan, Aletha C. Huston, and Thomas S. Weisner

 


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