Giovanni Mastrobuoni Named Winner of John Heinz Dissertation Award

For Immediate Release: February 1, 2007
Contact: Jill Braunstein at (202) 452-8097

WASHINGTON,DC—The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is pleased to announce Giovannni Mastrobuoni as winner of the 15th Annual John Heinz Dissertation Award. Mastrobuoni, who is currently a Research Fellow at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Italy, wrote his dissertation, “An Empirical Evaluation of Recent Social Security Reforms,” while he was a doctoral student at Princeton University. The dissertation was nominated for the award by Orley Ashenfelter, Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, Industrial Relations Section, Princeton University.

The award, which includes a $1,000 prize, will be presented during the National Academy of Social Insurance’s 19th Annual Conference on February 1, 2007 in Washington, DC. The Teresa and John Heinz Fund of the Heinz Family Foundation supports the award. It will be bestowed at the conference by Jeffrey Lewis, President of the Heinz Family Foundation and Robert Hudson of Boston University and chair of the selection committee.

An honorable mention was awarded to Kenneth Fortson, a Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. He also wrote his dissertation, “Economic Analysis of Workplace Injuries,” while a doctoral student at Princeton University. His thesis was nominated by Alan B. Krueger, Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University.

The John Heinz Dissertation Award is issued in honor of Senator John Heinz. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, he helped chart the Social Security rescue effort in 1983 and worked tirelessly to insulate the Social Security Trust Funds from the rest of the Federal budget. John Heinz was a leading expert in the Senate on private pensions and health care and aging policy. He was a member of the Academy’s Board of Advisors from the organization’s inception in 1986. Robert M. Ball, Founding Chair, said, “John Heinz was a leading proponent of Social Security with a true appreciation of the value of social insurance principles in developing public policy. He was a true supporter of the National Academy of Social Insurance and contributed importantly to its objectives. We are privileged to award this prize in his honor.”

NASI is accepting nominations for the 2008 Heinz Award. To obtain application forms and additional information visit the “student opportunities” section of www.nasi.org or contact Pamela Larson at 1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036-1904, (202) 452-8097, or by emailing internships@nasi.org.

# # #

The National Academy of Social Insurance is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to promote understanding and informed policymaking on social insurance and related programs through research, public education, training, and the open exchange of ideas.