Robinson Hollister

Joseph Wharton Professor of Economics

Prof. Hollister is an expert in areas including poverty, welfare reform, health care, the effectiveness of job training for the economically disadvantaged, and Near Eastern labor markets. He has testified before Congress and written widely on the effectiveness of the federal Job Corps, which he has evaluated and monitored since the 1960s. Hollister says the evidence points to a conclusion that the program has been effective, providing social benefits that substantially exceed the costs. Among several dozen books and articles, Hollister is co-author of Labor Markets in Countries of the Near East: Operation under Economic Restructuring (International Center for Economic Growth, 1994) and Labour Market Policy and Unemployment Insurance (Clarendon Press Oxford, 1991). A 1956 Amherst College graduate, Hollister received his Ph. D. from Stanford University in 1961 and spent a year at London University as a Fulbright Scholar. Hollister held posts at Williams College, Princeton University, the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity before joining the Swarthmore faculty in 1971. He is a member of the advisory boards of two U.S. Department of Labor programs -- Youth Fair Chance and the National Evaluation of the U.S. Job Corps. In addition, he is a member of the National Advisory Board for the New Hope Project in Milwaukee, Wis.